The Arab Spring may not be all it's cracked up to be. There are clearly problems with a large swath of nations, formerly under various forms of authoritarian regimes, switching relatively quickly to "democracy," at least as it is understood in the West.
But political prognosis aside, the events of the past 18 months have at least drawn more attention to the Arab world, a part of the planet that, like Japan, is often prey to myths, cliches and stereotypes.
It is timely, therefore, that the Mori Art Museum's latest foray into familiarizing the public in Japan with lesser-known aspects of contemporary art focuses on the Arab World. "Arab Express: The Latest Art From the Arab World" is a major exhibition that was planned before the Arab Spring started and brings together works by 34 mainly young Arab artists and artist groups.