It appears I have no more appreciation for Japanese contemporary "art" than the contemporary artwork I've seen on display back home. It pretty much all looks like something the cat yacked up.
The advertisement I read for the "New Universe On The Road" exhibit explained that Ohtake Shinro "gathers garbage, junk and assorted printed matter, returns home and rearranges it into assemblages with the semblance of works of art."
That's a very accurate description, though "works of art" is perhaps arguable. I must be missing the art appreciation gene, because none of his work spoke to me. Well, I guess it did speak, it just said "Look at me! I'm a heap of trash masquerading as fine art! Sucka!"
A lot of it looked like stuff he set on fire and left sitting in a compost heap for a year or two before deciding to glue it together.
Check it out:
Oops, sorry. That's actually my kitchen garbage. Well, close enough.
I can't show you real pictures of the exhibit because we weren't allowed to photograph it, lest we violate copyright law by running out and enlarging photographs of heaps of garbage and selling them for obscene amounts of money.
Oh well, at least it was free. I'm still glad we went because a few pieces in the permanent exhibits by other artists captured my imagination a little more.
One of my favorite pieces was painted on the shards of broken dishes.
