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C.B. Liddell
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 31, 2002
Joan Miro: Reflections on the renewal of Spain
No artist's life and work -- not even Picasso's -- better represents the modern history of Spain than that of Joan Miro (1893-1983), whose early work from 1918 to 1945 is now on display at the Setagaya Art Museum.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jul 24, 2002
Celebrate the fragile art of glass
With the sweltering heat of summer now upon us, you could do worse than escape into the Suntory Museum in Akasaka to visit its exhibition of glass art. There is something particularly cooling about looking at these 142 exhibits, which range from a fragment enameled with a charming bird design from Roman...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 26, 2002
Finding a style of their own
Next year marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of Vincent van Gogh, popularly regarded in Japan (as elsewhere) as the quintessential artist. Unfortunately, it will be difficult for Japanese galleries to borrow works from abroad to celebrate this event, with insurance costs now three times higher...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 22, 2002
Meet Mama, in the name of art
Tatsumi Orimoto has a theory about his recent popularity. "After the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, so many people wanted art that was warm and funny," he says as he shows me around an exhibition of his graphic art and objects at his hometown art venue, the Kawasaki City Museum.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jun 12, 2002
Zazen and the roundabout road to enlightenment
In his classic book "Zen in the Art of Archery," Eugen Herrigel makes it clear that trying too hard to hit a target is a sure way to miss it. One wonders whether, conversely, the easiest way to achieve one's aim is to take a roundabout route to it. That would certainly seem to be the case with the art...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 29, 2002
Master at the cutting edge of art
Japan is often seen as a blend of the advanced and the archaic. But this combination is nothing new, as a visit to an exhibition of swords now on at the Nezu Museum in Tokyo's Omotesando district makes clear.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 22, 2002
The beautiful game becomes art
Soccer commentators, in their hyperbolic struggle to convey the excitement of the sport, sometimes refer to it as an art. This analogy isn't totally offside, as there's no denying the aesthetic element of a sport requiring so much strength, speed and coordination. But what happens when the kinetic art...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 8, 2002
The intoxication of Maurice Utrillo
Paris is a city of the mind. In addition to its reputation for intellectualism, it is one of the few cities of which almost everyone has some mental picture. And even though these images sometimes prove to be romanticized, Paris is nevertheless indisputably picturesque.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
May 1, 2002
Marc Chagall: painting the great power of love
In Japan, July 7 is a special day. It is the festival of Tanabata, the one night of the year when two celestial star-crossed lovers -- the Weaver (Vega) and the Cowherd (Altair) -- are said to cross the Milky Way to meet.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Apr 3, 2002
The hair-raising art of Lennie Mace
A hair salon in Harajuku seems an unlikely venue for an art museum, especially one dedicated to a shaven-headed, New York artist who works principally in ballpoint pen.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Feb 13, 2002
A traveler possessed by light
Part of the game of art nowadays is for artists, whatever their influence or orientation, to avoid classification. Once this happens, their work often devolves into well-worm cultural cliche. One 20th-century artist who escaped this process, though, was Paul Klee (1879- 1940), whose work is as hard to...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 30, 2002
A real sound and light show
Ever go to an exhibition and think, "Hey, I can do that"? If the passivity of being an art gazer is getting you down, you might want to join the kids enjoying the latest innovation at the Urawa Museum of Art, a hands-on drawing room.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Jan 23, 2002
Revamped MOMAT opens with unfinished business
With "The Unfinished Century," its first exhibition since its renovation, the Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, offers a comprehensive selection of works spanning the entire 20th century. The museum, and not only its exhibits, has become more comprehensive, too -- its improved facilities including a digital...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Dec 5, 2001
From mimicry to homegrown art
Japanese modern art is often discounted as a mere echo of its Western counterpart. This is not so much because styles and forms have been imported per se, but because in their new environment they have failed to take on a life of their own. In this, the real test, modern Japanese art has often been found...
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 21, 2001
Visual aromatherapy for tired execs
After visiting the current exhibition of corporate art at Shibuya's Bunkamura, I have arrived at a daring new explanation of Japan's economic downturn. But more on this later.
Japan Times
CULTURE / Art
Nov 14, 2001
Any color just so long as it's yellow
Although yellow often has negative connotations in the West, it is a very positive color here in the East, Goh Shigi is quick to point out at the opening of his latest show, "Heat of Yellow," which presents 15 of his latest oils as well as several drawings at Ginza's Nishimura Gallery.
CULTURE / Art
Oct 24, 2001
Sophisticated tastes and surprising connections
Most of the action in the art world takes place out of the public eye in small, discreet galleries like the one run and owned by Noriko Togo, catering to the sophisticated tastes of a well-heeled clientele. Togo shows me around her gallery's latest exhibition, "Beyond the Visible World," which brings...
CULTURE / Art
Oct 17, 2001
Celebrating childhood's wonder
It is quite common to hear nowadays that kids are spoilt and overindulged. Things were certainly different in the past -- or were they?
CULTURE / Art
Oct 3, 2001
An artist who stands out from the crowd
Art does not exist in a bubble. Contemporary events, like the terrorist attack on America, affect the way we look at it.
CULTURE / Art
Sep 26, 2001
Revisiting his ancestors' art
Taro Okamoto (1911-96) is perhaps Japan's most famous post-war artist. With his trademark artistic style, his eccentric, media-friendly personality and ready catchphrases, he presented the perfect picture of the inspired artist brimming with original ideas.

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