{"id":88765,"date":"2022-01-05T20:30:00","date_gmt":"2022-01-05T11:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/?p=88765"},"modified":"2022-03-29T09:50:26","modified_gmt":"2022-03-29T00:50:26","slug":"discover-setouchi-beauty-through-art-and-architecture","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/voyapon.com\/discover-setouchi-beauty-through-art-and-architecture\/","title":{"rendered":"Discover Setouchi\u2019s Beauty Through Art and Architecture"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In the quest for a place\u2019s identity, Setouchi asked itself what it wanted to be and found its answer to what makes us human and nourishes our soul: (re)building a collective ethos around art.<\/strong> The power of art relies on a mutual understanding between creator and spectator, and at the same time, opens venues for new interpretations. This is how art subjects us to transformation. We\u2019re not the same anymore after connecting through this shared insight.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a starting point with the region\u2019s industrial history and the country as a whole, themes of \u201cdevelopment\u201d \u2014 2016\u2019s Okayama Art Summit\u2019s leitmotiv and overarching topic surrounding the various art projects across Setouchi\u2014 take new inward meanings. This includes the ways evolution is understood, rebuilding from existing structures, and finding growth within sustainable means, like examples from Inujima\u2019s art installations<\/a>, the most prominent island out of the Setouchi archipelago hosting the Setouchi Triennale<\/a>.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

What follows is a series of observations from an art-packed day in Okayama<\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Art Creates a Synergy With its Environment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Increasing the city\u2019s touristic value is one of the objectives of the Okayama Art Summit, so it\u2019s a clever choice to do so by freeing art from the boundaries of an enclosed space. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pieces from Past Okayama Art Summit Exhibitions<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Public open-air art is a welcome disruption of the urban landscape, which sometimes becomes part of that very same landscape. Such is the case of works featured in past editions of the Okayama Art Summit<\/a>. Adding new meanings to existing landmarks also creates new opportunities for city attractions. Whether people come to Okayama for these installations or not, I feel there\u2019s a sense of wonder in \u201ccatching\u201d art in the wild while discovering the city.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"How<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Faceted<\/figure>\n
Public art as a manifestation of changing norms. Left: Fischli and Weiss bring a touch of tongue-in-cheek irony with a seemingly innocuous workplace decalog which, in light of an everchanging environment, feels more like an entire meditation on lifestyle patterns. Right: Gillick reinterprets an existing landmark in flamboyant fashion.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

How to Work Better<\/em>, a simple list of advice for the workplace, is often found in Peter Fischli and David Weiss\u2019 body of work, generally dealing with art inspired by the banality of daily life. The Swiss pair took it from a poster found in a ceramic plant in Thailand, and it\u2019s been subsequently featured in buildings in Zurich and New York before being reproduced in Okayama. I had fun imagining all the mixed reactions to the prescriptive wall from daily passersby. Some may find solace in these easy and effective rules, while some may snicker at what rightfully looks like an empty and copied ad-nauseam corporate slogan, neither being wrong nor right about their take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Then there\u2019s Faceted Development<\/em> from Liam Gillick, a British artist currently based in New York. As the artistic director for 2016\u2019s Art Summit, following a body of work exploring the social function of art and usually associated with relational aesthetics, he also modified an existing landmark. A small square\u2019s white tower at a busy intersection became a radiant and colorful work of art, a change that would be permanent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Two-Way
Graham\u2019s Wood Grid Crossing Two-Way Mirror contrasts a conceptual shoji and the shrine itself, the quintessential traditional Japanese structure.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Energizing Local Communities: Okayama Tenjinyama Culture Plaza<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

A spectacular landmark from brutalist and modernist architect Kunio Maekawa, Tenjinyama Culture Plaza (\u5929\u795e\u5c71\u6587\u5316\u30d7\u30e9\u30b6) is a multidisciplinary space managed by The Okayama Prefectural Cultural Federation. As a community hub for various cultural activities, we can find exhibitions from established artists and independent activities for local artists across their five exhibition rooms. There\u2019s also a library, a cultural information center and a large hall that allows performances for theatre companies from the prefecture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Setouchi
Depending on the point of view, the front staircase is designed to look like floating independently of the structure<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"Tenjinyama
Maekawa\u2019s design includes a striking mural in the concrete facade<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Japanese
A large hall of 270 seats provides a venue for many small theatre groups<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Past Meets Future: Hayashibara Art Museum and Fukuoka Shoyu Gallery<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Coming from Tokyo, where sentimental attachment to old buildings often ends in heartbreak for history and architecture enthusiasts like me, seeing examples of the opposite in Okayama felt like a breath of fresh air.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Hayashibara Museum of Art, Keeping Alive Samurai and Traditional Arts Legacy <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Born out of a lifelong love of Japanese traditional arts and historical objects, the Hayashibara Museum of Art (\u6797\u539f\u7f8e\u8853\u9928, Hayashibara Bijutsukan) is the legacy of Ichiro Hayashibara, a prominent businessman who devoted himself to amass a collection of about 10,000 pieces including treasures from the Ikeda clan, rulers of the former Okayama domain. A former guesthouse inside that used to be Okayama castle\u2018s inner moat was restored and given a new lease with an infrastructure expansion designed by Kunio Maekawa, fusing polar opposite styles into an eclectic building.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Hayashibara
Hayashibara Museum of Art entrance view from inside<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Instead of having a permanent exhibition, 5-6 temporal exhibitions take place every year, rotating the collection\u2019s contents with external additions depending on the theme. During my visit, there was a fascinating exhibition on Japanese short daggers used as protective talismans, called mamori-gatana <\/em>(\u5b88\u308a\u5200, protective sword). It wasn\u2019t just a showcase of historical objects, as I thought. There were also many contemporary ones, some with unusual designs and others inspired by popular culture. As I voiced my surprise, the museum guide expressed how the tradition evolves to stay alive, which they also wanted to show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"Hayashibara<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Exhibition<\/figure>\n
The museum has operated since October 1964 following the wishes of the late Ichiro Hayashibara, whose impressive collection includes swords, armors, pottery, Noh costumes and masks, furniture, paintings, calligraphies, and lacquer work.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Fukuoka Shoyu Gallery, From Soy Brewery to Art House<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Former Fukuoka Soy Sauce Factory is a historical Meiji era building that used to be a soy sauce brewery. The Ishikawa Cultural Foundation renewed it and rebranded it as Fukuoka Shoyu Gallery in April 2021 as part of efforts to increase dynamism in the area and promote local culture. The inaugural exhibition, available until March 2022, fell to none other than teamLab\u2019s cutting-edge art collective.<\/a> I never imagined drinking tea in darkness would be so enjoyable until I visited this space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Fukuoka<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\"TeaTime<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Interior<\/figure>\n
Using the underground gallery space, teamLab created a singular tea room with floating red lamps where visitors can enjoy tea in a cup with led illumination that changes colors every time you move it.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

East meets West: Artist&Architect<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

One of the greatest challenges of incorporating new tendencies is maintaining a balance. Japan\u2019s ambivalence between traditional and vanguardist architecture takes another step further when art is added to the mix. Having discussed the ideas of art blending into the public urban sphere and functioning as an interactive artifact, I was utterly mindblown by The A&A Project\u2019s approach: World-class artists join hands with leading Japanese architects to create art installations as dwelling quarters that go well beyond the practicals of having a roof to sleep under. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A&A Jonathan Hasegawa: (Not) Another Neighbourhood House  <\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The brainchild of Berlin-based British artist Jonathan Monk and Japanese architect Go Hasegawa became a surprise the second I stepped inside. A discrete exterior that took inspiration from the old houses that used to occupy the site harbors an interior straight out of a sci-fi setting that still retains the spirit of Japanese warmth and minimalism through wood and warm tones. Monk\u2019s penchant for conceptual and minimal art finds a fitting partnership with Hasegawa\u2019s clean lines and environmental blend style. The resulting piece meets external expectations while internally shattering them in a multi-layered approach to conceptual space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"stylish<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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\"Jonathan<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Rooftop<\/figure>\n
Jonathan Hasegawa\u2019s understated facade that doesn\u2019t look entirely out of place within the neighborhood is an out-of-this-world space softened by the warmth of wooden textures.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A&A Liam Fuji, \u201cThe Manabe Equation House\u201d: Upside Down Perspectives<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

At the time of writing, I\u2019m still struggling to pick up my jaw from the floor. Art and architecture take on sciences for a mind-bending creation that takes a page out of Escher\u2019s mathematical illustrations. Liam Gillick\u2019s signature aesthetics about environment and globalization join forces with Mount Fuji Architects Studio\u2019s design sensibility to pay homage to Nobel Prize-winning meteorologist Syukuro Manabe<\/a>. His ground-breaking mathematical calculations well before its time brought forth a yet-unseen insight into our society\u2019s understanding of climate change. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Liam
Sporting a seemingly incoherent string of characters for the uninitiated, the strikingly and disjointed structure of the house is a bold statement of intent: This has changed our entire world.<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

And yet, the eye-catching facade didn\u2019t prepare me for the interior experience. A maze of stairways and the labyrinthic route I had to follow to enter each space create a sense of uncertainty and challenge for every step I take while interfacing with the structure. Manabe\u2019s equations are framed and hung on the walls in some of the house’s rooms, lest we forget the scientist\u2019s paramount contribution. A few moments I became concerned with the possibility of getting lost, which probably would have happened without the aid of my guide. Perhaps a stern warning of the entrapment that awaits us as a society when we fail to understand the complexities of our environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Liam<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
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\"Interior<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Bedroom<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"Interior<\/figure>\n
A beautifully organized chaos awaits Liam Fuji visitors. A glass ceiling fills the house with natural sunlight if guests choose to remove the curtain and, during clear nights, the possibility of sleeping under the stars.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Getting to Okayama<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As one of the country\u2019s largest transport hubs, it takes less than 1 hour and 10 minutes to fly to Okayama from Tokyo and about 3 hours via Shinkansen. From Osaka and Kyoto, the bullet train takes about 1 hour.<\/p>\n\n\n\n