Ogata's work is characterized by great poetic eloquence. His images attempt to stimulate the senses and to evoke an aesthetic, universal experience whereby specificity transcends generality. In the non-verbal video The Big Heart, media artist Ogata uses his father's heart disease as a subject for contemplation. The title indicates the dilated condition of the heart. Using retarded camera approach, Ogata leads the viewer into the immediate surroundings of the cardiac patient. As in many of his works, the video artist takes extreme close-ups. This creates a shadow play of visual impressions. Close-ups of medical books with titles like Patient Care and Cardiac Surgical Patients lead to a deserted study with an empty desk chair. We do not come across the man here. He is in bed. The monitor shows data of an ultrasound cardiac investigation that is being carried out and we hear the reverberation of the pulse. A number of slow-motion shots about the illness follow; first the fear and then the joy of recovery. The Big Heart can be read in an impressionistic language, a language which presents itself principally as atmosphere and which should be interpreted as such by our senses. With The Big Heart, Ogata (once again) shows his understanding of Ars Poetica.
– Marieke van Hal
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Music Japanese festival music, Dedicated to Shijuro Ogata
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1 9 9 7 
