13605

Post 90s - Japanese Contemporary Art and Theories in a Global Perspective

Ruri Kawanami

Comments

The purpose of the seminar is to familiarise students with recent tendencies, key topics, and current debates in the field of Japanese contemporary art and theories. Since the 1990s, Japanese art scenes have witnessed the emergence of a multitude of artistic positions and discourses, reflecting a number of societal turbulences associated with the “Lost Decades” following the post-bubble economy of Japan, evolving infrastructural frameworks of globalised and commercialised art market, the AIDS crisis, the rise of historical revisionism, and most notably, the 2011 “Triple Disaster” (nuclear meltdown, earthquake, and tsunami) in Fukushima. Each session will focus on a different issue, accompanied by a case study drawn from recent, yet established texts and examples. Topics may include, but are not limited to; the politics of difference and sexuality (Dump Type, Ito Tali, Morimura Yasumasa); the intertwined colonial histories of Korea, Taiwan and Okinawa (Aida Makoto, Tomiyama Taeko, Shimada Yoshiko); the interplay between subcultural niches and the citation of pre-modern pictorial traditions (Murakami Takashi, Matsui Fuyuko); infrastructural entanglements with tourism and censorship (the Echigo-Tumari Art Triennal, the Aichi Triennale); the “social turn” and project-based practices (Tanaka Koki, Port B); and emerging practices that engages with the ecological catastrophes (Chim?Pom). In the light of the ongoing debates surrounding the concept of “global contemporaneity” (Tomii, 2009), the seminar draws upon readings of selected contemporary art writings from the region. Our aim is to foster a decentred and nuanced understanding of art discourses from regional perspectives and to discuss how contemporary artistic positions and practices have evolved in response to the complex historical entanglements in East Asia. close

16 Class schedule

Regular appointments

Thu, 14:00 - 16:00 16 Class schedule

Thu, 2024-10-17 14:00 - 16:00

Lecturers:
Ruri Kawanami