Wednesday, September 23, 2020

Masato Nakamura, QSC+mV, Imschoot, Ghent, Belgium, 2001, ed. 1000


This is the first accordion that i've come across that has been printed on clear plastic! This book accompanied Nakamura's installation in the Japanese Pavilion at the 49th Venice Bienniale (2001) in which he constructed large McDonald's golden arches that filled the exhibition space (see below). The title of the book "QSC+mV" is a play on McDonald's original corporate philosophy of 'Quality, Service and Cleanness make Value,' which Nakamura has changed to 'Quality, Sincerity and Communications and the coefficient m is multiplied by Value to mean art'.

The project came to him after a world trip in 1996, stating:

"After developing the pictures I took, I noticed yellow Ms in many of the shots. It didn't matter what country I was in-there they were....Golden arches are a symbol of heaven and passing under an arch signifies rebirth. Arches symbolize victory, and mark the entryway to sacred spaces. But as everyone knows, arches which look like this signify only one thing: a dependable burger. The wonder of the Big Mac is that it tastes the same wherever you are....I had the feeling that this living creature (earth) was transforming, with Ms appearing all over its surface, almost like blemishes."

A unique publication, and part of a larger project that I'm assuming is not only an exploration of this worldwide symbol, but an attempt to deconstruct its larger symbolic, economic and gastronomic meanings.

4 accordions, i) 2 pages, ii) 3 pages, iv) 4 pages, v) 6 pages, individual pages 8.25" (h) x 5.75" (w), total lengths variable.



Nakamura's installation in the Japanese Pavilion, 
49th Venice Bienniale, 2001, Venice, Italy.

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