This is a close up shot of a work created by Naoko Sekine. Dots are twinkling like stars. She created this surface with pencil and stylus.
Here is her interview at the exhibition
http://www.azito-art.com/topics/interview/interview-with-naoko-sekine-go-for-a-walk-at-twilight-at-ma2-gallery-1.html
These photographs are licensed under “Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-NoDerivative Works 2.1 Japan.”
Visited Mori Museum for the last day of “Arab Express - The latest Art from the Arab World”.
In Japan, what we hear about Arabian countries is how many people died in a suicide attack and hard to know what their everyday life is like.
Out of 34 artists who participated this exhibition, 12 currently live outside Arabian countries (source: artist list here) although I expected more since there must be a strong censorship to express within their countries. Arab Spring may have changed the situation but still religion must be strict.
Through their works, they seem to know how they are broadcast-ed world wide and some were making fun of it. And I took that as an Arabian people’s will to change our perception and think without any bias.
Listed some interesting works…
Sadik Kawaish Alfraji “The house that my father Built”:
This is a work about the artist recalling his memory of his life in Iraq. People passed away but still the history is continuing.
Maha Mustafa “Black Fountain”:
Black water remind us of oil, resource of money. Dark but beautiful work.
Meera Huraiz “Gladiator” (left) “Madonna” (right):
These were funny. Arabian women cover their faces and she cover the face like “Gradiator” and “Madonna”.
Hrair Sarkissian “execution squares”:
These are shocking. Although it looks like a sighting photos, these places are where public executions were carried in Syria. Syria is still now fighting for democracy.
Tokyo Photo 2012 started!
If you happen to be around Tokyo, stop by Tokyo Photo held at Roppongi mid town this weekend. Almost 1000 photographs are exhibited coming from all over the world including New York, Paris, Berlin, Beijing and more.
I especially enjoyed the super large size photos, maybe it is because I can see in details and feel like surrounded by its own atmosphere.
The fair organizes many talk events by Chinese artist, NY collector and curators and those are worth to hear too.
Tokyo Photo 2012
Date: Sept 28 - Oct 1, 2012
Place: Tokyo Midtown Hall, Roppongi.
Web: http://www.tokyophoto.org/
I like talking with gallerists to know about art works or the artist’s background. It shows a different part of the work and makes it more enjoyable. Gallerists are the biggest fan of the artists and their words are strong and persuasive.
On the other hand, when you are not familiar with the gallerist, sometimes it is intimidating to talk with them because of the sophisticated atmosphere or your knowledge with art is near to none (so did I), or they may be busy to have a time to talk with you.
As I thought everyone should have a chance to hear “gallerist’s words” more easily even if you know nothing about art history, decided to put them directly on Azito’s website. I am sure you will enjoy it and feel art deeply connected with you more than ever.
For our first step, we did gallerist interviews to show what kind of people they are. How they got interested in art and why they started a gallery, etc…
Here is the first interview with Yuko Yamamoto from Yamamoto Gendai.
http://www.azito-art.com/topics/interview/interview-with-the-yuko-yamamoto-from-yamamoto-gendai.html
From my point of view, she shows works which look a little scary at a first glance but contains a little funny aspect as you see longer. Exhibition images she showed at the gallery are included in the interview so please check:)
Nara’s new exhibition at Yokohama museum is attracting more than 10,000 people just in one week after its opening. I visited this exhibition on the day of its press conference and would like to share some impressive stories that I heard there.
-Exhibition is traveling not only inside of Japan (Aomori, Kumamoto) but around Asia (Taipei, Bangkok, Singapore, Brisbane). Not interested in showing in the Western countries this time since he had done a lot before, moreover, he was happy to know that there were many young Asian artists following him and he wanted to show his work for them.
-The 311 earthquake shocked him as he could not draw a painting for a while. Art looked powerless in front of the disaster but at the same time, he believed as the situation gets better, art must be needed for the people.
-While he could not draw a painting he felt a sense of discomfort of holding a brush. He felt a distance between the canvas. So he started to created a bronze statue for the first time in his life. In the process, he used his own hand molding clay and it made him feel more directly communicating with the work.
-For the title of the exhibition, the subject of the sentence is “artwork” (“Artwork is a bit like you and me.”). As he is alive now, he can get the reaction toward his work. Although, it won’t be possible after he is dead. Art is going to exist by itself and he is not there any more. This thought is included in the title.
Overall the conference, Nara was answering to every question politely and gently. The atmosphere was warm and quite similar to the one I feel when I am in front of his painting. I could feel how seriously and sincerely he was working for this exhibition and there is an invisible conflict inside of this internationally successful artist.
As the exhibition title says, his painting reminds me of my two daughters especially the little one who is around 1 year old. Soft coloration, strong eyes, multiply-colored skin tone, its atmosphere is just the same. As I walk through the exhibition, I was wondering the reason. Why is that so similar? It may be because not only the surface of a child but the power of a child, the primitive power of a human being might be condensed in his work.
Official website : Yoshitomo Nara “a bit like you and me” at Yokohama Museum
http://www.nara2012-13.org/english/
To know more about how Nara has recovered and started to work again, check this interview with Nara done by Edan, Japan Times.
Yoshitomo Nara puts the heart back in art
http://www.japantimes.co.jp/text/fa20120720r1.html
For the one who may not be able to visit this exhibition, check the blog post by FUKUHEN below. Although it is only in Japanese, you can enjoy the photos of the exhibition.
奈良美智: 君や僕にちょっと似ている
http://fukuhen.lammfromm.jp/?p=16733
Sun Child is now in Israel.
kyap:
2012.07.20 Kenji Yanobe, Sun Child No.2 @ Haifa Museum of Art
Exhibition:
“Double Vision: Contemporary Art from Japan”
JULY 22 - December 16, 2012
@ Haifa Museum of Art / Tikotin Museum of Japanese Art
“There is no art market in Japan.” This is continuously said since I came into the art industry in 2005, or it might have been said since the bubble burst in 1990.
However, it does not mean that the art market players have done nothing to lift up the art industry. There are many art lovers in Japan in fact and artists, gallerists, curators have been working hard to change this situation. Art fairs which is a place to sell/buy art works mainly, have the important role too.
So I decided to go out and ask the art fair organizers about how they are trying to boost this situation and whether there are any good news to hear.
Art Fair Tokyo, Takahiro Kaneshima
Through having an interview with them, it was interesting to find out that three of them said similar things in common.
1. Japanese contemporary should be supported (bought) by Japanese collectors more than ever.
Not just only seeking for the mega western collectors/organizations to purchase, we should reach the middle class Japanese people to show how we value our own culture by ourselves.
2. Art industry people should collaborate with other industries, and not being closed.
Still, it is too closed. Few people out of the art industry know about art. It is simply because we (art industry people) have not communicated with others intentionally from us.
From my point of view, this is not the problem happening only in Japan but many of other countries are facing the same. You can see what I mean by interpreting the sentence as below.
1. Create the vast numbers of middle class collectors.
2. Open the art industry.
In fact, there are many art business (20x200, artspace, (s)edition) which has started recently to change this situation in the US where the biggest art market exists already. They think the US art market hasn’t reached the middle class yet.
Open the art to middle class collectors will change the art world dynamically. It will create a “democratic art world”, I believe. Easy to say but tough to be done. This is the most difficult part to be solved.
Anyway, hope you will enjoy the interviews;)
Here is the new post on Azito of the exhibition “Turning around” which was held in Tokyo. Artworks dealing with political issues were getting together. These directly political art is rarely seen in Japan.
Among the all, actually I was really moved by the artist, JR from France. I knew his name and he is one of the street artists but did not know that he actually did these great projects. Seeing the whole presentation he did at TED (winning the prize of 2011!) three times, I especially love the two episodes below,
—In Israel, he put the pictures of the faces of the Israel people and the palestian people next together in a large print. He asked the local people whether they can find who is from Israel and who is from Palestine, but nobody could answer…
Very simply but very strongly showing people are not different as we think… Through his photos, I also felt his deep love toward the human being. Every face is shining and showing their pride to be what they are.
—In India, it is prohibited to post people’s face on a wall, so JR put white papers which are actually painted with glue, but look like just simple white papers in the beginning. The streets in India are dusty and after a while later, faces appeared on the white papers.
How smart he is! This cannot be done without a large enthusiasm toward art and the will to realize the project. I respect him since he holds the respectful thoughts toward people and is actively moving around the world with his foot.
He is a man with a big heart…
Here is the whole video…
I saw the dvd of “Herb and Dorothy” which I bought at the Art Fair Tokyo. It was originally a film released 3 years ago and attracted many people even in Japan where it is said that the movie of contemporary art is difficult to get popularity.
Herb and Dorothy are enthusiastic couple who collected emerging American art over 30 years. The collection, at this moment, became historically important for the art history and they decided to donate their collection to the National Gallery (museum in Washington). They are not super rich collectors as we usually imagine (Herb was a post officer and Drothy was a librarian), but their steady activity of collecting art definitely created a legend.
Here are some of the words left in my mind…
“Every work is in our mind, same as your favorite books or records…”
More than 2000 works were packed in their apartment in New York before they were donated to the museum. So it is physically impossible to see all of the works. But it is not a problem for them, since all of the works are in their mind. Dorothy explained that it is the same as we have many books which we might not read but set in the shelf. Making a decision must be the most important part of their collection. They only buy works they “like”.
“collection is more worth than money”
They have never sold their works which is worth millions of dollars in today’s value. Herb said that he understands that people need to sell works in the secondary market and market is important for the artists to live, although, the collection is more worth than exchanging it to money for them. They can keep them in “one place” by purchasing it and the collection is like their child, literally. I learned how deeply they are attached to each artwork.
Megumi Sasaki was touched by this “legend” and decided to create this film. In this DVD, she said that this film is not only about a documentary of a collector but their life is also asking us about how we can live a worth life beside the numbers of money. Find something you can deeply dedicate into by believing in your own perception and live your life enthusiastically. That is what I learned from them.
Their collection had doubled to 4000(!) and the National Gallery cannot manage them anymore. So they decided to donate 50 works to each 50 states. This process was also filmed and I am looking forward to seeing their next story titled “50x50” which will be released later of 2012.
Herb & Dorothy [DVD] on amazon in US.
Herb & Dorothy [DVD] [Import] on amazon in Japan.
I found a interview of Ryutaro Takahashi one of the most powerful collector in Japan. He has started to build up his collection since 1997 and now it counts more than 2000 works including many important works to catch the movement in Japan.
Picked up some of his words from the video.
What does collecting art means for him;
…whereas buying the newest work of art at the newest place involves some kind of major engagement, or better perhaps, it feels like buy the whole movement of a new artist present a new work. Just looking at it isn’t satisfying anymore as buying means getting involved in that movement. That is my way of contributing to art.
“Buying means getting involve in that movement.” How powerful that this statement is… It touched my heart to remind what is important for connecting collectors and artworks. Buying art may start as decorating a room but what ultimately it goes is participating in the movement and enhancing it.
How he sees the Japanese contemporary art;
I haven’t seen demonstrating students here in Japan in more than twenty years. I don’t believe that they are all perfectly happy, but at least they seem to be relaxed and without any sense of crisis that would make them worry about their lives and their future. Plus, if they want, they can spend all day devoted to the “system of desire” as I would call it, defined by the so-called subculture of manga, animation and all kinds of games. They do look a bit tensed up these days, but only five or ten years everyone could find employment and young people’s futures were secure. One can perhaps sum it up as “kiddy culture”, but surely it had never previously happened in the world that a generation grew up indulging in subculture while having lots of money to spend. In this sense, I ‘m seeing the Japanese youth as something like the world’s biggest experimentation field, on which eventually emerged the so-called contemporary art with the likes of Takashi Murakami and Yoshitomo Nara.
Young Japanese people had plenty of time to spend in subculture and that is the base of where Japanese contemporary art is born and it never happened anywhere else. This is an interesting insight.
What he cares for collecting art;
I constantly try to focus my attention on the pointy kind of energy that leaves newly born minorities with no choice but to excite people in various ways.
The new will be born from minority and he is trying to sense it from each work. Art always stands with the new energy in the history. I respect him that he could sense it from 15 years ago.
The video above is part2 and the later of his words written above are from part 3. See part 1 to 3 on this page. If you want to see Takahashi collection, check this website, here. Half but over 1000 works are uploaded.
He is a psychiatrist and not like an extremely rich successful asset holder. But his enthusiasm toward art is more like an artist. I went to hear a talk show by him and one gallerist and will be post about it later.
Rethinking about what is needed in today’s art world and what Azito should do, I revised the “About Us” page on our website.
Thanks to internet, artworks got many chances to get much more exposure. But I feel something is missing… People are not connected with the deeper part of the artwork and there are few chances to do so. I want to change this situation to make art’s existence better in our society. These are the 3 points we want to provide.
1. You can know the work’s background deeply.
Knowing the work visually is the first step. We want you to feel much more connected with the artwork and the artists behind them through our website. Since we have a strong partnership with the galleries who manage and know the artists in person, we can provide rich information about the artists, not only about their biography but also their personality, thoughts and the background of their artwork. This is essential to enjoy art.
2. You can support artists’ ideas by purchasing the work.
When you purchase an artwork through Azito, it means that you are supporting the artist since your money will also go to the artist through our partner galleries. Our transactions are different from purchases in the secondary market, where deals occur only between the buyer and seller. If you purchase an artist’s artwork, it means that you like their work, but you are also praising and endorsing their ideas and philosophy. And showing your appreciation through owning an artist’s work is a commendable way to support the artist.
3. You can become a leading collector in your neighbor.
Viewing an artwork physically is the best experience. There is no doubt about it. But in fact, not everyone has the chance to view Japanese contemporary artwork in their nearest museum. When you become a collector of a specific artist, please show his/her artwork to your friends and families and increase interest in your area. It might help the artist hold an exhibition in your city in the future. As art knows no boundaries, we ship all over the world with a simple click. In fact, our audience is 30% from Europe, 25% from the US, 25% from Asia, 15% from Japan, 5% from Australia. Our customers range from collectors in Dresden to Alaska.
About Us: http://www.azito-art.com/about/
From the 21-st century, not the mega rich collectors or museums will be the only influential players in the art world but the numbers of middle class collectors who decide what to buy by themselves with their own sense will move more fluidly and change the art world, I believe. And I want to help those people to meet inspiring artworks.
Very nice video:) Kusama is talking with her word about what she thought in her early days…
I liked how Frances Morris, the curator of Kusama’s exhibition at Tate, praised about her talent. She said…
“…I think that is sort about managing madness of Kusama, which in so outlying insane, which is really interesting, she’s used her trauma, she’s used her experience in her past, she’s been able to harness experiences that might drive other people insane to enormously productive events…. she is extordernary person in that way.”
Managing one’s madness and changing it to creativity… Easy to say, but it must be tough. I respect her as a person who faced her fate and showed her own energy on the right track.
![[Special Present!]
Azito is giving away Matsui Fuyuko’s exhibition catalogue.
If you are in Tokyo area until March 18, 2012, grab the chance to get a pair ticket given to 5 chosen ones.
Just apply from the form in the end of this Fuyuko Matsui’s exhibition report.
http://www.azito-art.com/topics/exhibition/fuyuko-matsui-becoming-friends-with-all-the-children-in-the-world-at-yokohama-museum-of-art.html](http://24.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_lzgq6q8usE1r4bcmwo1_r1_500.jpg)
[Special Present!]
Azito is giving away Matsui Fuyuko’s exhibition catalogue.
If you are in Tokyo area until March 18, 2012, grab the chance to get a pair ticket given to 5 chosen ones.
Just apply from the form in the end of this Fuyuko Matsui’s exhibition report.
http://www.azito-art.com/topics/exhibition/fuyuko-matsui-becoming-friends-with-all-the-children-in-the-world-at-yokohama-museum-of-art.html
Wow! It must be fun creating this:)
Katharina Grosse, Infinite Logic Conference, 2003
(Source: likeafieldmouse)
Hello, this is Rasa. I will post what I saw, found and thought mainly related to art or IT on this tumblr.
I run an online gallery specializing in Japanese contemporary art, named Azito, If you need help to find an artwork by Japanese artist email at
contact [at] azito-art.com
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