Mori Art Museum 20th Anniversary Exhibition WORLD CLASSROOM: Contemporary Art through School Subjects

Groups Contemporary Art in Eight Accessible Subjects

Liberating contemporary art from the confines of fine art, drawing and craft to present works in eight sections by other subjects: Language and Literature; Social Studies; Philosophy; Mathematics; Science; Music; Phys. Ed.; plus a mixed section titled Transdisciplinary, the exhibition will offer encounters with unknown realms and opportunities to learn about them, transforming the art museum into an open classroom for lessons on the world. Encompassing both large and smaller galleries, WORLD CLASSROOM will unfold across an exhilarating 1,800 square meters-plus of display area.

Superb Showcase for the Mori Art Museum Collection

Pandemic restrictions on the movement of people and goods have prompted museums across the globe to revisit their own holdings, and pay fresh attention to the activities of local artists. From a sustainable development viewpoint this has also been an excellent opportunity to review the energy required to transport art, and for other museum activities. Over half of approximately 150 works in this exhibition will be from the Mori Art Museum Collection. Many of around 460 works currently in that collection were acquired in association with exhibitions, and thus also serve to trace the Museum’s trajectory over the past two decades.

Includes Seminal Works from Contemporary Art History

The exhibition will include a number of seminal works serving as excellent references for reflecting on contemporary art from multiple perspectives. Joseph Kosuth is a towering figure of 1960s conceptual art, which deemed ideas and concepts to be of greater importance than visual attractiveness. This is an approach that still underpins contemporary art today, and is exemplified by Kosuth’s One and Three Shovels (1965) on show here. Joseph Beuys meanwhile, one of the most influential artists of the 20th century, championed the expanded concept of art known as “social sculpture,” in which everyone is an artist helping to fashion an organic social structure. In a fitting choice for an exhibition titled WORLD CLASSROOM, the exhibition will include a blackboard written on by the German artist in a lecture he gave at Tokyo University of the Arts on his first visit to Japan in 1984. This opportunity for dialogue with Beuys had a life-changing impact on many of the young Japanese present who went on to forge careers as artists and curators.

Also Offers New Works from Artists of Global Stature

The world-renowned Yang Haegue will unveil an installation drawing on phenomena from around the world such as topical energy issues and climate change, and making reference to sculpture by Japanese-Brazilian artist Tomie Ohtake. Jacob Kirkegaard, Park McArthur, and Miyanaga Aiko will also present newly-commisioned works for the exhibition.

Traces 20 Years of the Mori Art Museum in Figures and Infographics

In the 20 years since its opening, the Mori Art Museum has undertaken 59 major exhibitions, staged 72 small exhibition programs, and run numerous associated learning and other programs. Displayed at the entrance to WORLD CLASSROOM will be a world map showing the names of artists and artist units - approximately 1,600 in total - who have exhibited at the Mori Art Museum, by their place of origin. A display at the exit will trace the Museum’s activities over the past two decades and present, in numerical and infographic form information, ranging from the total number of visitors to date, to number of learning programs, and more.