The Gregorian calendar is arbitrarily imposed yet shapes our lives nonetheless.
This was the point made by Doryun Chong, chief curator of the Hong Kong contemporary visual culture museum M+ and curatorial director of “Prism of the Real: Making Art in Japan 1989-2010,” currently on view at The National Art Center, Tokyo (NACT) through Dec. 8, when asked at a press conference why the exhibit’s specific years were chosen. There are many ways of quantifying time, with some cultures believing it must first be experienced to be made real; this idea seems closer to the view of time pursued by this show, which attempts to delineate two decades of Japan-centered art in retrospect.
More than the time period, a porous view of Japanese art and history is central to the curation. “Prism of the Real” features not only Japanese but also foreign artists working in and drawing inspiration from Japan. Of the 170 works by more than 50 artists, roughly one-third are by creators born or based outside Japan. Headliners include Japanese artists Yoshitomo Nara and Yayoi Kusama, French contemporary artist Pierre Huyghe and Argentina-born Thai artist Rirkrit Tiravanija.
With your current subscription plan you can comment on stories. However, before writing your first comment, please create a display name in the Profile section of your subscriber account page.