Tetsuji Seta was born in Nagoya, Japan, in 1960. He graduated from Tokyo National University of Arts and Music in 1986 and completed a master course in metal-casting there in 1988. The prize he won at the Contemporary Art Expo Tokyo ’87 was the first of many. Since 1988 he has had many solo shows in Japan and also in the USA. His outdoor sculpture and other public art have been seen at various venues in Japan and his work is represented in a number of public collections. Since 1996 he has been a lecturer in metal crafts at Nagoya University of Art. His medal They repeat one’s act forever was made in conjunction with the 2006 BAMS Student Medal Project and is now issued as one of the society’s medals. The artist writes: ‘Ants are a metaphor of repeatable acts. My works consist of three key factors. They are Object, Place, and Act. Ants symbolise man’s actions. So, I repeated my action many times for making the medals.’ The wax-modelling, casting, finishing and patinating processes were all done – one by one – by hand by the artist. Five bronze ants move in a circle, carrying on their backs a smooth bronze ring, much as foraging ants carry food back to their anthill, often managing burdens much larger than they are themselves. However, in this case the ring ensures that the activity of these ants will be repeated constantly and that they will never reach a destination.
They repeat one’s act forever
They repeat one’s act forever
By: Tetsuji Seta, 2006
Medium: cast bronze
Size: 90
Cast by: cast in Japan
Issue: The Medal, no. 50 (Spring 2007)
Edition: 20