When Paul Baron moved to Tokyo three years ago, he was excited to explore the city's vast art world as he had been an avid follower of art events while studying graphic design in London. There was only one problem: Where to find out what was going on. It should have been easy; it should have all been online. It wasn't.
"I personally was disappointed in the Web, not the art world. I thought, damn, if the Web doesn't have this sort of Web site, what's happening? If I go on the Web and I can't find it, what is the Web? If it doesn't have the simplest of things -- listings -- how much more basic can you get? And this was 2003! Damn, come on."
When he met fellow Frenchman Olivier Thereaux, they got into a discussion about how to track down art events in Tokyo. There were Japanese-language sources such as the magazine Bijutsu Techo, a 1,600 yen publication for art professionals, and, on the other end of the spectrum, the limited listings in English-language publications. But many smaller locations were being overlooked, such as Baron's favorite gallery, Ginza Graphic Gallery, one of the few places in Tokyo that regularly features graphic work.