Takamatsu City Art Museum and the "Metamorphose" Exhibit

The Art of Art
by Pat Scanlon

In my pre Takamatsu existence, I was once an education officer in a government art gallery and have kept up a life-long interest in the visual arts all my life. One of the pleasant surprises Takamatsu City has to offer is a very beautiful multi-storied monolith that is the city’s gallery. This building is an exercise in modern, clean design and one of the most visitor- friendly galleries I’ve ever been to. Walking in the entrance the natural light and spaciousness of the first floor is immediately calming and beautiful. Alright, OK, so lots of people just go to the annexes there to sit in the Miles Van der Rhoe ‘Barcelona chairs’ and snooze away the afternoons. But it looks a pretty attractive and cool idea to wile away a summer's lunchtime if you ask me …

Times: 9:30~7:00 weekdays. 9:30~5:00 weekends and holidays.

But to the point, it is a very modern, spacious and interesting place built in 1988 with mezzanine floors, resting rooms, great library and some super traveling exhibitions doing the rounds through the year. The Takamatsu City Gallery is plonked upon the most expensive piece of real estate in the city. Right smack bang in the very center of the CBD and this speaks volumes about the Japanese and their love of the arts I think. I have only one criticism of this place that I spend a lot of my time, and that is their interesting web page is only in Japanese, to wit, not very ‘other language friendly’. Not very? Make that not at all other language friendly. But this can be fixed with a bit of effort, as this is especially frustrating when one reads in Japanese about the non-exhibition art activities available for all the people living in Takamatsu to partake in and enjoy.

http://www.city.takamatsu.kagawa.jp/kyouiku/bunkabu/bijyutu/
http://www.city.takamatsu.kagawa.jp/english/sightseeing/sees/takamatsu-city-museum-of-art.html

Location map on the link above.

http://www.city.takamatsu.kagawa.jp/kyouiku/bunkabu/bijyutu/special/21-5.html

There is a marvelous exhibition “Metamorphose” on at the gallery at the moment and if you have the time, please do take a look. It runs until March 28th. A mixed media affair with some conceptual pieces one by Nobi Aniki who performs as a live-in sculpture and I saw walking around the shopping arcades the other day dressed as a kid in short black pants, yellow sweater, blue shoes and pudding-bowl haircut.

Shingo Akiyama has on exhibition some wonderful sculptural pieces that double as kids’ toys to ride around on. And this you can also do at the entrance of the gallery on the first floor.
Izotaki Kimio’s 3D photos were a first for me, very unusual and thought provoking. The works that really had me thinking were the series of large photos by Masashi Asada on his family. What a visual experience they are! Very quirky, and so interesting. Actually they’re beyond just ‘interesting’ so go see for yourself and find your own adjectives. This exhibition runs until March 23rd and at ￥500 is well worth it.

Another well designed and newish gallery built in 1992 is the Takamatsu History Museum and this is another startling piece of clever architecture, beautifully thought out and a trip to walk through. Again, they have some great exhibitions during the year but frequently with little if any information in English, (or any other foreign language) sorry to labor the point… It is very centrally located and right behind the large Anabuki Concert Hall and underground parking is a big help for drivers.
Last year’s exhibition on the changes in Japanese and in particular Kagawan’s lifestyle over the last 60 years was a winner. This featured a mock up of a kitchen from the 40s, working TVs from the 50s, comics and animation from the 40s, old technologies such as early cameras, videos etc. There were even some old stores built to replicate the atmosphere of the times.

In the permanent exhibition, which features many Buddhist scrolls, objects of devotion and paintings (this really needs someone at hand to explain, as it’s esoteric stuff) but there is a reconstruction of a cabin from the “Hiryu Maru”. The cabin shows us how the lords of another age traveled by sea. Gee, I thought it would be pretty swank to travel like that even these days?
http://www.city.takamatsu.kagawa.jp/english/sightseeing/sees/takamatsu-history-museum.html


It’s a world-class facility without a doubt and five minutes on foot from the Takamatsu Station.