Is art really interesting? A straightforward interview with a curator at the Yokohama Museum of Art!

From my point of view, communication with art feels similar to communication with people. When it comes to people, there are some who you can get used to just by looking at their looks and expressions, and some who are silent and expressionless and you can't understand them unless you meet and talk to them many times. There are also some people who you think are "interesting" even if you don't understand them, and some people you just can't get along with until the end. It's the same with art.

Since works of art express the artist's way of thinking and worldview, it is natural that there are some works that are easy to relate to and others that are not. The purpose of art is to recognize the differences in thinking and tastes of others and to feel diversity, and I believe that what is required of a museum is to function as a "place of encounter" with such diversity.
For example, the "Monet: 100 Years Later" exhibition held at our museum last year was planned from this very idea. Monet's works, which are popular in Japan, and contemporary art, which many people have a hard time understanding. The idea was that by exhibiting the two worlds side by side, we might be able to see things in a way that is not based on logic.

Here's a simple question: do we need art?

There are various ways of thinking about this, but I believe that what people need to live is not just "food, clothing, and shelter." Don't you feel that a world where standards are set based on logical numbers that prioritize the economy and where we are bound only by things that have answers is very suffocating?
I think art is a way to break free from that.

Apparently, there are hospitals overseas that prescribe to people with mental illnesses to "go to an art museum." The role of art museums may change with the times, but I believe that art museums, as places to come into contact with art, are essential to people's lives and to cities.

What kind of exhibition is the currently running "Meet the Collection -- Art, People, and the Museum"?

I think this is an exhibition that can be enjoyed simply without any specialist knowledge or preconceptions.
Usually, the exhibition is planned and organized based on the curator's ideas and research, but this time, four contemporary artists participated and "cooked" the museum's collection from their own perspective. Specifically, they picked out their favorite works from the entire collection of the Yokohama Museum of Art, and collaborated with the artists' new and recent works to make up four of the seven exhibition rooms.
The basis is the Yokohama Museum of Art's collection, so as a curator, I have a special attachment to each work and artist. However, this time, the exhibition space was largely left to the artists' sense and judgment, so we were often surprised and asked, "What, you chose this?"

*Yusuke Asai "Tree of Life" 2019 (Exhibition view)

For example, among the works selected by Yusuke Asai, there were some that I personally had a "scary" image of. I asked several times, "Does that work fit in Asai's space?", but in the end, I left it as it was (laughs). However, when I actually saw the work in the exhibition space created by Asai, the expression of the work looked different than before. A piece of art has many phases and shows a completely different expression depending on the situation and context in which it is placed. I was reminded that, just like humans, art works are never one-dimensional.

*From Chapter 5, "Connecting Images"

If a curator had planned it, it would have taken an incredible amount of courage to come up with an exhibition method, but when it was suggested by an artist, they were like, "Okay, let's do it!" (laughs), so the process of putting it together was more interesting than ever before.

*From Chapter 7 "The Expanding World"

In some cases, familiar masterpieces are exhibited in a different atmosphere than usual, and in other cases, works that have been in our collection but have rarely had the opportunity to be exhibited are also on display. We hope that you will enjoy the various expressions of various art works from your own perspective.

Meet the Collection —Art, People, and the Museum

[Date and time] Until June 23rd (Sun) 10:00-18:00
*Open until 8:00 p.m. every Friday and Saturday. Last admission 30 minutes before closing.
[Closed] Thursdays, May 7th (Tuesday) *However, open on May 2nd (Thursday, closed day)
[Venue] Yokohama Museum of Art
[Admission] Adults: 1,100 yen, university and high school students: 700 yen, junior high school students: 500 yen, elementary school students and younger: free, 65 years and older: 1,000 yen (proof required, only available at the museum ticket office)
* Free admission on Sunday, June 2nd
* Free for high school students and younger every Saturday (student handbook and student ID required)
* Free for those with a disability certificate and one caregiver
[TEL] 045-221-0300 (Yokohama Museum of Art)

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