Arakawa, Texture of Time, 1977. Acrylic, pencil, and art marker on canvas. 167.64 x 254 cm (66 x 100 inches). Collection of Dayna and Steve Novenstein, New York. Photo: Robert McKeever. Courtesy Gagosian.
GLOBAL ART TALK 013 “How to Make Art Timeless: The Legacy, the Foundation, and Preservation in the Case of Arakawa+Gins” by Miwako Tezuka (Curator)
The field of contemporary art has grown fast and vast in the past few decades paralleling the phenomenon of globalization in many other aspects of the world and human affairs. In the midst of this perpetual expansion and change, there remains one fundamental question in art: “Is art timeless?” Our humanistic mindset tends to make us hold onto the idea, or idealism, of masterpieces somehow naturally defeating the effect of time and remaining afresh forever on their own. In reality, there are an increasing number of artist foundations being created, particularly at a rapid pace in the United States, whose purposes and missions include legacy building, archive organization, research, asset management, and more. Artist foundations’ activities, therefore, are crucial ingredients for making art timeless particularly in this day and age. In this lecture, I will share what I have learned and experienced so far as a curator providing consultation for artist foundations, especially Reversible Destiny Foundation in New York established by Arakawa (1936–2010) and Madeline Gins (1941–2014) in 2010.’
(Miwako Tezuka)
About the Talk
Time/Date:19:00-20:30 2018.11.19.MonVenue:ROHM Theatre Kyoto North Hall
https://rohmtheatrekyoto.jp/en/access/
Admission:Free (Booking required)
Seating Capacity:100
＊Talk is in Japanese only
Organized by: Kyoto University of Art and Design, Graduate School of Art and Design Studies / Higashiyama Artists Placement Service（HAPS）
download the flyer
About the Speaker
Dr. Miwako Tezuka is Consulting Curator of Reversible Destiny Foundation since 2015. Formerly, she was Gallery Director of Japan Society in New York (2012–15) and Curator of Contemporary Art at Asia Society Museum in New York (2005–12). She has curated numerous exhibitions, including: Maya Lin: A River is a Drawing (2018); LOVE Long: Robert Indiana and Asia (2018); Garden of Unearthly Delights: Works by Ikeda, Tenmyouya & teamLab (2014); Rebirth: Recent Work by Mariko Mori (2013); Yoshitomo Nara: Nobody’s Fool (2010); Yang Fudong: Seven Intellectuals in a Bamboo Forest (2009). She is also Co-Director of PoNJA-GenKon, a global online network of scholars and curators in the field of post-1945 Japanese art.Booking&Inquiries
For Booking and Inquiries:（GLOBAL_ARTTALK@office.kyoto-art.ac.jp）*Please send 1.Name, 2.Number of participants, 3.Phone number or email address, 4.Occupation (for student, please note the school name./for KUAD student, add the student ID)
GLOBAL ART TALK BY KUAD x HAPS
Connecting Kyoto and the World through Contemporary ArtThe environment surrounding contemporary art has become vastly more complex over the past few decades. Faced with this situation, it is no easy task for artists to find a way to be active at a global level. Naturally, it is virtually impossible to get a firm grasp on the art scenes that are being produced concurrently all over the world. In particular, in neighboring Asian countries that are seeing rapid economic growth and modernization, there are more opportunities than ever before to show one’s work, taking into account the new art museums and art fairs that are being established, and the flourishing numbers of international exhibitions. Although global attention focused on this region has increased, the situation is quite different in Japan, where there is a general sense that the work of developing art-related institutions has been finished. However, it is precisely this state of affairs that has led to a renewed questioning of how global networks are constructed, a reconsideration of how institutionalization works, and the role of artists in society.
In Kyoto, art schools produce a large number of new artists each year. But what kinds of connections might one discover today between this center of traditional Japanese culture and the world of contemporary art that has grown ever more complex in this way? “Global Art Talk,” presented by HAPS and Kyoto University of Art and Design, is a program where internationally active artists, curators, collectors, researchers, and gallerists, among others, are invited, and, through a series of dialogues, strives to provide a global perspective as well as deepen understanding. (Until last year it ran under the title of “ULTRA x HAPS.”)
The “GLOBAL ART TALK” is part of the Resident Curator Program of the Higashiyama Artist Placement Service (HAPS), which seeks to provide support to young emerging artists.
The Kyoto University of Art and Design is dedicated to establishing an institution that will foster artists from Kyoto who aim to work in the contemporary art world at a global level.
Images
Arakawa and Madeline Gins, Site of Reversible Destiny—Yoro Park, Gifu Prefecture, Japan, 1993–95. Park/architecture. 18,100 m² (195,000 sq. ft). ©1997Estate of Madeline Gins. Reproduced with permission of the Estate of Madeline Gins.
Installation view of exhibition Arakawa and Madeline Gins: Eternal Gradient at Arthur Ross Architecture Gallery, Graduate School of Architecture, Planning and Preservation, Columbia University, New York (March 30–June 16, 2018). Photo by James Ewing / Courtesy Columbia GSAPP.
Portrait of Arakawa and Madeline Gins, 2007. Image courtesy of Dimitiris Yeros.