Tokyo Photographic Art Museum: Modern Japan’s Landscape Theory and Landscape Photographs.. and More
Japan_Tokyo
Tokyo Photographic Art Museum: Modern Japan’s Landscape Theory and Landscape Photographs
The Tokyo Photographic Art Museum (TOP) presents “After the Landscape Theory” through November 5.
Once a central theme in Western modern art, the landscape became an important concept in Japan’s modernization after the Meiji Restoration. In the history of the photographic medium, landscape has been a central subject from its earliest days to the present day.
The exhibition explores the landscape theory that emerged in the postwar period of social change in Japan in the 1970s. Japanese photographers and filmmakers of the time believed that landscape images reveal the cultural, social, and political realities of the times. Centering on the idea that landscapes reveal social structures and the aesthetics of the times, the exhibition explores the history of photography and cinema of landscapes from the 1970s to the present day, focusing on the museum’s collection.
Turkey_Istanbul
Turkish Conceptual Artist Cengiz Çekil’s Retrospective at Arter
이스탄불의 아터 현대미술관(Arter)은 10월 22일까지 터키의 현대미술가 쳉기스 체킬(Cengiz Çekil, 1945–2015)의 회고전 “나는 아직 살아있다(I Am Still Alive)”을 진행한다. 체킬은 터키 개념미술의 선구자로 1970년대부터 일상적인 재료를 사용한 작품을 선보였다. 전시의 제목은 체킬의 1976년 작품 ‘일기(Diary)’에서 인용했다. ‘일기’에서 작가는 전쟁이나 일상적인 위기 앞에서도 훼손되지 말아야 할 생명의 가치를 다루었다.
체킬의 작품은 근대화, 도시화, 세계화, 정치적 폭력과 소비주의 문화 등 자신이 살아가는 사회의 사회정치적 상황에서 출발했지만 보편적이고 추상적인 해석을 이끈다. 특히 시계, 신문, 달력이 반복적으로 등장하는 그의 작품은 죽음, 기운, 인간의 유한성, 시간, 믿음, 의례 등 실존적인 질문들을 다룬 것으로 평가된다. 1980년대 이후부터는 마우솔레움(Mausoleum), 제단, 제물, 부적의 형태가 자주 등장했다. 이번 전시는 작가의 최대 규모 회고전으로, 1970년대부터 작가의 마지막까지 제작된 작품을 포괄적으로 선보인다.
Istanbul’s Arter presents “I Am Still Alive,” a retrospective of Turkish contemporary artist Cengiz Çekil (1945-2015), through October 22. Çekil was a pioneer of Turkish conceptual art, working with everyday materials since the 1970s. The exhibition title quotes Çekil’s 1976 work ‘Diary.’ In ‘Diary,’ the artist addressed the pricelessness of life in the face of war or everyday crises.
Although Çekil’s work is rooted in the sociopolitical context of the society in which he lived – modernization, urbanization, globalization, political violence, and consumerism culture- its abstract form invites a universal interpretation. In particular, his repetitive use of clocks, newspapers, and calendars brings existential questions such as death, energy, human ephemerality, time, faith, and ritual. From the 1980s, the forms of mausoleums, altars, offerings, and amulets frequently appeared. This exhibition is the largest retrospective of the artist’s work to date, comprehensively presenting works created from the 1970s to the end of his life.
Australia_Sydney
Zoe Leonard’s Photography Exhibition at the MCA: “Al Río / To the River”
Museum of Contemporary Art Australia presents “Al río / To the River,” a solo exhibition by American photographer and sculptor Zoe Leonard (b. 1961). For five years, from 2016 to 2022, Leonard traveled 2,000 kilometers along the border between Mexico and the United States along the Rio Grande/Río Bravo river and made photograph series.
Zoe Leonard’s photographs are known internationally. She uses continuity, shifting perspectives, and a multitude of printing processes in her practice. Through everyday scenes, she has addressed themes of migration and displacement, gender and sexuality, mourning and loss, cultural history, and the tension between nature and humanity. Her work addresses the politics of representation and ponders the role of photography in shaping history today. This exhibition marks the first presentation of Zoe Leonard in Australia.
