It is a form of conceptual art that can be found anywhere scattered around the city without anyone ever noticing or paying attention to it. Examples can be stairs leading up to brick walls, doors that open to nowhere and fire escapes that stop midway.
The main point of the Hyperart Thomasson is the fact that it has no use of being there. Thomassons can be aesthetically pleasing to look at but they serve no practical purpose.
They can be part of the architectural landscape of our city and go unnoticed by the masses, or even make a few of us question their existence.
Artist Genpei Akasegawa, the founder of this concept, named it after Gary Thomasson, a professional baseball player who was formerly signed with the San Francisco Giants as well as Japanese side Yomiuri Giants later on in his career.
During Thomasson’s time with the Giants, he was mostly kept around for visual purposes due to his poor performance, which led to him being viewed as purposeless by many and ultimately being referred to as “useless, yet still maintained” by Akasegawa.
Akasegawa and his students settled on the name to convey the idea of maintaining something which essentially exists without having any clear purpose.
Hyperart Thomasson’s come in many different forms that makes each one unique in its own way. Some of the most notable Thomassons include:
The useless window (Muyo mado)
A window that has been sealed shut or blocked by a wall but is still beautiful and in good condition.
The useless bridge (Muyo bashi)
A bridge that doesn’t cross over a river and is not big enough for vehicles to drive on; therefore losing its purpose. This does not apply to all bridges, as some might appear to be useless but as long as they cover drains then they are essential and cannot be labelled as such.
The useless doorway (Muyo mon)
The term describes a useless doorway that stands in a place that is out of reach and unusual.
In some cases the door opens but is completely blocked up by bricks. In this case the door holds no purpose and is considered useless.
The useless staircase (Muyo kaidan)
Better known as a “pure staircase,” this type of Thomasson will usually have a door or a destination when going up or down, but that is not the case for all of them.
Some staircases are considered Thomassons as they are sometimes doomed from the start due to errors from construction or design changes making them completely unusable and useless.
This type of conceptual art challenges the idea of what art really is.
In many people’s eyes, art is based on creativity and talent, but if we consider Akasegawa’s hyperart we can open our eyes to new horizons of expression.
Through this perspective, art becomes a tool through which we can raise questions, contemplate new concepts and challenge our perceptions of the ordinary.
Essentially, it can be whatever we want it to be, which makes it a form of expression that doesn’t have to be stuck to a canvas and a paintbrush.
Hyperart Thomassan has gained a lot of popularity ever since the term was coined 43 years ago, and is now continuing to grow with the interest of the young audience that are still looking for useless relics to capture.
Have you ever noticed a Thomasson in your city?
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