Mori Art Museum presents "Arab Express: The Latest Art from the Arab World" (16 June - 28 October, 2012).
Last time, we asked Nanjo to talk about how Arab art fits within the international art scene and what characterizes Arab contemporary art. In this, our third and final installment, we hear about what he hopes the exhibition will achieve.
- Looking at Arab society nowadays, it seems that, if anything, it has become more opaque, more difficult to read. Just focusing on Arab contemporary art, what do you think the future holds?
Nanjo: Politics in Japan is rather opaque these days, too! I actually don't know of any country where it is not. But, that said, I actually think Arab contemporary art will become more and more important on the world stage from now on. That is because the Arab people and Arab artists are currently seeking an outlet for free expression. Contemporary art is less about expressing emotion than it is about expressing concept and thought, and there are a lot of concepts and thoughts for them to express now. So I think the role of contemporary art will grow in the region.
The desire to give expression to your own experiences or history is fundamentally related to the motivation to make contemporary art, so I think we will see a lot of very interesting works being made. I think Arab artists are poised to make significant contributions to the history of international art.
And, as I mentioned earlier, Paris and London are starting to show a lot of contemporary Arab art, so there is a market for it and I think it will keep on growing in the future.
China has become a significant part of the contemporary art market and then next it was India that arrived. I have a feeling the next focus might be the Arab world.
Chalo! India: A New Era of Indian Art, Mori Art Museum (2008)
Follow Me!: Chinese Art at the Threshold of the New Millenium, Mori Art Museum (2005)
- Tell us about the context for your decision to focus now on the culture of the Middle East?
Nanjo: After the Berlin Wall came down and the Soviet Union broke apart, the political scientist Francis Fukuyama wrote a book entitled The End of History and the Last Man. In it, he wrote that if you accept the definition of history as being the record of clashes between multiple world views, then during the time when there was a clash between Socialism and Capitalism, history existed. But, he wrote, now that Socialism has disappeared, there is no longer any history.
Nanjo Fumio (Director, Mori Art Museum)
Then, after a few years, Samuel P. Huntington wrote the book The Clash of Civilizations where he argued that there were seven areas in the world that had different world views, and these would possibly end up conflicting.
After that, the September 11 terrorist attacks occurred - all of which has led us to think that a religion represented one world view, and that hence, there was still the possibility of a clash between religions.
Subsequently, Antonio Negri wrote in his book Empire that there are powers and control structures that transcend national borders and that, in order to fight against those, individuals must form groups. In the book The World Is Flat, Thomas Friedman said that with the internet and improved transportation networks, the whole world will achieve the same playing field and that, when that happens then an every-man-for-himself survival game will begin. I think in the Arab societies, too, what happens next depends on the actions of individuals. That was evident in the "Jasmine Revolution" and the "Arab Spring."
At present, if you look from our perspective as Japanese, the Middle East is the region in the world that we know least about, even though it has such history and culture. We know Europe and America well, and if you consider much of South America to have been influenced by European civilization, then we know it, too. It's the Middle East that we know the least.
But, in that region there is one very strong religion: Islam. A large section of the world to the west of Asia is Islam. And if you look back in history you can tell that a lot of ancient civilizations have emerged from that region. And so why is it that even though it has spawned such cultures, we know so little about it? I very strongly believe that this is wrong.
I think with such areas that Japanese don't know about much, I think they should be more curious to find out about them, and that will naturally lead to greater cultural diplomacy and mutual understanding. My idea is to try to achieve that through contemporary art.
Nanjo Fumio (Director, Mori Art Museum)
Nanjo: That said, of course, I don't expect that just one show will be enough. It's only through doing shows like this continuously that mutual understanding builds. And of course I think holding a show of Japanese contemporary art in the Middle East would contribute to that too. More of this kind of exchange is necessary.
■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 3An 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
