Hara Museum, Tokyo
Spring has come, and so have the cherry blossoms! Pink is everywhere as blossoms blanket surfaces, including that of the nearby Meguro River. This year’s spring has a special meaning to Shanghai, the place that artist Yang Fudong presently calls home. This is because it will be hosting the Shanghai World Expo next month. Preparations have moved into high gear as the city gets ready to open the event.
Meanwhile, Yang’s solo exhibition, Yang Fudong—The General’s Smile, continues to draw crowds at the Hara Museum. It has been so popular that the exhibition has been extended to May 23. Fans of this cutting-edge video/film artist will happy to know that he has been selected to participate in Aichi Triennale 2010 this summer as well.
The Hara Museum show represents the artist’s first solo exhibition in this country. Especially notable is the eponymous work entitled The General’s Smile, an installation that depicts a banquet held for an elderly general. This large-scale work was built in a way that makes the most of the museum’s unique space, a reflection of its previous incarnation as a personal residence.
Yang Fudong, The General’s Smile, 2009
multiple-channel video installation
Photo: Keizo Kioku
The photo used in the exhibition flyer shows a making-scene of the work. It conveys the energy and excitement of the banquet extremely well.
The idea for the work was something the artist pondered for many years. Last year, with the help of a large crew and cast, he was able to finally give it form within the space of his Shanghai studio. The work had to be adapted to the space at the Hara Museum. In the end, the work encompassed 23 video streams and fifty-plus audio-visual units. The artist said the work will make the viewers feel as if they were “lost in a forest.”
This exhibition shows a different side of Yang Fudong, one that takes his imagery beyond the movie screen. Please come and experience it yourself!
Yang Fudong: The General’s Smile on view until Sunday, May 23
http://www.haramuseum.or.jp
Next exhibition
William Eggleston: Paris-Kyoto from Saturday, June 5
http://www.haramuseum.or.jp
https://www.art-it.asia/en/u/HaraMuseum_e/46sLvDXgHutOmrJSlx9q/