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Post-3.11 Art at MAM: Roppongi Crossing 2013: Out of Doubt |
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| Lucy Birmingham |
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| During the months following Japan's March 2011 quake, tsunami, and Fukushima meltdowns, I was dumbfounded by the veritable void of works by Japanese artists on the epic issues the disaster posed. It was as if it didn't matter. Neo-pop stars Takashi Murakami and Yoshitomo Nara, and a lingering of micro-pop introversions, continued to dominate Japan's contemporary art landscape. more... |
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Layers Preserved: The Intermediatheque at JP Tower |
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| Nicolai Kruger |
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| 2013 is turning out to be a big year in Japan for the renewal of cultural monuments. The shrine complexes at Ise and Izumo will undergo their shikinen sengu, a total rebuilding that occurs every 20 and 60 years respectively. This tradition, which has been dutifully observed for over 1,000 years, is a painstaking labor of love and great expense. more... |
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Art at 1,000 Meters: The Madarao Kogen Art Festival |
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| Alan Gleason |
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| Japan seems overrun with art festivals these days -- toss a rock and you're likely to hit one. All too easily lost in the shadow of these massively-funded enterprises, and sadly under the radar of most art aficionados in Japan or elsewhere, are local initiatives like the Madarao Kogen Art Festival, held on a ridgetop that forms the Niigata-Nagano prefectural border just a few kilometers south of Echigo-Tsumari. more... |
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