＜prologue＞
I started a blog called “The Baby Boomer Generation’s Miscellaneous Blog”（Dankai-sedai no garakutatyou:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳） in July 2018, about a year before I fully retired. More than six years have passed since then, and the number of articles has increased considerably.
So, in order to make them accessible to people who don’t understand Japanese, I decided to translate my past articles into English and publish them.
It may sound a bit exaggerated, but I would like to make this my life’s work.
It should be noted that haiku and waka （Japanese short fixed form poems） are quite difficult to translate into English, so some parts are written in Japanese.
If you are interested in haiku or waka and would like to know more, please read introductory or specialized books on haiku or waka written in English.
I also write many articles about the Japanese language. I would be happy if these inspire more people to want to learn Japanese.
my blog’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多（がらくた）帳 | 団塊世代が雑学や面白い話を発信しています
my X’s URL:団塊世代の我楽多帳（@historia49）さん / X
Have you ever heard of the word “installation”? It’s still a word that is unfamiliar to most people, but when you hear about “art island” or “rice field art,” you might understand, “Oh, so that’s the style of art they’re talking about.”
Today, I’d like to introduce you to this “installation.”
1. What is an “installation”?
“Installation art” is one of the expressive techniques and genres of contemporary art that has been common since the 1970s, alongside painting, sculpture, video, and photography.
It is an art form in which objects or devices are placed in a specific room or outdoors, and the space is configured, transformed, and alienated according to the artist’s wishes, allowing the viewer to experience and feel the entire place or space as a work of art.
Ancient “land art” such as the pyramids, the Sphinx, and the Nazca Lines could be considered “ancient installations.”
“Installation” originally meant to set up, exhibit, or install.
Furthermore, installations are basically temporary and are removed once the exhibition period is over, remaining only in people’s memories.
The recently emerged technology known as Augmented Reality (AR) is not art, but it is similar to installations in the sense that it incorporates virtual reality into actual city streets and rooms.
Incidentally, the precursor to “installation” can be said to be “Happenings.” Happenings are “unrealistic, one-off performance art and exhibitions held in galleries and urban areas” that were popular in North America, Western Europe, Japan, and other places from the 1950s to the early 1970s. Allan Kaprow was the founder of Happenings.
2. Examples of “Installation” in Japan
(1) Outdoor Art Exhibition by the Gutai Art Association
Around 1954, the Gutai Art Association held an outdoor art exhibition in Ashiya Park. After that, they held performances at Sankei Hall and Sogetsu Hall. Allan Kaprow also praised it as an early example of a happening.
(2) The Island of Art
Naoshima in Kagawa Prefecture is famous as the “Island of Art.” Yayoi Kusama’s (1929-) red and yellow “pumpkin objects” are well known.
(3) Rice Field Art
The “Rice Field Art” of Inakadate Village, Aomori Prefecture is famous, but it is also being created in Gyoda City, Saitama Prefecture, Kyotanba Town, Kyoto Prefecture, Oyama City, Tochigi Prefecture, and other places.
(4) Exhibition of Books that Changed the World
The other day, I happened to watch a TV program called “180 Second Human Documentary: The Beginning of the Story,” in which students from the Kanazawa Institute of Technology played the leading role.
The program introduced the activities of architecture students who were preparing for an exhibition called “Books that Changed the World.”
The exhibition featured 130 carefully selected books from the Akebono Library of Engineering, owned by the Kanazawa Institute of Technology. The Akebono Library of Engineering is a collection of around 2,000 first editions that record important discoveries and inventions by world scientists such as Copernicus, Galileo, and Newton.
Among the books was an installation-style exhibit that expressed the “connection of knowledge” under the concept of a “journey through the wisdom of humanity.”
(5) Moon Viewing Light Path（The Tsukimi Light Path） Project
Speaking of Kanazawa Institute of Technology, they hold the Kanazawa Moon Viewing Light Path every year, decorating the city with light objects to brighten up autumn in Kanazawa.
This Moon Viewing Light Path Project is a project in which students from Kanazawa Institute of Technology work together with local shopping districts and residents to create a fantastical atmosphere throughout the city with lights, in an effort to invigorate the city center.
The Tsukimi Light Path, which serves as a forum for students to present their research and revitalize the local area, is a collaboration between industry, government, academia and the local community. It began in 2004 and is now in its 16th year.