Yuko Hasegawa, known as one of the most creative and international curator in Japan, visited Kyoto University as an almuna to hold an open lecture for the public. http://www.kyoto-u.ac.jp/ja/news_data/h/h8/d2/news4/2009/100122_1.htm Here is a brief summary of her lecture:
Hasegawa graduated from the Faculty of Law, Kyoto University, while she kept deep interest in art. She earned her MA in Geidai, Tokyo. As a curator, she acts as “a critic for art and society in practice.” Her basic concept seems to integrate art and life; historically, traditional fine arts have been placed as something superior to people’s daily life and restored in dark, quiet rooms, while she displays them as open to public and familiar to the audience. She strictly turns down the arrogance of enlightement.
She should be famous for launching and producing the 21st Century Art Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa.
The City Hall asked her to revitalize the center of Kanazawa city which faced donuts phenomena and urban sprawl and to stimulate the creativity of traditional craftpeople, Professionals of the working group were astonished at her idea, but she eventually outperformed the city’s expectation and succeeded in reviving the city. Here people can just pass through the public space as if it was a park. Actually people generously pay for
the exhibition and hope for unexpected encounter, since they never get fed up with the pieces but just run into something new every time.
# Concerning the first concept of contemporary art display, you may refer to:
Hasegawa currently serves as the chief curator of MoT (Museum of comtemporary art, Tokyo) since 2006.
Her lecture implies a lot to performing art as well as fine art: in terms of display, artists should take seriously how to get the audience engaged in their performance; participation, workshop, or things like that.
Next to 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art lies Ken-roku-en, one of the most established traditional Japanese gardens in Japan.
(September 2002 in Kanazawa)
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