You can't go wrong by calling a show "Fragments," as the curators of this year's "MOT Annual" exhibition have done. With a name like that, whatever bits and pieces visitors encounter at the annual group show of Tokyo's Museum of Contemporary Art, they can't say they were cheated because a name like that lowers expectations.
Lowering expectations seems to be something that the curators here are refining into an art. Last year's show, I remember, was a master class in removing enthused anticipation from all future installments of MOT Annual.
Accordingly, as I approached the museum this year, my expectations could have been squeezed into a metaphorical thimble, which is sad because, when the Museum of Contemporary Art was built around 20 years ago, it was created on a large scale and in a style that expressed expansive ambitions. The building stands as a testament to the once existing belief that Tokyo could become one of the world capitals of contemporary art.
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