ART-TRIBUTE: Japanorama-New vision on art since 1970, Part II

Rinko Kawauchi, Untitled from the series of Illuminance, 2007, © Rinko KawauchiIn many ways, Japan is a highly unusual country, in which tradition and cutting-edge technology coexist, in which the relationship between man and nature is considered paramount, Japan has been able to balance individual and collective demands. Japan was among the first countries in Asia to modernise at the end of the nineteenth century, writing its own history by escaping the cultural colonisation of the West, even retaining its language (Part I)

By Dimitris Lempesis
Photo: Centre Pompidou-Metz Archive

The exhibition “Japanorama – New vision on art since 1970” brings together visual arts, architecture, design, fashion and a flood of subcultures including illustration, manga and animation. Rather than organizing the exhibition chronologically, it has been organised into different thematic sections, modelled on an archipelago. Each of the “islands” making  up this archipelago represents a key word in the exhibition: “Strange object / post-human body”, “Pop”, “Collaboration / Participation / Sharing”, “Politics and poetics of resistance”, “Subjectivity”, “Materiality and Minimalism”, six themes to characterize contemporary Japanese visual culture. These key concepts stem from the most iconic creations in Japanese art from the 1970s to the present day, and are to be understood in the relationship between aesthetic sensibility and materiality, politics, economics, societal facts or even information. Section A- Strange Object – Post-human Body: The main island serves as an introduction and is focused on the body: the question of sensibility and the relationship between the body and the external world. How is the body perceived in Japan? Posthuman artworks, in connection with technology, also appear in this section which opens the exhibition and brings together some of the most spectacular and unusual art forms. Section B-Pop: The notion of pop art and pop culture in Japan highlights the relationship between art, consumption and subcultures This large section shows thediversity and complexity, beyond appearances, of Japanese pop art, engendered by a very rich pop culture, going from commercial advertising in the 1980s to underground culture, to the “neopop” 1990s that made clever use of the language of manga, animation and other elements of Japanese subcultures. Section C-Collaboration / Participation / Sharing:  This section focuses on relationships within society. It focuses on projects that explore relationships with others through participatory and collaborative approaches, characterized by maintaining the individualised self, but one whose contours must be flexible in order to emphasize harmony and interpersonal relations. Particular attention is paid to the unusual renewal of solidarity following the disaster of the Tohoku earthquake on 11/3/2011. Section D-Policies and Poetics of Resistance: This island looks at the idiosyncratic part that ideas of resistance and criticism play in art in Japan. One example of these policies of resistance can be found in the poetic form of expression “kawaii”, which may seem innocent and naïve, but which has an underlying message of resistance. Rather than producing direct references to political or social problems, “kawaii” art creates allegory through the imagination and fantasy. Section E-Subjectivity: This island deals with subjectivity, from a personal point of view using a documentary approach. Observing and judging the world from a personal point of view is a practice widely used by artists, producing highly expressive art. This section focuses on an approach often documentary in nature, in which the narrative occupies a special place. Photographs, films and videos, in particular, are presented. Section F-Materiality and Minimalism: The relationship to matter and minimalism are deeply linked to the idea of space developed in Japan, especially in architecture, in line with ways of thinking such as Zen. This section attempts to show the direct relationship that some Japanese artists have in their perception of things; it brings together non-anthropocentric approaches, which eliminate the emotional contact of the artist so as to leave the object or the matter responsible for the narrative, a reductionism expressed by the concept of “less is more”, nothingness filled with meaning.

Info: Curator: Yuko Hasegawa, Centre Pompidou-Metz, 1 parvis des Droits-de-l’Homme, Metz, Duration: 20/10/17-5/3/18, Days & Hours: Mon & Wed-Sun 10:00-18:00, www.centrepompidou-metz.fr

Installation view: Koji Enokura, Untitled, 1980, Oil on cotton canvas, 220x4400x80 cm, Private collection. Koji Enokura, A Stain No. 1, 1975, Silkscreen (used oil), 75.5 x 106.8 cm, Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, © The Estate of Koji Enokura. Tatsuo MIYAJIMA, Moon in the Ground No. 2, 2015, Stainless Steel, Light Emitting Diode, Integrated Circuit, Power Wire, 17 x D. 150 cm, Courtesy SCAI THE BATHHOUSE-Tokyo, © Tatsuo Miyajima,  © Center Pompidou-Metz, Photo Jacqueline Trichard / 2017 / Japanorama exhibition
Installation view: Koji Enokura, Untitled, 1980, Oil on cotton canvas, 220x4400x80 cm, Private collection. Koji Enokura, A Stain No. 1, 1975, Silkscreen (used oil), 75.5 x 106.8 cm, Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, © The Estate of Koji Enokura. Tatsuo MIYAJIMA, Moon in the Ground No. 2, 2015, Stainless Steel, Light Emitting Diode, Integrated Circuit, Power Wire, 17 x D. 150 cm, Courtesy SCAI THE BATHHOUSE-Tokyo, © Tatsuo Miyajima, © Center Pompidou-Metz, Photo Jacqueline Trichard / 2017 / Japanorama exhibition

 

 

Mariko Mori, Link of the Moon (Miko No Inori), 1996, Video installation, 5 min, The Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo © Mariko MORI
Mariko Mori, Link of the Moon (Miko No Inori), 1996, Video installation, 5 min, The Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo © Mariko MORI

 

 

Dumb Type, Playback-Archive, s. d., Installation vidéo: Glass table and screens, 71,5 x 213,5 x 74,2 cm, © Dumb Type, © Centre Pompidou-Metz / Photo Jacqueline Trichard / 2017 / ExhibitionJapanorama
Dumb Type, Playback-Archive, s. d., Installation vidéo: Glass table and screens, 71,5 x 213,5 x 74,2 cm, © Dumb Type, © Centre Pompidou-Metz / Photo Jacqueline Trichard / 2017 / Exhibition Japanorama

 

 

Haruka KOJIN, Reflectwo, 2006/2017, Installation (artificial flowers, wire), variable dimensions, Courtesy the artist, © Haruka Kojin, © Center Pompidou-Metz / Photo: Jacqueline Trichard / 2017 / Japanorama exhibition
Haruka KOJIN, Reflectwo, 2006/2017, Installation (artificial flowers, wire), variable dimensions, Courtesy the artist, © Haruka Kojin, © Center Pompidou-Metz / Photo: Jacqueline Trichard / 2017 / Japanorama exhibition

 

 

Takashi MURAKAMI, Cosmos, 1998, Acrylic on canvas mounted on board, 3000 x 4500 mm, 3 panels, Courtesy Tomio Koyama Gallery, © 1998 Kaki Takashi Murakami / Kaikai Kiki Co. Ltd, All Rights Reserved, Courtesy image: 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa
Takashi MURAKAMI, Cosmos, 1998, Acrylic on canvas mounted on board, 3000 x 4500 mm, 3 panels, Courtesy Tomio Koyama Gallery, © 1998 Kaki Takashi Murakami / Kaikai Kiki Co. Ltd, All Rights Reserved, Courtesy image: 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa

 

 

Exhibition view: Kodai NAKAHARA, Viridian Adapter + Kodai's Morpho II, 1989, Wool and plywood, variable dimensions, Toyota Municipal Museum of Art, © Kodai Nakahara, © Center Pompidou-Metz / Photo: Jacqueline Trichard / 2017 / Japanorama exhibition
Exhibition view: Kodai NAKAHARA, Viridian Adapter + Kodai’s Morpho II, 1989, Wool and plywood, variable dimensions, Toyota Municipal Museum of Art, © Kodai Nakahara, © Center Pompidou-Metz / Photo: Jacqueline Trichard / 2017 / Japanorama exhibition

 

 

Left: Natsuyuki Nakanishi, Cloths Pegs Assert Churning Action, 1963, Ropes, clothes pins on canvas, 116.5 x 91 cm, The Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, © Nobuko Nakanishi. Right: Junya Ishigami et associés, Balloon, 2007, Aluminum structure, 73 x 12,8 x 14 cm, © Junya Ishigami et associés, Photo © Yasushi Ichikawa, Courtesy of Gallery Koyanagi
Left: Natsuyuki Nakanishi, Cloths Pegs Assert Churning Action, 1963, Ropes, clothes pins on canvas, 116.5 x 91 cm, The Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo, © Nobuko Nakanishi. Right: Junya Ishigami et associés, Balloon, 2007, Aluminum structure, 73 x 12,8 x 14 cm, © Junya Ishigami et associés, Photo © Yasushi Ichikawa, Courtesy of Gallery Koyanagi

 

 

Exhibition view: Kohei Nawa, Force, 2016, Various materials, variable dimensions, Courtesy the artist, © Kohei Nawa, © Center Pompidou-Metz / Photo: Jacqueline Trichard / 2017 / Japanorama exhibition
Exhibition view: Kohei Nawa, Force, 2016, Various materials, variable dimensions, Courtesy the artist, © Kohei Nawa, © Center Pompidou-Metz / Photo: Jacqueline Trichard / 2017 / Japanorama exhibition

 

 

Nobuyoshi ARAKI, Winter Journey, 1990/2005, Gelatin-silver print, 27 x 40.6 cm, © Nobuyoshi Araki, Courtesy of Taka Ishii Gallery-Tokyo
Nobuyoshi ARAKI, Winter Journey, 1990/2005, Gelatin-silver print, 27 x 40.6 cm, © Nobuyoshi Araki, Courtesy of Taka Ishii Gallery-Tokyo

 

 

Takashi HOMMA, TOKYO SUBURBIA, Urayasu Marina East 21, Chiba, 1995, © Takashi Homma
Takashi HOMMA, TOKYO SUBURBIA, Urayasu Marina East 21, Chiba, 1995, © Takashi Homma

 

 

Lieko Shiga, Rasen Kaigan 31, 2010, C-print, 120 x 180 cm, © Lieko Shiga
Lieko Shiga, Rasen Kaigan 31, 2010, C-print, 120 x 180 cm, © Lieko Shiga

 

 

Naoya HATAKEYAMA, Rikuzentakata / 2011.5.1 Yonesaki-cho, 2011/2015, C-print, 38 x 47 cm, © Naoya Hayakeyama / Courtesy of Taka Ishii Gallery-Tokyo
Naoya HATAKEYAMA, Rikuzentakata / 2011.5.1 Yonesaki-cho, 2011/2015, C-print, 38 x 47 cm, © Naoya Hayakeyama / Courtesy of Taka Ishii Gallery-Tokyo

 

 

Zon ITO, Traveling in The Shallows, 2000, Embroidery on fabric, wooden panel, Private Collection, © Zon Ito, Courtesy of Taka Ishii Gallery-Tokyo
Zon ITO, Traveling in The Shallows, 2000, Embroidery on fabric, wooden panel, Private Collection, © Zon Ito, Courtesy of Taka Ishii Gallery-Tokyo

 

 

Takashi HOMMA, TOKYO SUBURBIA, Boy-1,Keio Tama center,Tokyo, 1998, © Takashi Homma
Takashi HOMMA, TOKYO SUBURBIA, Boy-1,Keio Tama center,Tokyo, 1998, © Takashi Homma

 

 

Daido MORIYAMA, Shinjuku, 2002 / 2008, Gelatin-silver print, 55,5 x 83.8 cm, © Daido Moriyama, Courtesy of Taka Ishii Gallery-Tokyo
Daido MORIYAMA, Shinjuku, 2002 / 2008, Gelatin-silver print, 55,5 x 83.8 cm, © Daido Moriyama, Courtesy of Taka Ishii Gallery-Tokyo

 

 

SHIMABUKU, Then, I decided to give a tour of Tokyo to the octopus from Akashi, 2000, Performance, Video Installation: mini DV transferred to Digital Data (6 min. 50 sec. / color / sound / 4:3), Courtesy the Artist and Air de Paris-Paris
SHIMABUKU, Then, I decided to give a tour of Tokyo to the octopus from Akashi, 2000, Performance, Video Installation: mini DV transferred to Digital Data (6 min. 50 sec. / color / sound / 4:3), Courtesy the Artist and Air de Paris-Paris