What is needed for art and technology is "what humans should be"

Think about the future of humanity from the perspectives of archeology, philosophy, technology, and even art.
“The world’s first creative farm specializing in real tech” Yuki Tasaki, who leads KANDO, is developing unique activities such as business development for living environments that survive in the age of Climate Change.

The interview began with the words, "Recently, I've been thinking only about environmental issues." He talked about the path to solving the problems of the earth and mankind from his multidisciplinary knowledge.

Environmental changes seen from the existence of honeybees

―I heard that you currently have a strong sense of crisis about Climate Change.

Yuki Tazaki (hereinafter Tasaki): Typhoon No. 19 of the other day is born all over the world. This is one of the disasters caused by Climate Change caused by global warming. We are now living in a world with unprecedented levels of CO2 due to the pursuit of corporate profits and the development of a society that relies on fossil fuels.
At the United Nations Climate Action Summit 2019 held in New York the other day, the world's major institutional investors made a joint declaration to place orders on the participating governments. Institutional investors who have participated in this joint declaration have invested a total of 3,770 trillion yen, and I understand that this is a concrete manifestation of their sense of crisis that "the earth will not survive unless concrete actions are taken." Masu.

In order to strengthen the sense of mission as an individual, I am working while thinking that "human beings have only 10 years left."

-It's amazing to think that it's been 10 years. What kind of activities are you going to do?

Tasaki: I would like to focus on a business that combines the "honey bee" in the center of the ecosystem with a "new living environment" that can survive typhoons, submergence, and rising water levels. In fact, honeybees are organisms that mediate about 70% of the agricultural products that human beings eat, and their chained work is said to be economically several tens of trillion yen. However, honeybees have been declining rapidly in recent years, which is also affecting crop production.
I would like to build a lifestyle centered on beekeeping and create a living environment like an ark that can cope with typhoons and floods that are highly dangerous every year.

Newness x wisdom of ancestors is interesting

-What do you need to do to make it happen?

Tasaki: It is necessary to grow Real Tech from scratch in order to solve problems, but I think it is also important to combine existing technologies and develop them speedily.
For example, in the field of crafts, "The Great Buddha of Nara". Even though it is made of wood that is so large and easily deteriorates over time, it still looks great. The technology that has been cultivated for a long time has been verified over a long period of time, so it has the aspect of being more reliable than the new technology. At the same time, it uses technology that is reduced to the earth. Therefore, I think we should combine such wisdom and technology.

-It means making use of the wisdom of our predecessors. Are there any issues not only about technology but also about attracting people and organizations?

Tasaki: Reassuring friends who want to do the same thing are gathering. However, when moving such a project, issues related to people and organizations will arise as it grows. When that happens, we must look at people and organizations from the knowledge that is classified into philosophy, anthropology, and so-called liberal arts. That's interesting again.

Imagination is essential for the evolution of technology

-You mentioned liberal arts in your own method, "ENVISION Design."

Tasaki​: KANDO (Real Tech Specialized Creative) that I am doing to realize a better future and a new culture through the trinity of "creativity / liberal arts", "science / technology" and "finance / business" This is the basic idea of the farm). The backbone is the archeology and architecture that I originally studied.

-the background that led to these ideas?

Tasaki: It's a big story, but when you think about ancient human beings, their sensibilities and imagination were the abilities needed for "survival." For example, it is a crisis avoidance ability that says, "Because there are footprints here, there may be a lion over there? It is dangerous to go any further."

The times have passed, and the Industrial Revolution has triggered a scientific revolution. In ancient times, "imagination" was "the ability to simulate in the brain", but the scientific revolution has made it possible to embody "imagination", and "creativity" to create new technologies and the future is emphasized. It came to be. For example, if we run out of energy, we will promote fossil fuel mining technology and the use of nuclear power. In this way, science and technology have created new technologies and products one after another and consumed them to push the economic limits.
Expand economic limits, increase profits, and invest in science and technology. Mankind has gone through such a cycle for about 500 years. On the other hand, I haven't invested much in "imagination" such as philosophy, anthropology, and expression, which are the basis of "creativity" (especially in Japan, because humanities and science are separated).

However, the more innovative science and technology, the more "imagination" is required in proportion. Scientists who discovered the fission reaction in the 1930s would never have wanted to make weapons of mass destruction. Yet this technology has led to a dire future.

-You need the ability to imagine what the future holds for the future of technology, right?

Tasaki:Okay. To put it a little more familiarly, it can be said that the fermentation of living things is a mechanism prepared for returning to the earth. However, in recent years, human beings have produced only chemical fibers and other materials that cannot return to the earth. I think we need imagination to use science and technology properly.

In the world of philosophy, I have spent a long time thinking about what humans should be. I think that what has been accumulated by such historical studies must be integrated with science and technology.

"Art" and "startup" have similar standing positions

―Mr. Tazaki has a long career as a designer. What do you think about art and society?

Tasaki: In the field of art, I think there is a spirit of becoming a "counter to existing common sense" in the flow leading to contemporary art. Held in 1874, when the first joint exhibition of writers, later called Impressionists, was held, it was a big bashing from the public.

Until then, art was realistic, and I have improved the technique of drawing as finely as photographs, using the world of the Bible and myths as the subject matter. Impressionist writers sought motifs in everyday landscapes, away from the Bible, and their work, which sought to capture the momentary impression of light, was a powerful counter to existing art. At the end of that trend, contemporary art was born that expresses criticism of society. Contemporary art, in which criticism is always visible and hidden, is not something like "fun" or "comfort", but the work of finding clues to problems and solutions lurking in the society and everyday life is very important. I am.

-Imagination gives rise to criticism, and it sounds a warning to society through the work.

Tasaki:is that so. I feel that this is close to the position of a startup. Euglena Co., Ltd., startups are counters to existing societies and businesses in the first place. It can overturn existing values at once.

This is a story I've heard, but French startup entrepreneurs sometimes learn art before starting a business. The reason for learning art is to cultivate the ability of "conceptualization of imagination and criticism" which is the premise of art.
Realtech startups and art may be able to overturn existing values and improve society if they work with "imagination" and "creativity". I would like to continue to pursue that possibility seriously.

* Honorific titles omitted in the text

Editing: Shinsuke Tada / Photo: Reiko Inada

Reference article:
https://gendai.ismedia.jp/articles/-/67794
https://wired.jp/2016/08/18/weather-of-the-future/?fbclid=IwAR20dPjpl_TNTIhbeFsMSV_HkTWl1zXsz04yQmR02SkZcIYhWI9Mh09aTUc#galleryimage_237094-1177_1
http://karapaia.com/archives/52224585.html
https://www.sankei.com/life/news/160305/lif1603050004-n1.html