Things are a bit quiet with Obon and many galleries are on their holidays. It is advised to check gallery sites linked on their TAB venue pages before setting off.
Art attack!
As widely reported, the Mona Lisa was mugged (okay, I stole that pun from another newspaper). A Russian immigrant threw the ceramic at the famous painting (sitting very, very protected behind bullet-proof glass) as a protest. Are there any Japanese works of art you’d like to throw kitchen objects at?
Further afield
The annex museum to the Hara Museum of Contemporary Art in Gunma has some new installations. The works of Olafur Eliasson, Lee Bul and Jean-Michel Othoniel will be on display from the autumn. More details will be announced on the Museum website.
Kicking up a fuss
Sorry to ‘re-blog’ but an Adbusters article by Roland Kelts has been causing ripples in the blogosphere (Neojaponisme’s for one). Professor Kelts talks about changes in the relationship between the West (i.e. America) and Japan, the recent reversal of (pop) cultural influences in this relationship being the subject of the author’s Japanamerica. Out of the many Murakamis (Ryu, Haruki) quoted, our old friend Takashi rears his hydra-like head with his theory of kawaii being a result of the wounds of the War, that Japan’s reliance on ‘Big Daddy America’ led to this expression of childish playfulness. In short, American bombs created Hello Kitty.
Blowing one’s own trumpet
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Utility Pole by Noto-Fusai
¥5,900
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