Art Jan 8, 2020
'Dumb Type': When actions speak the loudest
by Jeff Michael Hammond
Dumb Type's thought-provoking performances and installations explore the influence of technology on humankind.
Art Jan 2, 2020
Art from the silver lining of life's dark clouds
by Matthew Larking
Threatening the precarious peace of everyday life are unforeseen incidents, disease and emotional turbulence. Such are the narrative threads running through "Song to Life, Struggles of the Soul" at Wacoal Studyhall Kyoto.
Art | 2019 in Review Dec 17, 2019
Creative expression stifled by 'safety concerns' in Japan
by John L. Tran
As the taboo-busting comic Joan Rivers used to say after pressing her audience's buttons, "Can we talk?" On the evidence of this year's Aichi Triennale, if it's about World War II atrocities, the answer seems to be "no."
Art Dec 4, 2019
Nakamura Hochu: The Osakan Rinpa pioneer
by Matthew Larking
The Rinpa school of painting's initial phase was formed by the superlative talents of Honami Koetsu (1558-1637) and Tawaraya Sotatsu (c. 1570-c. 1630) in late 16th-century Kyoto. The aesthetics resonated with the grand and powerful ornamental inclinations of the Momoyama Period (1573-1603) — gold ...
Art / Events Nov 27, 2019
Ryonosuke Shimomura: An eclectic rule breaker
by Matthew Larking
At school, Ryonosuke Shimomura conceived art techniques that led one teacher to think he was color blind. Yet his unusual approach led him to become a principal of the Pan Real Art Association — Japan's influential avant-garde Japanese-style painting groups.
Art Nov 20, 2019
Yukinori Yanagi: Resurrecting Akitsushima
by John L. Tran
For Yukinori Yanagi, whose work from the late '80s and '90s featured ants burrowing through national flags made of sand, nature is not synonymous with an anthropomorphically friendly "harmony" or "balance"; it's disruption, chaos, decay and metastasis.
Art Oct 29, 2019
The scrolls that keep immortal poets truly alive
by Matthew Larking
The Kyoto National Museum brings together the largest number of fragments of the 13th-century scrolls "Satake Version, Thirty-Six Immortal Poets," since it was cut up into pieces and dispersed among the wealthy in 1919.
Lifestyle Oct 27, 2019
Rare views of Mount Fuji: Japan's last sentō artists
by Alex Martin
A dying craft, sentō (public bathhouse) painting now has just three artisans continuing the art form. Can interest in Japanese culture, sparked by the 2020 Olympics, help renew an appreciation for the stunning murals?
Art Oct 15, 2019
So much to say — so many ways to show it
by John L. Tran
Same-sex relationships, American bases in Okinawa, globalization, the Olympics, the atomic bomb, national identity, the exploitation of natural resources — "Image Narratives: Literature in Japanese Contemporary Art" at The National Art Center, Tokyo, does not lack for hot button topics.
Art Sep 24, 2019
Art at a science museum: When worlds collide
by John L. Tran
The premise of "Illuminating Landscapes: The Integration of Art and Science," as designer Taku Satoh puts it, is to explore "art and science together, not separated, as is too common in today's world."
Art Sep 10, 2019
Fashion is a game with a dress code to crack
by Matthew Larking
Fashion can be identified as a game: The rules are not clear, but there are conducts to be observed, codes to be broken, winners, losers and, finally, stylistic exhaustion.
Art Aug 19, 2019
Bontaro Dokuyama: The art of expression
by Jennifer Pastore
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."