Happiness

So I made my way to the new Mori Art Museum in Roppongi Hills this past Friday for the opening exhibit, HAPPINESS: A SURVIVAL GUIDE FOR ART AND LIFE. It often felt like a mishmash of things, arbitrarily put together (to me at least, altough I’m sure the curators would disagree as they have put great effort in creating 4 thematic spaces), but which gives us a great opportunity to enjoy such a variety of artists and mediums in one show. Some of my favorite things on show were a 15-minute video projection on 3 screens by Chinese artist Yang Fu-Dong called MINOR SOLDIER YY’S SUMMER, a few works of propaganda (some tongue in cheek, like the Luo Brothers excellent I LOVE TIENANMEN SQUARE series pictured above, and some not, like the works from the North Korean Worker’s Party’s Mansudei Artists’ Studio), the pictures from Araki Nobuyoshi’s Tokyo Monogatari series, the idea behind the video installation by Superflex, and a bunch more that you’ll have to see for yourself by visiting the exhibit. It was nice to see so many works actually comissioned for the show, and all the care that has been put towards the presentation. I also love the mini-guide to the show that you can buy for 500 yen that contains full descriptions of all the works/artists in a well-designed little package. The place itself is also to be enjoyed, and it makes the 1500 yen you pay for the show seem like a bargain as it includes access to the observation deck which offers you an amazing view of the city (it’s also interesting how certain works in the exhibit incorporate this view). Definitely worth checking out.

I was also surprised to get recognized by someone while I was exiting the exhibit space, by a reader who actually lives not too far from here. It’s my second public recognition (first time was at the most recent Momus show at Superdeluxe).