Art triennale to explore quake, life's mysteries
Yoko Ono, Damien Hirst, Tadanori Yokoo and Hiroshi Sugimoto lead a star-studded, international lineup of 77 artists and artist units at the event, which will take place at multiple venues throughout Yokohama from Aug. 6 to Nov. 6.
The theme of this year's triennale was chosen prior to the Great East Japan Earthquake of March 11, but it has taken on even greater significance since then: "Our Magic Hour: How Much of the World Can We Know?"
"These days there is so much knowledge that you can gain at the touch of a button, via the Internet, but the fact is that there are many things about this planet — about humans ourselves — that remain a mystery," explains triennale director general Eriko Osaka, who is also director of the Yokohama Museum of Art.
"I consider it one of art's roles to help people understand those things that are not black or white, but gray," she adds.
Osaka says that many of the artists participating in the triennale, particularly those from abroad, were initially worried that it would be canceled in light of the quake and the ongoing Fukushima nuclear crisis. "But after being assured it would go ahead, they became even more enthusiastic. Many decided to make new works that would reflect the current circumstances," she says.
One of those artists is Yoko Ono, the conceptual artist and widow of musician John Lennon.
Because the triennale begins on Aug. 6 — the day the atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima in 1945 — Ono initially intended to create an artwork linking Yokohama with Hiroshima.
"Ono decided instead to send a message to all of the people of Japan," Osaka says. The new work involves a large labyrinth made of transparent partitions. At its center is a telephone that will ring occasionally. Those who answer will find themselves talking with Ono herself.
Yokohama City University - News
Earlier this year, we reported that researchers from Yokohama City University also announced success at growing functioning mouse sperm from stem cells. Like in this new study, those sperm were able to fertilize the eggs of female mice, which produced
And so, last year the Japan Foundation pulled out of the triennale, Yokohama City announced it would become the main organizer and then the Agency for Cultural Affairs was given a ¥300 million boost to its 2011 annual budget for "international arts
Takanori Takebe at Yokohama City University in Japan is the first to confirm that the ear contains a source of stem cells, hidden in tissue called the perichondrium. His team removed part of the perichondrium from human ears and injected it into mice.
Ryuji Ito, professor emeritus at Yokohama City University, said: 'There must be some safes that were stolen after the quake. 'But the fact that a hefty 2.3 billion yen in cash has been returned to its owners shows the high level of ethical awareness in
But the fact that a hefty 2.3 billion yen in cash has been returned to its owners shows the high level of ethical awareness in the Japanese people," Ryuji Ito, professor emeritus at Yokohama City University, said. Under the Lost Property Law,
Japan Earthquake: Ethical Residents Return $78 Million From Rubble ...
While looting often becomes an issue post-disaster, it’s been the exact opposite case in Japan.
Since the March earthquake and tsunami that leveled much of Japan, thousands of wallets containing a total of $48 million in cash have washed ashore — and been turned in, ABC reports. In addition, 5,700 safes containing $30 million in cash also have turned up.
Ryuji Ito, professor emeritus at Japan’s Yokohama City University, tells the Daily Mail that these acts of integrity are simply reflective of the culture:
“…The fact that a hefty 2.3 billion yen in cash has been returned to its owners shows the high level of ethical awareness in the Japanese people.”
And doing the right thing doesn’t just end with the people who found the money. Japanese officials have also worked tirelessly to track down owners and return safes and other valuables.
One Comment on “Japan Earthquake: Ethical Residents Return $78 Million From Rubble (Video)”
Obviously, this is an attempt by NBC to make the residents of New Orleans look bad.
Stand by for Je$$e Jack$on and Al $Harpton to call a press conference and demand that this $78 million dollars be handed over to the NAACP to be distributed to under-employed, under-privileged, discriminated against blacks as a gesture of Japanese atonement for not allowing African Bantu Somalis to flood into their nation, where by they would have ‘access’ to all those luscious Japanese women.