For many Japanese artists who want to make it in the art world, New York City has yet to shake its image of being an art utopia where anyone can succeed: You'll find representation by a hip gallery! Share cerebral discourses with art star Jeff Koons! And work in a loft of immense dimensions in the Lower East! Though this is an exaggeration, many Japanese continue to believe that New York is the place to solidify their dreams and secure a place on the international art circuit, away from the supposedly rigid social restrictions of Japanese society. No wonder, as the city is a cosmopolitan art-world hub that vanguard Japanese artists such as Go Sugimoto, Yoko Ono and Mariko Mori have already made their home.
The reality, of course, is different. For most artists, it's probably more advisable to make it in Japan first. In the States, the aspiring creator has to face the obstacles of language and immigration formalities, all the while being a proverbial "struggling artist" beset by a level of competition that is exponentially high. Japanese artists, after all, aren't the only ones who are — if they are going to make it anywhere — going to make it there.
New York's Japan Society, in celebration of its centennial anniversary, is exploring this tendency in its current exhibition in New York, "Making a Home." Put together by independent curator Eric Shiner, the show displays the works of 33 artists in disciplines such as painting, photography, fashion and sound art, by creators who all share the experience of "taking the initiative to leave Japan."