Masashi Kohara: “Exposition Mandala” from his Collections

Kurenboh Chohouin Buddhist Temple Gallery

FinishedReservation Required

Artists

Masashi Kohara

The world’s first Exposition was held in London in 1851. Following on from that huge success, the Paris Exposition was held in France in 1855 and thus expositions spread throughout the world. While the London Exposition was called the “Great Exhibition,” the Paris Exposition was named the “Exposition Universelle.” The word “universelle” does not simply mean an international festival, but also implies gathering, systematizing, and exhibiting “everything” that exists on Earth. As such, visitors tried to get a sense of the unknown world through the exhibits. On display were, of course, industrial products from the Western Powers, but also architecture, crafts, plants, and animals from colonies and non-Western countries, gathered in one area of the venue. Even people and villages were exhibited. Thus, perhaps it is possible to argue that the “Exposition Universelle” was an attempt to give people new values and a new understanding of the world by gathering the world in one place.

In Japan, which had only recently embarked on a journey as a late-emerging imperialist nation, a movement to have expositions to promote industrial development took hold, and in 1877 the Home Ministry organized the first National Industrial Exhibition in Ueno Park. The fifth National Industrial Exhibition was the last, but expositions with various themes continued to be held throughout regional cities in Japan. The holding of expositions increased momentum for the construction of museums and art galleries, and museums came to play an important role in attracting art from around the world. The legacy of expositions can be seen at the Tokyo National Museum and National Museum of Ethnology in Suita, Osaka.

The expositions featured “Native Villages,” which were exact replicas of remote villages at the exposition grounds. These were supposed to rank the “races” of the world or to demonstrate the power and legitimacy of colonial powers, but they were mostly merely exotic entertainment for visitors.

The act of cutting out a space from a far-flung place and recreating it in a new location was gradually replaced by reproduction techniques such as photography, printmaking, and film. As colonies began gaining independence, “Native Villages” disappeared from the exposition sites.

Photographs and postcards that became popular as souvenirs from expositions could be said to be further reproductions of the world’s reproductions. Please examine the “Age of Expositions” through these postcards and photographs.

Schedule

Nov 13 (Wed) 2024-Dec 6 (Fri) 2024

Reservation Required