<research> Japan (6)
Chisai researches contemporary art world. Is art local production and consumption?
Last year, in 2022, I went to Echigo Tsumari Triennale with one New York artist together. There are always people who will cooperate with me.
Kiyotsu-kyo (Kiyotsu Tunnel Museum), 2022, Mirai’s Mom and NY artist
I wrote <introduction> (4), I had been a lecturer at a university in Kyoto for a year since April 2012. According to my Facebook, I did this 11 years ago today.
Chisai’s Faceook, April 17, 2012
My class is freshman in sculpture, I was in charge of a class called "What is Contemporary Art?". Half of the class was about Echigo Tsumari Triennale, we went there and talk about it. There were many other faculties and departments at the university. I made and put 100 posters around the school to see to many people interested in contemporary art and the Echigo Tsumari Triennale.
Then, from a completely different department, a student named “Mirai” saw poster and began to take class. She was actually from area of Echigo Tsumari Triennale!
My connection with her continues to this day. Last year, too! New York artists and I went to Echigo Tsumari together. Mirai's mother drove a car and we were looking around at the works. As I wrote <research> (5), there are many foreigners who are interested in nature in Japan. Especially the Echigo Tsumari Triennale, foreign art people know it well, so I took them there and ate dinner with her family at Mirai's house.
Of course, there are many museums and art fairs in Japan. However, for "art people" foreigners, there is NO state-of-the-art art = "contemporary art". They think that past works are seen in books, and native Japanese artists imitate them. They often say, "I came to Japan and went to museums, I wanted to think about Fukushima, but there was no such work anywhere" or “Japanese galleries still sell works like Yoshitomo Nara! I would buy real Yoshitomo Nara's work!”
Rather than looking at such artworks, the beautiful nature of Japan seems to be more attractive. And while seeing artworks with the mountains, sea and rice fields, foreigners want to chat with the local people. I will go to Echigo with foreigners together in order to carry that out. Of course, almost all of artworks in the Echigo Tsumari Triennale are "past artworks" from 20 years ago. So, this year, next year, or 10 years later, will foreigners come there? What will become of contemporary art in Japan?