Burart Diary
Burart Diary, published every Monday morning.
It is a diary-format column in which the editor-in-chief of art on jots down thoughts on art, everyday favorites, and passing musings. Please read at your leisure.
Studio Visits
Right at the start of the new year, I had the chance to visit artists’ studios.
And I made it to two studios in a single day.
The first was Ai Makita, who works while going back and forth between New York and Tokyo.
For the studio visit article, please see the link below.
The second was Kohei Yamada, known for his portrait works.
Both artists welcomed me very warmly. Thank you very much.
Even though it was our first meeting, Ai Makita and I were able to talk about many things.
What left the strongest impression was her discussion of the differences between the art scenes in the United States and Japan. For artists who want to take on the world, why not leave Japan and try to grasp that sense firsthand? Apparently the cost of living in New York is sky-high… so you had better be prepared.
With Kohei Yamada, whom I had spoken with several times before, our conversation dug in deep. Setting that aside, I was also able to observe his side as a collector with great interest. I will put together a studio-visit article on the stoic Mr. Yamada in due course.
For the studio-visit series, I want to visit the making-places of many different artists again this year.
A Feature That Answers Search Terms
Looking at the Google Analytics (GA) admin panel, you can find all kinds of information packed inside.
One item I check from time to time for reference is organic search terms.
This lets me see the terms people entered into search engines to reach the site. Among them are many amusing words that give me insights, and quite a few that make me burst out laughing.
This feature picks out a few terms from last month and answers them in detail.
December search term (1): Obviously, no one can make heads nor tails — spoilers
Among the most-viewed articles in December — one of the top three in traffic — was the piece on the exhibition “Obviously, no one can make heads nor tails” by mé.
Visitors came in by typing the related keyword “spoilers.” People who saw the show, and those who couldn’t, must have been curious about the content. I am looking forward to the arrival of the catalog.
In 2020 they also seem to have several activities planned. I am looking forward to them.
December search term (2): Kinjiro floating
A search term that made me pause for a second and think “huh?” — but when I searched for it myself, I understood. Someone was searching for Tesshin Iino’s “Jet Ninomiya Kinjiro.”
The Jet Ninomiya Kinjiro that I collected has survived multiple display rotations and is currently kept indoors on the front-line rotation. When it catches my eye out of nowhere, it lifts my spirits. Next to it stands a prim, pretentious three-dimensional girl by Julian Opie.
December search term (3): Size 8 painters
A very fine search term! This is just my guess, but this person is probably looking for size-8 paintings.
When displaying works at home, the sense of size really matters. Fellow collector Mr. Maseki, whom I collaborate with in the “Kore Kore Ten” exhibition, sometimes cuts out a paper template in the same size as the work in question and pretends to install it in order to grasp the actual look before buying. Another collector I know builds their collection mainly around postcard-sized works. Collectors clearly each have their own particular attachments when it comes to size.
Size 8 (F) is 455 mm × 380 mm. It is a size that fits nicely into Japanese homes. There should also be plenty of ready-made frames to choose from at that size.
Incidentally, one of the site’s most popular pieces of content is this size chart. * Bookmark recommended.
https://art-on.jp/2017/11/size-chart/
Today is the press preview for the official poster exhibition of Tokyo 2020.
If I have time, I will drop by. I am really looking forward to seeing what designs were made!
For this year as well, I plan to keep updating “Burart Diary” every Monday morning for the time being. Thank you very much for your continued support.
art on editor-in-chief
Mahiro Kobayashi
