John L. Tran - The Japan Times

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John L. Tran

For John L. Tran's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:

Japan Times

CULTURE / Art

Apr 12, 2016

An exhibition of things that make you go 'hmm'

The subtitle of the Mori Art Museum's triennial "Roppongi Crossing" exhibition three years ago was "Out of Doubt." This year it's "My Body, Your Voice." In 2013, the group show was inflected by the destruction caused by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, and scepticism about the handling of the nuclear meltdown in Fukushima. This year, the central theme is ostensibly an exploration of identity, histories and the body, though it would probably be fair to say that it is also strongly overshadowed by last year's 70th anniversary of the end of World War II.

Japan Times

LIFE / Style & Design

Mar 17, 2016

Issey Miyake invites us to see his material world

Issey Miyake, designer of some of the world's most distinctive clothing and international symbol of modern Japanese craftsmanship, received France's Legion of Honor on Tuesday at the opening of a major exhibition of his work at The National Art Center, Tokyo.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Art

Mar 15, 2016

Looking forward through photography

The spectacular landscapes left by the 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami have been used as source material by photographers to an extraordinary degree. Yes, using the words "spectacular" and "landscape" here may seem indecent, but this is one of many difficult issues that arise when photography and human suffering meet. Another problem is that "good" work, however you want to define it, may have resulted from questionable motives, and vice versa.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Art

Mar 8, 2016

Fujiwara wants the dirt to stick

White often seems to be used in contemporary art in Japan as a kind of short cut to signify "beauty," "purity" or "spirituality." Simon Fujiwara's show "White Day" at Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery is, as the title suggests, overwhelmingly white, but it's designed not to stay that way.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Art

Mar 1, 2016

Annie Leibovitz: Looking at the smaller picture

By way of introducing herself at the press preview of her new touring exhibition, "Women: New Portraits," Annie Leibovitz says, "I love photography so much."

Japan Times

CULTURE / Art

Feb 16, 2016

Takashi Murakami collects more than just his thoughts

"Takashi Murakami's Superflat Collection" is an exhibition of other people's work, amassed as the result of one man's phenomenally successful artistic career. It's evidence that Murakami must have done something right, or wrong, depending on your view of culture. He's sometimes portrayed as a kind of evil genius, presiding over the end of both Western civilization and Japanese tradition.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Art

Feb 2, 2016

Japan's picture ID before World War II

Last year, the number of tourists coming into Japan outnumbered those going out for the first time in 45 years. In absolute terms, it may be the first time that tourism has properly taken off for this country, despite numerous attempts by various ministries and semi-official agencies over the years to promote Japan as a holiday destination.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Art

Jan 19, 2016

These may not be the photographs that you are looking for

"Star Wars" is like an energy field created by all living things. It surrounds us and penetrates us. It binds the galaxy together.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Art

Jan 12, 2016

Idem Paris: Worlds apart and yet so close

Before photography became a relatively affordable pastime at the beginning of the 20th century, lithographic prints were touted as the democratic image-making medium that could reach all classes of society. At the same time, because the design was drawn directly onto stone, it could be used as a platform for artistic expression; not just a cheap way of reproducing images, but creating multiple versions of an original work. This potential was most eagerly embraced in France, with Picasso, Braque and Matisse creating "masterpieces" that could be owned or collected by more than one person at a time. A revolutionary idea, but also good business.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Art

Jan 5, 2016

On the funny side of the universe

John Wood and Paul Harrison's show "Some Things Are Hard to Explain" is proving to be a big hit at the NTT Intercommunication Center. The artists' wry, tongue-in-cheek videos, drawings and animations are intentionally gormless and genuinely thought-provoking at the same time.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Art

Dec 29, 2015

Gain the courage to scream with Yoko Ono

The conceit of "From My Window" — an exhibition that covers Yoko Ono as a conceptual artist from the 1950s onwards — is to focus on her connection with Tokyo. Since it's at the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Contemporary Art, maybe that's to be expected, but this does not necessarily jibe well with Ono's reputation as constantly challenging geographical, political and social boundaries.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Art

Dec 29, 2015

Laurent Grasso alludes to a future in our past

A funny thing happened on the way to "Le Forum." Outside Ochanomizu Station, a small group of neo-Nazis had set up shop and were playing the Japanese national anthem. One of them was wearing a modified SS uniform and proudly let me take his picture. I noticed that his jack boots and Sam Browne belt were slightly scuffed and cracked.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Art

Dec 1, 2015

There is a lot going on behind the closed doors of shunga

Japan's first major shunga (literally, "spring pictures") exhibition of erotic paintings and woodblock prints, is surprisingly hard work. As a venue for a ground-breaking assembly of images, which probably would not have been shown publicly if it were not for a highly successful shunga exhibition at the British Museum that opened in 2013, the relatively small space of the Eisei Bunko Museum has been seriously packed with visitors, making it tough to get a good look at the exhibits.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Art

Nov 17, 2015

Chen Wei's small world of the bigger issues

In Chen Wei's moody night scenes, the party's over and everyone has gone home. A couple of disco balls have crashed to the floor looking like globes of planets built and populated by robots. In two other images, empty imported and native Chinese beer bottles mix listlessly around a bar top, and the neon signs of a karaoke bar, the "Night Paris," become abstract swathes of color reflected in puddles on a rainy, deserted street.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Art

Nov 10, 2015

A photo finish between ukiyo-e and the camera

The idea for the smart, complex and challenging exhibition "From Ukiyo-e to Photography" at the Edo-Tokyo Museum started from the discovery of two images. One is a photograph of the Meiji-Era (1867-1912) Minister of Home Affairs Toshimichi Okubo, taken in Paris in 1878. The second is a color ukiyo-e print of Okubo, made in 1878 by the woodblock artist Kiyochika Kobayashi, which is clearly based on the earlier photographic portrait.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Art

Nov 3, 2015

Deutsche Bank sets the right standard

There is an image in the Deutsche Bank Collection exhibition at the Hara Museum that, at first sight, seems slightly out of place. It is a street scene in New York that glows in the warm light of a sunset. Office workers can be seen going home, a man window-shops outside a camera store, even the inclusion of a homeless man peering into a rubbish bin somehow contributes to a relatively benign scene of urban life. It's a viscerally attractive picture, in the sense that it's hard not to be seduced by the soft light of the so-called golden hour, the time just after dawn or before dusk.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Art

Oct 6, 2015

Hiroshi Hamaya: images of an inner war

Most active in the mid-20th century, the photographer Hiroshi Hamaya (1915-99) is best known for his folkloric images of rural life in Niigata Prefecture — images that some consider to be symbolic of his passive resistance to militarism, but for more critical voices are advocacy of a retrograde cultural essentialism.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Art

Sep 15, 2015

When it comes to art, individuality rises above nationality

In the context of the current debate over Article 9 of Japan's Constitution, the "Artist File 2015" show of up-and-coming contemporary artists at The National Art Center, Tokyo, is tantamount to a declaration of peace. The remit of this annual event is to showcase "some of the freshest and most substantial work today," and 2015 being the 50th anniversary of postwar diplomatic relations between Japan and South Korea, this year's show features artists from the two countries.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Art

Sep 8, 2015

Pure landscape photography

The exhibition "Stream of Consciousness" at Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery is an extremely successful representation of contemporary Japanese photographic art. It combines some of the salient aspects of Japanese culture with the aesthetically formal, yet emotive imagery that is indicative of what gives photography in Japan its particular flavor.

Japan Times

CULTURE / Art

Sep 1, 2015

Takashi Homma's window on today's crafts

Broadly speaking, compared to Britain, Germany and the United States, France and Japan have shared an alternative approach to design since the industrial revolution, focusing more on the appreciation of handmade and luxury goods. This economic necessity reverberates today as a mutual affection of these nation's workmanship and craft traditions. As analog film slowly dies off, replaced by the convenience of digital imaging, the window display by Takashi Homma at the Maison Hermes in Tokyo's Ginza district is an interesting reflection on the state of photography and its current place in visual culture.

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