Study of the Original (6) – Exhibit of Fukuda Miran’s Lakeside
As mentioned in the monthly report of last July, October 9 we started to exhibit the “Lakeside” painted (in 1993) by Fukuda Miran, a contemporary artist, in Tokyo National Museum’s Kuroda Memorial Hall. This exhibition was in conjunction with the international symposium, Capturing the Original: Archives for Cultural Properties that will be held on December 6 – 8. This exhibit will continue until December 25. This event, entitled Lakeside Versus Lakeside, exhibits the work Fukuda Miran created based on Lakeside, the representative work Kuroda Seiki, a western painter in Meiji era, along with the original, which is in the permanent exhibition in Kuroda Memorial Hall. Fukuda Miran – a spirited contemporary artist – creates works using the fine arts of all ages and cultures as base materials, and is known for his creative activities that shake up the original images. Fukuda’s Lakeside extends the background of Kuroda’s Lakeside for painting, possibly upsetting the image of the celebrated picture that is so familiar in schoolbooks and stamps. It also prompts viewers to look at the original work from a new angle. Visitors looked puzzled, but nevertheless seemed to enjoy the contrast of Kuroda’s Lakeside and Fukuda’s Lakeside, which are exhibited facing each other across the hallway.
On October 8, we held an internal workshop at the Department of Research Programming with an eye toward the international symposium with the presentation of Mr. Morishita Masaaki, a visiting researcher of the Institute. In the presentation Issues Surrounding Art Museums and Originals: Contemporary Art, Mr. Morishita introduced activities which surpass the artwork concept of objects produced by traditional artists, mainly focusing on contemporary art in England. It highlighted one issue of contemporary museums: how those activities are to be conveyed.
While the works tend to be abstracted, we are deeply interested in the activities of the International Network for the Conservation of Contemporary Art (INCCA), which attempts to showcase the contemporary scene, particularly by recording interviews with writers and others as contemporary models for conserving works of art.