Exhibition/event has ended.
Big Sky Friendship
Towada Art Center
Finished
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Artists
Federico Herrero, Toru Nakazaki, Midori Mitamura et al.
This exhibition brings together artworks addressing the way that loose forms of communication can develop between strangers as a result of unlikely catalysts.
In the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake - “3.11.” disaster we were met with the refreshing and encouraging sight of people joining hands and helping each other, above and beyond the frameworks and rules provided by local governments or society. In those unprecedented circumstances it required courage for people to rely not on social systems or ideas of reciprocity, and instead reach out to strangers of their own accord. And yet the world that opens up when such courage is demonstrated, although it might be fleeting can be seen as being full of love. Sociologists such as Itoko Kitahara and Rebecca Solnit have called such impromptu communities a type of utopia. Nevertheless, as reconstruction projects proceed and things return to normal, it at least appears that they gradually disappear. In this exhibition we explore through artworks and other post-disaster activities exactly what those spaces, full of creativity and love, were. In the teaching of “form is emptiness,” which appears in the Buddhist Heart Sutra, the “emptiness” is the whole world and the “form” refers to everything in it. This is an attempt to address once again the strength of the people who attempt to overcome difficult days, amidst a world that is forever changing.
In the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake - “3.11.” disaster we were met with the refreshing and encouraging sight of people joining hands and helping each other, above and beyond the frameworks and rules provided by local governments or society. In those unprecedented circumstances it required courage for people to rely not on social systems or ideas of reciprocity, and instead reach out to strangers of their own accord. And yet the world that opens up when such courage is demonstrated, although it might be fleeting can be seen as being full of love. Sociologists such as Itoko Kitahara and Rebecca Solnit have called such impromptu communities a type of utopia. Nevertheless, as reconstruction projects proceed and things return to normal, it at least appears that they gradually disappear. In this exhibition we explore through artworks and other post-disaster activities exactly what those spaces, full of creativity and love, were. In the teaching of “form is emptiness,” which appears in the Buddhist Heart Sutra, the “emptiness” is the whole world and the “form” refers to everything in it. This is an attempt to address once again the strength of the people who attempt to overcome difficult days, amidst a world that is forever changing.
Schedule | Apr 19 (Sat) 2014-Sep 23 (Tue) 2014 Opening Hours Information
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| Fee | 1000 Yen for adults *Free entry to permanent exhibition for exhibition ticket holders, Free for high school students and below | ||||||
| Website | http://towadaartcenter.com/web/exhibition_utopia_eng.html | ||||||
| Venue | Towada Art Center https://towadaartcenter.com/en/ | ||||||
| Location | 10-9 Nishi-Nibancho, Towada-shi, Aomori 034-0082 | ||||||
| Access | From the South exit of JR Shichinohe Towada Station, take the bus for 35 minutes and get off at Kanchogai Dori. From the West exit of JR Hachinohe Station, take the JR bus for 40 minutes and get off at Towada-shi Gendai Bijutukan. | ||||||
| Phone | 0176-20-1127 | ||||||
| Related images | Click on the image to enlarge it |
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