What is the Art Museum Collection Exhibition?

This exhibition introduces mainly works by artists born in or associated with Okinawa and contemporary art works from Asian countries. Visitors can experience a wide variety of Okinawan art, including oil paintings, watercolors, sculptures, photographs, and videos nurtured by Okinawa's climate.

This term, "The History of Okinawa's Fine Arts: YAMASHIRO Chikako Artworks" (Collection Gallery 1), "Sculptures of Okinawa" (Collection Gallery 2), and "The History of Okinawa's Fine Arts" (Collection Gallery 3) will be held.

*There will be change of some exhibits during the exhibition.

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Collection Gallery 1

The History of Okinawa's Fine Arts: YAMASHIRO Chikako Artworks

YAMASHIRO Chikako Your Voice Came Out Through My Throat (2009)

Description of works

OKINAWA TOURIST　（2004）20 min.

*This work is composed of works in three parts.

１．I Like Okinawa Sweet

　A woman is eating an ice cream in the background of the fence of a U.S. military base. Across the fence, there is a landscape covered by a lush green. Ice cream is one of well-known souvenir of Okinawa, but it was originally brought in from the outside. The woman getting sweaty as she continues to eat the ice cream despite the scorching sun looks somewhat excessive, and it appears as if she were being forced to eat it while suffering.

２．Trip to Japan

　This video was shot in front of the National Diet of Japan in Tokyo on December 23. The front of the National Diet is a place where various demonstrations have been held, however, the video of the woman holding up a panel of turtleback tombs is somewhat disconnected with the timing of the image and sound occasionally off, and the image itself comes to a halt. The video continues as the speech about a tourism campaign in Okinawa, mismatching what she wants to say at this place.

３．Graveyard Eisaa

　Graveyard is a square in front of a grave and eisaa is a traditional performing art to welcome ancestors during the lunar Bon festival.　Each eisaa group member wears a paper bag over their heads. The costumes are simple and not flashy. At first glance, it may seem eerie, but it is possible to dance even when one's vision is blocked, allowing the dancers to concentrate on their own physical sensations. The eisaa group continues to dance in the graveyard daring to cover up the premise of showing.

Your Voice Came Down My Throat（2009）7 min.

　A man who experienced the war on the island of Saipan recounts his war experience. However, it is a woman who is shown in the video. The difficulty for participants in recounting their painful experiences and the difficulty for non-participants in imagining what the participants suffered are both immeasurable, but as she repeated the method of reading the words aloud to the video of the man recounting his　experiences, they felt that for once the story had become a part of her bodies. The video is created based on that take.

List of works (Collection Gallery 1)

 

Collection Gallery 2

Sculptures of Okinawa

Venue for "Sculptures of Okinawa" (Collection Gallery 2)

　Modern sculpture in Okinawa was largely dominated by figurative works. This began to change, however, with the establishment of a sculpture division at the third Oki-Ten Exhibition in 1951. After that, a sculpture research group, Enju-kai, was founded, thereby leading to a revitalization of the world of sculpture in Okinawa.

　Furthermore, after the establishment of the Okinawa Prefectural University of Arts in 1986, many instructors from outside of the prefecture began to visit the university, resulting in the creation of a wide variety of three-dimensional sculptural works, ranging from human figures to abstract forms.

　There are now many opportunities to see a diverse array of sculptural works made by artists who were born in Okinawa or who were born and raised abroad and produced their works in Okinawa.

　This exhibition, “Sculptures of Okinawa”, focuses on modern sculptures created during the post-WWII period in Okinawa, displaying in Collection Gallery 2.

 *There will be change of some exhibits during the exhibition.

List of works (Collection Gallery 2)

ARTISTS  (*listed in alphabetical order)

GIBO Katsuyuki／HATANO Izumi／KAMIJO Fumiho／MARUYAMA Ei／MIYAGI Tetsuo／NISHIMURA Sadao／TAKAEZU Toshiko／TAMANAHA Seikichi／TOMIMOTO Akio／UEHARA Takaaki

 

Collection Gallery 3

The History of Okinawa's Fine Arts

Venue for "The History of Okinawa's Fine Arts" (Collection Gallery 3)

　Okinawa’s distinctive culture has developed in a climate and history different from that of mainland Japan. How have the changing times impacted Okinawan artists and their work?

　“The History of Okinawa’s Fine Arts” has been divided into the following sections in an effort to provide visitors a sense of these changes over time: pre-war, post-war, return to mainland Japan, post-reversion to Japan, Okinawan immigrants, and contemporary art.

　Held over a year, the exhibition will showcase artworks created by artists from or with links to Okinawa who work or worked inside or outside Okinawa or outside the country to explore how they saw and described their times.

 *There will be change of some exhibits during the exhibition.

List of works (Collection Gallery 3)

ARTISTS  (*listed in alphabetical order)

ADANIYA Masayoshi／ARAKAKI Yasuo／ASHIMINE Kanemasa／ASHITOMI Chosho／FOUJITA TSUGUHARU L.／GIMA Hiroshi／GOYA, Julio／GUSHIKEN Itoku／HAEBARU Choko／ISHIGAKI Katsuko／KAMIYAMA Taiji／KAWAHIRA Keizo／KIKUMURA Hiroshi／KINA, Laura／KITAGAWA Tamiji／KOBASHIGAWA Hideo／MAKISHI Tsutomu／MIYAGI Akira／MOTOMURA Keisei／NADOYAMA Aijun／OMINE Seibin／OMINE Seikwan／OMINE Shinichi／OSHIRO Koya／OSHIRO Seitoku／SHINJO Go／SHINJO Seiko／SHIROMA Kiko／SUNAGAWA Kiyo／TAMANAHA Seikichi／TOKESHI, Eduardo／WADA Kanae／YABU Ken／YAGI Seiko／YAMAKAWA Sayaka／YAMAMOTO Keiichi／YOSHIDA Hiroshi

 

Requests to Visitors

・Please do not touch the exhibited works or display cases.

・Photography and video recording of the exhibited works and videos are not permitted. *Photography is allowed only for YAMASHIRO Chikako Artworks (Collection Gallery 1).

・It is possible to translate captions and explanatory text using a translation app that uses the camera function of a smartphone. Our staff may ask you to confirm that you are not taking pictures, but please inform us that you are using the translation app.