ICC Tokyo

[Birgit Kellner]

This is not about film in particular, but media in general - 
I have two types of questions - or rather, sets of questions - about the
ICC, the "InterCommunication Center" in Tokyo, and hopefully, some of
the Tokyoites (present or past) on this list will be able to give some
answers:  

1) Are there any regular users of ICC's "electronic library" on this
list? If so, how would they characterize the video and data collections
of the library? Comprehensive or specialized? If the latter, on what?
Also, is the ICC, as a venue for concerts, screenings etc., overly
popular or not? (In other words: If one were to go there for a concert,
should the claustrophobic or the agoraphobic visitor be more worried in
advance?)

2) How would people describe the function and significance of the ICC as
a stage, or as a networking institution, for contemporary media art, or
as a source of information for the (academic or otherwise) study
thereof, both within Japan as such and in a more international context?

[For those who don't know the ICC, their homepage, with a brief
self-description etc., can be found at http://www.ntticc.or.jp. The ICC
publishes a magazine called "InterCommunication" - "A journal exploring
the frontiers of art and technology", and some of the articles are
available on-line, both in Japanese and in English translation.] 

Any replies will be, as always, greatly appreciated,  
-- 
birgit kellner
department for indian philosophy
hiroshima university