An Encouragement of Dawdling; "o to da te" and "no zo mi" 道草のすすめ―「点 音（おとだて）」and “no zo mi”

SUZUKI Akio (1941-), recognized as a pioneer of sound art, has continued present events, performances, and installations throughout the world as a means to explore ways in which sound and place relate with one another. This endeavor started in the 1960s, whereby Suzuki investigated acts of listening in various places through a repeatedly engaging in “Nagekake (to cast, to throw)” and “Tadori (to trace and to follow)” in a process he himself refers to as a “Self-Study Event.” o to da te extends his earlier work Echo Point wo Saguru (Searching for Echo Points) from the “Self-Study Event” series into the context of public space, and entailed placing markers in the shape of ears and footprints combined across different locations in the city. Through this work, Suzuki invites people to follow these echo points, and encourages their awareness towards listening to awaken when in these locations. o to da te has been implemented in numerous cities throughout the world since its conception in 1996, and has been newly added to the MOT Collection in 2018-19. In addition to the echo points that are installed in 12 locations both inside and outside the museum building, the version of o to da te commissioned for the MOT collection takes on a new approach, introducing the partial use of an acoustic system as a means to invite visitors to an exercise of turning on their awareness towards listening. In the museum’s courtyard, music performed by an original instrument created by Suzuki is set up in a way that the sounds appear to resonate from the actual building itself, while in the entrance hall, the sounds of the neighboring Kiba Park is designed to be heard through the building’s glass doors. The work no zo mi, presented in the museum’s outdoor exhibition space, consists of five groups of square-shaped blocks made by stacking concrete slabs in a manner reminiscent of a series of steps. The topmost steps are also marked with the o to da te logo. The way in which the top of each block is reached differs accordingly, naturally triggering the curiosity of visitors who are invited to climb them, opening up different experiences with each and every step.