National Art Center, Tokyo (NACT) is hosting a major retrospective of modern art that was made in Japan. Titled Prism of the Real: Making Art in Japan 1989-2010, it seeks to explore how both Japanese artists and non-Japanese artists resident within Japan were influenced and inspired by that two-decade time period.
A collaboration between the National Art Center, Tokyo and M+, a major modern art gallery that opened in Hong Kong in 2021, the exhibition is on until December 8.
1989 was a pivotal year for both Japan and the world in general. The Showa era ended. The Heisei era began. Japanese industry ruled supreme, and Japan's stock market soared.
Internationally, the Berlin Wall fell, the Cold War ended, and the globalization era began its run. These pivotal developments coincided with an "explosive emergence of new artistic voices," stated Doryn Chong, head curator of M+. "There was something in the air."
In the 1980s, Japan experienced a bubble economy that led to grossly inflated property and stock market valuations. The bubble burst in 1991, as bubbles always do. In the view of some economists, the years it took the stock market to recapture these heights were "lost decades."
Others noted that during the 1990s, Tokyo constructed three major subway lines, and the bars were always full. When confronted with "lost decade" rhetoric at a media event, Chong retorted that the 1990s in Japan were a breakthrough era in the artistic sphere. Moreover, he stressed, the momentum has been sustained until the present.
Marking the End Point
The exhibition's end date of 2010 is less specific. It is more of a round number. But a two-decade time period is manageable, stated Chong. Moreover, it offered an even balance of time before and after the change of the millennium. Additionally, the Tohoku earthquake of March 2011 was such a cataclysmic event that it deeply impacted the artistic world, Chong explained. The exhibition would have been significantly different if the time period had extended beyond it.
The exhibition is extensive. It includes the work of 50 artists and winds its way through a spacious gallery. There are around 20 distinct spaces, including multiple projection rooms, divided into three thematic sections, rather than chronologically. They are "The Past is a Phantom," "Self and Others," and "Promise of Community."
'The Past is a Phantom'
The Past is a Phantom comprises artwork that considers the weight of history. Unsurprisingly, much of the subject matter concerns the Asia-Pacific War and its aftermath, including the burden of United States base hosting that the people of Okinawa have had to endure. A particularly popular exhibit, however, deals with the Iraq War, beginning in 2003.
In an 8-minute time lapse video shot over 18 days, a man and woman shape two tons of clay into varying facial forms. Near the beginning, the clay portrays the face of 2001-2009 US president George W Bush. Throughout the video, it repeatedly sings "God Bless America," a patriotic song that became an anthem in the wake of the September 11, 2001, attacks. Molding the clay is presented as a form of meaningless labor imposed upon the pair. The video is critical of US aggression and a recognition of the inescapability of the US presence and influence upon Japan.
Agent Orange and Torii Gates
America's defoliation campaign during the Vietnam War is dealt with by acclaimed artist Yoshitomo Nara. The subject matter of Nara's artworks is ostensibly cute children, but with expressions and props that imply sinister overtones. In Agent Orange and Agent Orange in Disguise, the heads of the children are bright orange and shaped like military helmets. Meanwhile, in Dead Flower, a child is holding a knife in front of a severed flower. An obscenity is written on her back.
A more subtle exhibit is a series of photographs by Motoyuki Shitamichi on the fate of torii gates in former Japanese colonies. In Taichung, Taiwan from "torii," a torii has collapsed with the vestiges of time but has not been removed. Taiwanese residents enjoy the open air while employing it as a conveniently sized bench.
'Self and Others'
Part 2 of the exhibition, "Self and Others," deals with question of identity. According to NACT curator Jihye Yun, "long-standing identity categories such as gender, sexuality and nationality, once treated as rigid" were extensively examined during the 1989-2010 time period. While issues of national identity have been slow to arrive to island nation Japan, the fall of the Berlin wall, the globalization movement, and the introduction of the Euro passport, were pivotal to many of the non-Japanese artists working in Japan during that era.
No Ghost Just a Shell is a video project by French Artist Pierre Huyghe and Phillppe Parreno that is titled after the highly influential Japanese cyberpunk anime film, Ghost in the Shell, released in 1995. In 1999, Huyghe and Parreno purchased an animated stock character from an agency for ¥4,600 JPY ($31 USD) and named her Annlee. The character was non-descriptive and devoid of a biography. She had no distinctive features except wide vacant eyes and purplish blue hair and was unlikely to have had a future.
In purchasing Annlee, Huyghe and Parreno saved an "identity-neutral" character from an unpromising future within the animation industry. Annlee ultimately became an open-source starlet who has featured in over 30 multimedia artworks by numerous artists. She has become a symbol of social dialogue between Japan and the wider world.
'Promise of Community'
The third section, "Promise of Community," explores the different ways people can come together. Communities range from small neighborhoods to international regions, and the world community itself. The artworks that focus on neighborhoods and towns are generally produced within those specific sites and include extensive community involvement.
In Vegetable Weapon Series, by Tsuyoshi Ozawa, women from around the world are photographed with "firearms" constructed of the vegetables specific to their respective regional dishes. After being photographed, the weapons are disassembled and used in the creation of those culinary specialities, which the participants then share together. By turning an object of destruction into an opportunity for sharing and community, Ozawa highlights the absurdity of war.
In 1992, an exhibition sought to reveal how the differences in the educational and media environments of Japan and South Korea shaped interpretations. It toured Tokyo, Osaka and Seoul. In conjunction with that exhibition, Masato Nakamura produced Barber Pole, Toki & Kobuki. Notably, in Japan, spinning poles are associated with barber shops. However, in South Korea, they sometimes serve as markers for sex industry establishments.
A feature exhibit within Prism of the Real is Her 19th Foot, by Yutaka Sone. Each of the frames, referred to by Sone as "tools", consists of a single wheel and pedal, a seat, with handlebars attached to the rear. A single tool has no utility, but when two or more are connected, a rideable vehicle is formed. As the chain of tools extends, however, the necessity for communication among the riders similarly grows.
Shining of Refracted Light
Further features of the two decade period that Prism of the Real covers are the growth of artist in residence programs, artistic collectives, art festivals, and exhibitions of contemporary Japanese art around the world. The exhibition catalogue contains a detailed chronology of significant events that comprises an invaluable reference.
Prism of the Real: Making Art in Japan 1989-2010 is comprehensive. This is a highly ambitious project that makes full use of the National Art Center, Tokyo and M+ collaboration. It more than meets its aim of absorbing the "light" of a two-decade period into the exhibition prism, and refracting it into wavelengths for the visitor to interpret and enjoy.
About the Exhibition
Title: Prism of the Real: Making Art in Japan 1989-2010
When: On until December 8, 2025
Where: National Art Center, Tokyo in the city's Roppongi district
By: National Art Center, Tokyo and M+
Access and Other Information: Check the website of the National Art Center, Tokyo for access, hours and entry fees.
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Author: Paul de Vries
