Tacita Dean's 'Human Treasure' at Galerie Marian Goodman

Tacita Dean, winner of the 2006 Hugo Boss Prize, presents her film 'Human Treasure' at Galerie Marian Goodman in Paris from September 5 to October 13, 2007. The film captures the unlikely encounter between Dean and Sensaku Shigeyama, a Japanese Living National Treasure and master of kyogen comic theater. Shot in 16mm, the film observes Shigeyama's daily rituals—from public French-style breakfasts at the Takaragaike Prince hotel in Kyoto with his wife to solitary dinners in his glass house where he performs. Dean maintains a respectful distance, never intruding on the implicit deference due to such a distinguished cultural figure. The work is described as a collection of delicate moments, akin to a pressed herbarium, crystallizing the aura of Shigeyama's life. Alongside the film, Dean exhibits drawings on alabaster stone and carbon paper. The 'Presentation Windows' follow the stone's brown veins with fine incisions, while the 'Lightning Series' features wild root-like arborescences in chalk on carbon. 'Chalk Balls' presents a constellation of chalk balls randomly placed on an immaculate sheet of ebony on the floor.