Continuing with our journey on Naoshima 直島 in the Inland Sea of Japan … our next stop was the Benesse House Musuem (ベネッセハウス ミュージアム, 倍樂生之家 美術館), designed by Tadao Ando as a museum and a hotel. Built on a hilltop in 1992 in the southern end of Naoshima, the focus of the museum is the harmonious coexistence of nature, architecture and art. The exhibits are representative of works by international and Japanese artists that were created during the 1990’s and 2000’s.
If you are just joining us, you may enjoy reading our 3 earlier posts on Naoshima at: Art & Architecture on Naoshima, Ando Museum, and Hiroshi Sugimoto Gallery.
As a sort of accompaniment to this post, take a look at this 2005 very colorful music video by Masakatsu Takagi 高木正勝.
This museum is a part of the Benesse Art Site which is the collective name for all art-related activities conducted by Benesse Holdings, Inc. and Fukutake Foundation on the islands of Naoshima 直島, Teshima 豊島 and Inujima 犬島.
< 100 Live and Die (1984) Bruce Nauman
Confronting viewers with neon messages about emotions, lives and death.
Three Chattering Men (1986) Jonathan Borofsky >
This installation includes an audio loop which became rather annoying after a while. Pity the docents who have to stand around that gallery all day listening to the mumblings.
< The Secret of the Sky (1996) by Kan Yasuda 安田 侃
Viewers are invited to sit on the piece and look up at the sky. Many people did that even without knowing the title of the work.
River Avon Mud Circles (below left) and Inland Sea Driftwood Circle (below right), made by Richard Long while he stayed on Naoshima in 1997. The focus of these works is “walking” which allowed Long to capture his relationship with nature.
Time Exposed (1980-90) by Hiroshi Sugimoto 杉本 博司 >
Viewers are expected to peruse the outdoor photographs in relation to the Inland Sea in the natural background.
< Counter Circle No. 18 (1993) by Tatsuo Miyajima 宮島 達男
The World Flag Ant Farm (1990) by Yukinori Yanagi 柳幸典 – consisting of many interconnected ant farms filled with colored grains of sand, each forming a flag of a different nation of the world. The ants travel between the “nations” via small tubes, carrying with them and inadvertently intermixing grains of sand, dissolving the designs of these recognizable symbols.
We think the World Flag Ant Farm is by far the most interesting work of the day, even considering the works in Chichu Art Museum which we visited after this museum.
Yellow and Black Boats (1985) by Jennifer Bartlett >
Bloodline Series: The Big Family No. 10 (2000) by Zhang Xiaogang《血緣-大家庭 全家福10号》張曉剛 and Great Criticism: Disney (2000) by Wang Guangyi 《大批判》系列 – 王廣義. Both pieces are representative of the familiar career-making series of work created by the respective mainland Chinese artists.
The Art Site seeks to inspire visitors to reflect on the meaning of Benesse’s motto – Well-Being – which is the vision behind the establishment of the site. We think the architecture of the museums is unique (being minimalistic and meditative) and has accomplished amply their part in this mission, but it is a little less so where the contents of the museums are concerned.
Road leading downhill from the museum with a view of the bridge that connects Shikoku to Honshu in a distance.
At the time the photo was taken, it was getting late in the day and we were rushing to the last museum of the day – see our next post on Chichu Art Museum.
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