Is art really interesting? A direct interview with the curator of the Yokohama Museum of Art!

From my perspective, communicating with art is similar to communicating with people. When it comes to people, you can get used to them just by looking at their looks and facial expressions, while others are quiet and expressionless, and you won't get to know them until you meet and talk to them many times. Also, even if you don't understand someone, you may find yourself thinking, ``He's an interesting person,'' and there are some people who you can't relate to until the very end. The same goes for art.

Works express the artist's way of thinking and worldview, so it's only natural that some works will fit in easily, while others won't. The raison d'être of art is to recognize the differences in ways of thinking and tastes and to feel diversity, and I believe that what is required of art museums is to function as a "place of encounter" with such diversity. I am.
For example, the ``Monet 100 Years'' exhibition held at our museum last year was planned based on this very idea. Monet's works are popular in Japan, and contemporary art is something that many people dislike. The idea was that by exhibiting the two worlds side by side, there would be a sense of seeing something that is not logical.

It's a simple question. Is art something we need?

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 stifled in a world where standards are set based on logical numbers that give priority to economics, and where you are bound only to things that have answers?
I think art is a breakthrough to break free from that.

Apparently, there are hospitals overseas that give prescriptions to people with mental illness, telling them to go to an art museum. The role of museums may change with the times, but I believe that museums, as places where people can experience art, are necessary for people's lives and cities.

What kind of exhibition is "Meet the Collection - Art, People, and Museums" currently being held?

I think this is an exhibition that can be enjoyed on its own without any specialized knowledge or preconceptions.
Usually, we plan and compose the exhibition based on the ideas and research of the curators, but this time we invited four contemporary artists to participate and ``cook'' the museum's collection from their respective perspectives. Specifically, four of the seven exhibition rooms will be made up of works selected from all of the Yokohama Museum of Art's collections in collaboration with new and recent works by artists.
The collection is based on the collection of the Yokohama Museum of Art, so as a curator, I feel deeply attached to each work and artist. However, this time, a large part of each exhibition space was left up to the artist's sense and judgment, so from our perspective there were many surprises like, ``Huh, did you choose 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 him several times, ``Does that work fit into Asai-san's space?'' But in the end, he just left it as is (lol). However, when I actually looked at the exhibition space created by Mr. Asai, the expression of the work seemed different from what I had seen before. A piece of art has many different phases, and can take on completely different expressions depending on the situation and context in which it is placed. I was reminded once again that, just like humans, artworks are never one-dimensional.

*From Chapter 5 “Connecting Images”

Even if a curator plans an exhibition method that would require a great deal of courage, if an artist proposes it, they'll say, "Okay, let's do it!" (lol), so the process of creating it is more interesting than ever before. There was a difference.

*From Chapter 7 “The Expanding World”

In some cases, masterpieces that you are used to seeing are displayed in a different atmosphere than usual, and in some cases, works that have been in our collection but have had few opportunities to be exhibited are also appearing. I hope you can enjoy the various expressions of various artworks from your own perspective.

Meet the Collection —Art, people, and museums

[Date and time] Until June 23rd (Sun) 10:00-18:00
*Last entry is 20:00 every Friday and Saturday.Last admission is 30 minutes before closing.
[Closed] Thursdays, May 7th (Tuesday) *However, open on May 2nd (Thursday, holiday)
[Venue] Yokohama Museum of Art
[Fee] General ¥1,100, University and high school students ¥700, Junior high school students ¥500, Elementary school students and under free, Over 65 years old ¥1,000 (Identification required, available only at the museum ticket office)
*Free admission on Sunday, June 2nd
*Free every Saturday for high school students and under (student ID 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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[Application summary]
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