<research> Japan (5)
Chisai researches contemporary art world. Is art local production and consumption?
In the previous article <research> Japan (4), I wrote that I was losing interest in Japanese art. However, sometimes foreigners who come to Japan tell me, "That's not the case”.
The Branch, Osaka
This is the “Branch”, a small house in Osaka, West Japan. US artist Patrick Lydon and his Korean wife lived there. One Japanese company supported their art activities, and they made it a studio based here.
I often went to hang out here and talked to them about various things. I knew that Japan today has very little support for art, but they said they like Japan, which has its own "pocket park" and has parks and mountains and seas right after walking.
I also like nature, and Japan is an island country, so it is surrounded by the sea and mountains. But after listening to their stories, I realized once again that there were artists who wanted that kind of environment, and that they were going to create works.
I also remembered a presentation in Taiwan of Taiwanese artists who had stayed at some artist in residence in Japan.
Taipei Treasure Hill Artist Village, 2017 February
The artists kept saying, "Japan is rich in nature and the food is delicious." Because they don't say artworks and exhibitions, I raised my hand and asked. "Would you like to go back to Japan and do exhibitions or make works with Japanese art people?" They suddenly changed their facial expressions, and the people at the venue started to speak ill of Japan while looking at me face-to-face.
I understood good and bad things in Japan for foreign artists. Back to the story, in 2022, the company that supported turned Patrick and his wife's artwork "Pocket Park" into a parking lot. My job is writing articles about contemporary art, but I am saddened by the fact that there are many Japanese who are ignorant of foreign artists and art.