James Jack presenting at Asian Studies conference

MA student James Jack will be presenting a paper at the annual Asian Studies conference held in Honolulu this week in the session "Post-Bubble Aesthetics in Japan: Counter-Urbanist and Slow Life Philosophies in Japanese Contemporary Art and Architecture" on Friday, April 1 at 12:30-2:30 pm

Jack's paper entitled "The Spirit of Place: An Artist’s Perspective on New Exhibition Formats in Japan" will present a first-hand perspective on regional art exhibition formats based on the artists’ experiences while participating in recent Japanese art festivals. Drawing upon examples from the Echigo-Tsumari Triennial (2000-Present), Ueno Town art Museum (2007-2010), and Setouchi International Art Festival (2010) Jack will present the social and historical context for the art projects that he realized in each locale. The movement of artists and viewers from urban centers into the countryside during these exhibitions could be seen as a revitalization of social landscapes plagued with the reality of declining birth rates and widespread urban migration. This presentation will discuss projects by Jack, beginning with a discussion of the work, "Mini-Landscape for Senda" (2009), a permanent installation work created in Niigata utilizing local soil samples. Next the exhibition Sustainable Art that was held in decrepit neighborhoods around Tokyo’s Taito-ku will be analyzed for its approach literally, “turning the streets into a museum” by transforming unused school buildings, abandoned storefronts, and empty

houses as exhibition sites. Finally the site-specific work created on Shodo Island in the Setouchi Inland Sea, "Language As the House of Being" (2010), will show the renewal of a historic fishing structure utilizing local materials in collaboration with members of the local
community.