Naoshima Art Mecca

What?
Naoshima (直島) is one of those places that nobody ever heard of 10 years ago. Now it figures in practically every travel guide and it is quite popular with especially western tourists. Together with Teshima (豊島) and Inujima (犬島), these three seemingly insignificant islands form the Mecca of Japan for contemporary art, situated in a rural and laid back environment.
Where?
Located in the Seto Inland Sea (瀬戸内海) between big Honshu (本州) and Shikoku (四国) Islands, these tiny dots scan be tricky to get to. Ferries depart regularly from Takamatsu (高松) on Shikoku and Uno (宇野) on Honshu, but going to Teshima or Inujima requires a bit more planning, especially because the ferries can change their schedule according to the openings of the museums on these islands. Uno can be reached in about 50 minutes from Okayama (岡山) which is served by the Sanyo Shinkansen (山陽新幹線), merely 45 minutes from Osaka (大阪).
URL
Japan Guide Outline Benesse Art Site Naoshima

Now I'm not much of an art connoisseur. It's not that haven't been to any art museums. I pick 'em and I enjoy 'em – in recent years I loved the local showings of Magritte, I had great fun at the exposition of cartoons from the Edo Period and I quite like Ukiyo-e since I came to know about it. But in general I never tend to spend a lot of time in the museums, especially if it's just a room with a few paintings hung up. Nevertheless, when I heard of Naoshima so many years ago it immediately picked my interest.

Around 5 years ago I visited Inujima without knowing it was part of the art islands. I just went there for a drink and barbecue and good company. But while there, I saw one art installment that despite telling me nothing what it was about, quite intrigued me. And now I finally came to visit the head Island Naoshima. And while I was at it, hopped along Teshima.

Ferries can be tricky, especially if they have to connect with trains. So I took a very early start, hopped on the tiny ferry from Uno to Teshima and was set on the island at 9:30 in the morning. Alas. I should have checked better. All art sites on Teshima that aren’t open air (practically all of them open only at 10 or 10:30. No biggie I thought, but alas again. For some reason only 3 installments would open because all the rest was temporarily closed for maintenance reasons. Out of around 10 installments I found this rather a lot so my mood sunk a bit, but riding around on my electric rental bicycle helped clear my mind. And it turned around when visiting the art sites that were open.

First of all I visited the Teshima Art Museum. It's actually just one big empty bowl. Empty apart from the drops of water and little pingpong-like balls that move around freely on the surface. Next I took a look at “Les Archives du Cœur”, a recording of the heartbeat of 60000 people. Lastly I dropped by the Teshima Yokoo House, housing several paintings of Tadanari Yokoo.

Teshima Art Museum.

Along the way.

Beautifully rural Teshima.

No one wins.

I am not going to say what it was all about – I wouldn’t have a clue. I am not going to say these art sites have meaning. But they are pretty impressive. What I learned is that the way of showing something is at least as important as what you show. The Yokoo House truly impressed me by the architectural genius of Yuko Nagayama which highlighted the otherwise probably blandly looking art of Yokoo. The sobriety of the Teshima Art Museum implores silence and introspection without having anything to show. “Les Archives du Cœur” would be just another fiddle at calling something art which is not if it wouldn’t be for the dark and earie setting contrasted to the beautiful natural beach vistas.
It made me regret not being able to visit the other art installments even more, but I also realized that if I wanted to see them all I would have to spend a full day here. And I was planning to hop to Naoshima on the midday ferry.

Naoshima is a whole lot bigger than Teshima, and while definitely not a bustling place (it is a hard to reach the island after all), it lacks the very rural charm of Teshima. But they make it up with their very impressive art sites. Given the limited time I had I rushed towards the Chichu Art Museum which was as strange as it is big. This can give room for misinterpretation: there is not a lot of art in the museum. It’s the museum that is big, and the museum is an integral part of the art. The permanent collection of this museum is made in function of the art site, and the building is made in function of the collection. The pieces of Walter De Maria and James Turrell… it feels like you are standing inside a painting, and in a way you are. Truly impressive, and I can only applaud the latest initiative to work through reserved tickets, because a large crowd can ruin the complete experience.
In contrast, the Lee Ufan Museum was rather disappointing compared to all that I had already seen that day. And while the Benesse House Museum was right nearby, I preferred a leisurely walk between all the open air installments on the Benesse Art Site. This includes the very popular Pumpkin of Yayoi Kusama.

Although I wanted to see everything, including the Art House Project on the other side of the island, I did not feel the need to rush. I’m sure I will go back in the near future to be flabbergasted again by the strange, earie but impressive art to be found.

I noticed that the art microbe spread to nearby Megijima where they recently installed a new art project, making a total of 4 Art Islands in the Seto Inland Sea.

As it is forbidden to takes pictures inside the museums I have used some pictures of the official websites.