The Arts in New York City

When I decided to go to the “Making a Home: Japanese Contemporary Artists in New York” exhibition presented by the Japan Society, I expected to see calligraphy or traditional paintings of bamboos and misty mountains. What I got instead caught me by surprise; contemporary Japanese art was so different – vibrant, bold, and daring. It was a positive change from the same old ink on rice paper formula of past generations.

Upon entering the gallery, one would probably feel a little awkward, surrounded by sexually explicit drawings focusing on male and female genitals. However, after analyzing the work more carefully, I found that there were deeper meanings behind the nudity. Noriko Shinohara’s “Cutie” series of cardboard boxes that resembled homes depicted aspects of American life unfound in conservative Japanese art. For example, in one scene, the female protagonist dressed up as a dominatrix and wanted to drive a Cadillac, eventually leaving her lover because he could not supply her with the material goods she desired. The strangest thing about these pieces was how elementary they appeared, both in dialogue and in their cartoon-like images, because the story clearly involved adults engaging in sexual activities. Perhaps it represented how the Japanese artist felt when she first moved to New York, like an infant arriving in a strange, new world.

Hirsohi Sunairi’s “White Elephant” was another outlandish piece – a white elephant sculpture which symbolized benevolence in Buddhism, the dominant religion in Japan, broken into scattered pieces to exemplify the tragedy of September 11th as a disturbance of peace and order. In this way, the artist used an icon from another culture to tell an event in American history. Once again, I was baffled by the message behind the art and how innovative the creator had been in connecting the two together.

Nobohu Nagasawa’s “Bodywaves,” a glowing rocking chair that made soothing sounds of crashing waves when sat on, effectively showed how modern technology influenced contemporary Japanese art. The same applies to Yumi Kori’s “Shinkai,” a meditative room with floating balloons illuminated by eerie red lights. It was like something from the Twilight Zone, and all I could do was wonder where the paper screen doors and floor mats were.

My favorite, however, had to be Ayakoh Furukawa’s shocking “100 Ways to Torture the Innocent.” Adorable yet sickening, this piece showed a variety of methods to mutilate a hamster, including sticking needles into its body and strangling it with string. Although not done through a particularly odd medium, I have never seen such animal cruelty in traditional Japanese art. Along with Ushio Shinohara, who ditched the paintbrush and chose to put on a pair of boxing mittens to punch the art onto his canvas instead, it was obvious that contemporary Japanese artists were taking new risks for artistic expression.

No doubt the average American would find this exhibition peculiar. However, I believe the viewer should go in with an open mind and expect the unexpected. What seems odd to one may be considered art to another. Profound and beautifully eccentric, I personally found the works far more interesting than the ones in popular museums around the city

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 30th, 2007 at 10:08 pm and is filed under Mei X Margaret Fu, WRITING ASSIGNMENTS. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.