Introduction

A collection survey of the work of Takahiko Iimura was conducted November 23–25, 2016, by Ann Adachi, Laurie Duke, and Mona Jimenez, with assistance from the artist and his assistants, Rie Iwashima and Mina Iwashima. The goal of the survey was to locate and assess the highest quality version of the artist’s works. A spreadsheet titled “CCJ Iimura Collection Survey” was created (“2016_CCJ_Collection_Survey _Iimura”) to collect metadata during the survey.

Particular attention was paid to film materials and obsolete video formats such as U- matic (3/4-inch tape), Hi8, and Betacam. However, a count of all audiovisual items was accomplished, and some changes in arrangement were made to facilitate further work to identify the highest quality versions of Iimura’s work. The survey was restricted to video and film; we did not survey any other media (such as optical disks or hard drives).

methodology

Discussions with the artist revealed his working methods and the organization and arrangement of his collection. Generally speaking, the materials were stored by format. The U-matic tapes were stored roughly chronologically. We respected his arrangement but re-ordered the tapes and in some cases re-shelved them as described below to better understand the collection and to make it easier to locate and compare various versions of artworks and related materials.