Mori Art Museum

I had read in the Japanese paper that there was an art exhibition of current Japanese artists at the Mori Art Museum. One of the reasons that I wanted to come to Japan was to experience the contemporary art scene. I was already familiar with a number of Japanese artists, but looking at the article, I noticed that none of them would be at this show. It made me a little excited to see new artists on display. I headed over there after going to the Apple Store.

The Mori Art Museum is in Roppongi Hills, which is a land development that was completed only a couple of years ago by some rich Japanese real estate developer name Mori. It is mostly stores and a mall. The center piece is a tall building, in which the Mori Art Museum resides on the 53rd floor. In fact, admission to the museum also includes admission to the observatory deck, which is on the 52nd floor. The art museum does not have any permanent collections of their own, but rather they just organize their own shows, and borrow all the works that they ever have on display. This could lead to a colossal failure, but they have done well with this museum model. It makes me think that I could open up an art museum, if I could just get to know enough art collectors with impressive art collections to borrow from.

There were several impressive pieces on display. Higashiona Yuichi made chandeliers out of circular fluorescent lights; Hara Shinichi sculpted marble (I guess there are a few artists still doing that, which amazed me) to look as soft as a dress; Enoki Chu made a cityscape model out of old drill bits of various sizes; Yoshimo Yoshio drew 365 self portraits in pencil for everyday in 1988; Sato Mashiko and Kiriyama Takashi made an arithmetic garden where you walk through gates that do simple arithmetic for you; Nanknishi Nonbuhiro had several photos on transparent films layered like a snake across the room; and Tsujikawa Koichiro had a stop motion music video with hundreds of toys on the screen at once all moving in a carnival.

It is good to see artists at work today.