Tohoku University of Art & Design Campus
Tohoku University of Art & Design, one of the venues of the Yamagata Biennale, stands on a small hill in a splendid location.
The view spread out in front of the campus — distant mountains, pastoral landscapes — is breathtaking.
One Hundred Stories Like a Mountain
“One Hundred Stories Like a Mountain,” held on the Tohoku University of Art & Design campus, was a project that trained the spotlight — as art — on aspects of Yamagata that have rarely been thought of as its defining character.
What do you think “Yamagata-ness” is? “One Hundred Stories Like a Mountain” is an exhibition that focuses on aspects of Yamagata that have long gone unnoticed as part of its character, and that intermingles folkloric and museum materials with artworks born from Tohoku University of Art & Design. The truths that researchers have uncovered from deep beneath the landscape, and the “stories like a mountain” that the inspired artists then reached for, unfold together to build a space that explores a “new way of seeing Yamagata.” The university grounds are divided into five zones — “Laboratory,” “Incubation,” “Contemporary,” “Collaboration,” and “Arts & Crafts” — with 100 works scattered across them. Guidebook in hand, please seek out “your own 100 stories.”
Curator of One Hundred Stories
Natsunosuke Mise (Nihonga painter)
Direction: Natsunosuke Mise, Suginoshita Isho-shitsu + Aya Nakajima
The “One Hundred Stories Like a Mountain” guidebook was directed by Natsunosuke Mise, and its consistent illustration style throughout gave it a stylish look. It was distributed free of charge, but the planned run had already been exhausted by the final day.
Across the university grounds, divided into 5 zones — “Laboratory,” “Incubation,” “Contemporary,” “Collaboration,” and “Arts & Crafts” — 100 works were installed, and even accounting for the many participating artists it is remarkable that they managed to gather that many. It really is a mountain of a display.
“Contemporary Yamagata Considered: Is Restoration Possible? — Region, Locality, Japan” questioned what it means to restore old artworks. By juxtaposing antique artworks connected to Yamagata with contemporary art, the exhibition raised a variety of thoughts on restoration.
“One Hundred Stories Like a Mountain” is a project in which each work is divided into its own small, specific theme, but as I moved through them all — carried by the flow of time and the surrounding natural setting — I found myself accepting the project as a whole with an open heart, and it became a straightforwardly comfortable, refreshing experience of art appreciation.
Overview
Yamagata Biennale
“One Hundred Stories Like a Mountain”
Dates: September 1 (Sat) – September 24 (Mon, holiday), 2018
*Open only on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays, and public holidays during the period
Exhibition hours: 10:00–17:00
Venue: Tohoku University of Art & Design campus
Curators: Natsunosuke Mise, Akio Miyamoto
Art direction: Satoshi Suzuki + Tsukasa Koseki (Suginoshita Isho-shitsu)
Editing: Aya Nakajima (Real Local Yamagata)
< Participating Artists >
Suginoshita Isho-shitsu + Aya Nakajima, Hiroaki Kano, Is Tohoku Painting Possible?, Yukiko Hata, Yuriko Asano, Hideki Otsuchi, Hiroaki Ido, Daizaburo Sakamoto, Keiichiro Sakata, Shingo Suzuki, Taisuke Fujiwara, Takuro Goto, Daisuke Taketani, Sakura Koretsune, Tomoya Ihosawa, Daisuke Shimizu, Takezo Shinkai, Kakuo Shinkai, Taketaro Shinkai, Shingaku Kikuchi, Yuichi Takahashi, Genkichi Takahashi, Tomoko Hisamatsu, Takeshi Shibuya, Tomiyuki Kaneko, Naoto Sunohara, Kodai Ujiie, Kenichiro Mizuno, Tombo Sensei, Makito Takagi, Yoshimarushin, Eiki Okuda, Jun Tsuzuki, Koichiro Takei, Teppei Takeda, Chisato Hotta, Nana Shibuya, Daisuke Nagaoka, Koji Kumagai, Izumi Iguchi, Kohei Sato, Taku Kaneko, AGAIN-ST, L PACK., Yo Ishihara + Gecko Parade, OF THE BOX., Yama no Yona Yatai Matsuri, Tomoyuki Hoi, Mitsuo Bamba, Akira Nagasawa, Soichiro Fukai, Toshihiro Yashiro, Hiroyuki Aoyama, Masatake Kozaki, Tomoki Kaneko, Shin Yoshiga, Ryuken Oyama, Natsunosuke Mise, Takashi Hara, Naoki Imamura, LLP Amefurashi, Jiro Murakami, Yamagata Character Investigation Team (updated August 7, 2018)
< Museum-collection Works >
Fujin Raijin statues (Raijin Shrine, Oe Town), Mukasari Ema, Wooden Osawa Buddha statue (Shioda Gyoya, Shirataka Town), Kanono Great Buddha materials (Hoko-ji Temple, Hinode Town), Fujin Raijin statues (Shioda Gyoya), Wooden Standing Amida Nyorai / Wooden Standing Bishamonten / Wooden Seated Kannon Bosatsu (Korean Buddhist statue) (Sato Buddhist Statue Collection, Dewa Sanzan Shrine, Tsuruoka City), postcards (Tohoku Culture Research Center, Tohoku University of Art & Design), materials of the Conservation and Restoration Research Center, Tohoku University of Art & Design, Yamadera Oil Painting Exhibition (as of May 30, 2018)
