In this series consisting of 4 parts, we present 4 highlights of "Roppongi Crossing 2013: OUT OF DOUBT." The key phrase for the first part of the series is "Revisiting social and historical contexts." In the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake, the major question that has arisen is "What can art do for society?" We will ponder the answer to this question as we revisit the work of artists who have had similar experiences in times of dramatic social change.
In Japan today, there is heightened interest in and awareness of the values that support its societal structure and the individual's relationship with society in the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake. If we accept this to be the case, then political positions, social systems and values must also have been dramatically affected during the post-war reconstruction period, and the era of globalization that has existed since the 1990s.
The transition and transformation of society at such turning points in history have had a significant impact on artistic expression in all parts of the world. With this perspective in mind, "OUT OF DOUBT" will attempt to generate an inter-generational dialogue, through the comparison of artwork from the 1950s to 1970s and from the 1990s that is closely associated with politics and society, with artwork produced in the wake of the disaster of 2011.
For example, works by Nakamura Hiroshi (born 1932) painted while a member of the "Reportage Painting Movement," a group established in the 1950s that recorded and reported social events, exhibited beside those of Kazama Sachiko (born 1972), who uncovers the exciting nature of the modern history of Japan, juxtapose the themes of post-war nuclear policy and the modern-day surveillance society. The exhibition also features artwork that satires society in the 1970s, including Sakura Gaho by Akasegawa Genpei (born 1937), who was part of the maelstrom that was the avant-garde art movement in Japan in the 1960s.
While many of the exhibited artists were born in the 1970s and 1980s, our hope is that the exhibition will provide an opportunity to reconsider the world of today through dialogue with a generation of artists who have had experiences of post-war Japanese art.
Nakamura Hiroshi
Island
1956
Collection: Hamamatsu Municipal Museum of Art
Reportage paintings reflecting social conditions. The theme of this work is Okinawa, and it was produced when the artist was only 23!
Kazama Sachiko
Prison NUKE FISSION 235
2012
Photo: Miyajima Kei
Courtesy: Mujin-to Production, Tokyo
Satirical woodblock print exposing the history of Japan's nuclear power-generation policies incisively. A young artist who strongly arouses people's awareness of politics.
■Relevant information
・OUT OF DOUBT in a Minute - website top page
・OUT OF DOUBT in a Minute - Highlights (blog link)
(1) Turning points in society explored through art past and present
(2) A critical spirit revealed by "nonsense"?
(3) Questioning the meaning of modernization from the ancient Japanese view of nature
(4) The "post-object" tendency goes global
・Mori Art Museum 10th Anniversary Exhibition
"Roppongi Crossing 2013: OUT OF DOUBT"
Saturday, September 21, 2013 - Monday, January 13, 2014
