WIT Life #221: MoMA’s Avant-Garde Tokyo
Events, Film, Translating/Interpreting, WIT Life, Writers 
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WIT Life is a periodic series written by professional Writer/Interpreter/Translator Stacy Smith (Kumamoto-ken CIR, 2000-03). She starts her day by watching Fujisankei’s newscast in Japanese, and here she shares some of the interesting tidbits and trends together with her own observations.
Last month MoMA introduced an exhibition called Tokyo 1955-1970: A New Avant-Garde, which looks at the creations that emerged from this tumultuous period. It features around 200 works of various media, such as paintings from Yayoi Kusama and photographs from Daido Moriyama, as well as pieces from lesser known artists. They all offer social commentary and many are confrontational, some via explicitly sexual themes such as Tetsumi Kudo’s “Philosophy of Impotence” installation, which occupies a large section of the exhibit.
Another interesting work is Hiroshi Nakamura’s “Circular Train A,” which features uniformed schoolgirls as cyclops, further fetishizing this symbol of sexuality in Japanese society. In this painting and others, the influence on modern manga and anime is undeniable. Fun fact is that Yomiuri Shimbun had served as the sponsor of a Tokyo exhibition of post-war artwork, but withdrew the following year as the content had become too controversial. The exhibition will run through February 25 and various lectures and gallery talks are offered, so make sure to check it out.
In conjunction with this exhibition, a film series called Art Theater Guild and Japanese Underground Cinema: 1960-1986 is taking place. On Friday night I had the honor of interpreting for director Nobuhiko Obayashi in his introduction to the screening of his film The Deserted City (廃市). In his comments he revealed that this film based on Takehiko Fukunaga’s novel had been made over a two-week vacation, during a prolific period in which he was making four movies per year. It is set in the canal city of Yanagawa in Fukuoka Prefecture, and it tells the story of a college student who spends a summer there with relatives and discovers a love triangle. As Obayashi shared during his pre-screening comments, it is a typical Japanese movie that is slow in its pacing but can be enjoyed by viewers willing to be drawn in by its calm rhythm. You can catch The Deserted City on Saturday, December 15 at 5 p.m., as well as Obayashi’s Exchange Students (転校生) preceding it at 2 p.m.
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