Japan exhibition organizer defends pulling 'comfort woman' statue as opponents decry censorship
The Aichi Triennale’s artistic director justified the move given a crisis in ties between Japan and South Korea and arson threats.
Aichi Triennale: Our freedoms are not dead just yet
The sudden Aug. 3 closure of "After 'Freedom of Expression?'" — a multiartist exhibit at the Aichi Triennale 2019 — clearly highlighted the ongoing struggles some people have with that very issue of freedoms in Japan. Ironically, too, that exhibit comprised contributions that, according to ...
Controversial art exhibit's closure leaves Japan pondering limits of freedom of expression
Ever since a section of a public art exhibition in Nagoya was closed after coming under a barrage of complaints and threats, Japan has been in a state of introspection over its freedom of expression. Amid the intense debate, two fundamental questions remain: In the age ...
Bontaro Dokuyama: The art of expression
After the Great East Japan Earthquake, Fukushima native Bontaro Dokuyama began to focus on becoming an artist, explaining that he didn't see much expression from his home area: "If the audience enjoys having their thoughts provoked, that is enjoyable for me as an artist."
Outrage over Aichi Triennale exhibition ignites debate over freedom of expression in art
Three days after it opened on Aug. 1, a section of the Aichi Triennale 2019 arts festival, which is taking place in and around the city of Nagoya, was closed due to controversy over one of its exhibits and an anonymous threat. The section is ...
Artists pressure Aichi event organizers after exhibit containing 'comfort women' statue shut down
International artists are putting pressure on the organizers of an international cultural festival in Nagoya after an exhibit featuring a statue of a girl symbolizing "comfort women" was canceled. The executive committee of the Aichi Triennale 2019 cultural festival, which is showcasing works by over ...
Statue of 'comfort women' pulled from Japanese exhibition finds new home in Spain
A Spanish businessman has bought a statue symbolizing women who worked in Japanese military brothels that was removed from an exhibition in Japan after organizers received threats over the piece. The "Statue of a Girl Of Peace" symbolizes the "comfort women," a euphemism referring to ...
Diving into the world of political performance at Aichi Triennale
The political function of art is a perennial question in the field of aesthetics. In classical Athens, Plato argued that art as a form of imitation was limited in its ability to communicate knowledge about political life. In contrast, Aristotle saw this mimetic gap ...
Aichi Triennale's best works deal with disaster
Since the Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011, a lot of art here has dealt with disaster. Not all the pieces in the second installment of the Aichi Triennale are on this theme — but the best ones are. The event launched in ...
Director Igarashi says quake memories still fresh
The Japan Times sat down with the artistic director of the Aichi Triennale, the architecture critic and historian Taro Igarashi. The theme of the triennale is "Awakening — Where are we standing? — Earth, Memory and Resurrection." Why? I was conscious that the triennale is not ...
The theme of this second Aichi Triennale is "Awakening — Where Are We Standing?" and it aims to make us rethink the role of art as Japan continues to recover from the Great East Japan Earthquake and following disasters. Works by various artists from around ...
