“Shinichi Koga’s Love Is Shock was, as befits a final piece, the strongest of the afternoon. It involved all the elements of the other two pieces: use of the imagination, forcing the audience members to question what they think are their perceptions, movements that seemed mundane but that involved great body control, and unexpected costume elements. However, in this case, those elements came together. Mr. Koga’s body, in its loose robes, continually changed size and shape. If what he was after was not exactly clear, his piece had an irrefutable internal logic, even as it left us questioning. Surely this is the essential task of any artist: to raise the consciousness of the audience. And the hard work of the artist, done in the studio, is to figure out how to accomplish this task before coming to the stage.”
– R.Pikser, ‘First New York Butoh Festival’, The Arts Cure, 2003
