Mori Art Museum presents "Arab Express: The Latest Art from the Arab World" (16 June - 28 October, 2012).
We spoke to Mori Art Museum director Nanjo Fumio, who in curating this exhibition drew on his experience travelling to the region for research over the past 30 years.
- You first travelled to the Middle East in the 1970s. What was it like then?
Nanjo: In the 1970s I went on two large-scale research trips to the Middle East. I went to about seven countries in total and spent over a month there.
At the time I felt like the Middle East was a "different world," but I didn't think of it as "dangerous." Rather, it felt almost like an idyll. On my days off I went and saw many ruins, and back then they weren't enclosed at all - there was very little security. It was really all just out in the open. I remember the ruins of Petra, Palmyra and Ephesus particularly well. Each was powerful enough to deeply influence your whole outlook on the passage of time, your world view.
The ruins of Petra
The ruins of Palmyra
The look of Amman town
Generally speaking, the influence of Europe was strong, but there were some places where you really felt like you had stumbled into some ancient city. The Souk (traditional market in the Arab world) in Damascus, Syria, was one of them. It was a labyrinth of small stalls and in the middle there is a mosque. And, back then, Bagdad was a big city. The influence of Islam was not particularly visible. You'd see young Russian girls doing belly-dance in the nightclubs. There were a lot of foreign visitors.
The Souk (traditional market in the Arab world) in Damascus
A Nightclub Scene in Baghdad
And those were the countries where I would do my research, wondering all along how we could introduce Japanese culture. Eventually we decided to combine several traditional performing arts, such as the Ise Daikagura, into a one and a half hour show that we toured to five Middle Eastern countries over the course of a month and a half.
So, I still have very strong memories of the Middle East now.
- Looking at the news these days it is hard to escape the conclusion that the Middle East is a dangerous place. What is it really like?
Nanjo: If you're just sightseeing you don't sense any sort of danger at all. In terms of the media, the situation is comparable to what happened in Japan last year. The earthquake, tsunami and nuclear power plant accident were reported overseas in a way that made them seem much more dangerous than they appeared to us here in Japan. The media can sometimes go to extremes. But if you actually go there, the majority of people are going to their jobs, eating meals with their families, meeting with friends. That's why with this exhibition I've wanted to convey to the viewers the reality of how people in the Middle East are going about their lives normally.
The Souk (traditional market in the Arab world) in Damascus
- How was the art of the 1970s different to the art of today?
Nanjo: There wasn't really any contemporary art in the Middle East in the 1970s. Of course, there was traditional craft, but most of that was being made for the tourist market. And in terms of modern painting, the majority of artists were working in the vein of modern European and American abstract painting, so I hardly visited any artists' studios then.
Nowadays, you can see that the number of artists is growing rapidly. This is a really interesting phenomenon. In other words, back then the influence of the West was predominant but there weren't many people trying to be at the real vanguard of culture. But for the artists these days it is very easy to go and study in the West, get a handle on the situation in art in the world and then come back to their own country and say, "We're going to create our own 'contemporary art'." I think there are more and more people doing that.
Maquette of Guggenheim Abu Dhabi (in construction)
Sharjah Biennial
In terms of culture, the countries of the Gulf, which to date had not been given much attention, are starting to really build up their infrastructure. Dubai, which is one of the United Arab Emirates, has its own art fair, and in Sharjah there is a Biennial (a large-scale international exhibition held once every two years). Abu Dhabi is now building a Louvre and a Guggenheim, and they will be completed in a few years. And in Doha, Qatar, there is the Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art, which was completed the year before last (2010).
Originally there wasn't a lot of urban culture in these areas, but all of a sudden they have more than their neighbors, so I expect in future they will go on to lead the rest of the region.
■Relevant information
・Interview: Nanjo Fumio on "Arab Express"
Part 1 Comparing the Arab world of the 1970s with that of today
Part 2 Why is the world fascinated with Arab contemporary art?
Part 3 An exhibition to encourage cultural diplomacy, mutual understanding
・Interview: Kondo Kenichi on "Arab Express"
Part 1 Want to show Japan the diversity of the Arab world
Part 2 Exhibition highlights: Black Fountain and "Arab Lounge"
・"Arab in One Minute"
File-01 The Arab World on Screen
File-02 My first time at the cafe, the meeting place of men
File-03 Lamb or Chicken, That Is the Question / Cuisine and Hospitality
File-04 Ruins from Time Immemorial: Mesopotamia, the Birthplace of Civilization
File-05 The Beauty is in the Geometry: Calligraphy and Arabesque
"Arab Express: The Latest Art from the Arab World" introduces the work of about 30 artists from the Arabian Peninsula and surrounding Arab countries. This exhibition will bring you up to date with the latest developments from an art scene that is now the focus of international attention.
・Arab Express: The Latest Art from the Arab World
16 June - 28 October, 2012
