Today was a mix of astonishing art experiences and logistics acrobatics. I was drawn to this area of Japan by The Setouchi Triennale, a contemporary art festival held every three years that has a mix of permanent and temporary installations. Although our travel time did not overlap with one of the official festival weeks, there are enough permanent installations that you could easily fill a week or two seeing them (another time!).
We spent the day on the small island of Naoshima, which is accessed by ferry from Takamatsu. On the way there we took the fast ferry, which has around 30 interior seats and some more space outside. There were surprisingly no safety announcements. It was a short half hour ride, with nice views and one unexpected sighting of a flying fish.
The total population of the island is just over 3000 but it has world-class art because of a billionaire’s interest. After disembarking we could see the ferry terminal designed by SANAA, one of Yayoi Kusama’s pumpkins, and an impressive geometric lattice pavilion by Sou Fujimoto.
On a cooler day I can imagine walking or biking around the whole island. Instead, we had a mix of walking, shuttle bus, and town bus. The busses run infrequently and don’t cover the route from the ferry to the south of the island. When we arrived on foot to our first destination the tickets were sold out for the next two hours, so we booked at the next place on our wishlist and shuttled over.
“Hiroshi Sugimoto Gallery: Time Corridors” was Soren’s request. The building, by Tadao Ando, is a masterwork of concrete and light. Hiroshi Sugimoto’s work fits in and defines the space at the same time. Entry also includes tea and a sweet, served at tables which are themselves works of art.
Chichu Art Museum was profound. No photos are allowed, but photos would be inadequate anyhow. There are four art experiences. One is the building, again by Tadao Ando. Two is a set of Monet paintings, illuminated by natural light. Three is an enormous granite sphere in a stepped room surrounded by gilded vertical forms, by Walter De Maria. Four is a light illusion by James Turrell.
I’ve never experienced anything close to Chichu Art Museum before. The timed reservations make sense in context of the art, which involves ritual (one or more of: changing into slippers, absolute silence, limited people per room), and a mental shift. The building and the works it contain are inseparable. Walter De Maria’s piece found a direct channel to some emotionally-rich portion of my brain.
Having a limited amount of works led to us taking time with each one. For me, this one museum was worth the whole trip.
We wrapped up our island time with some more shuttling, bussing, and walking. The slow car ferry allowed for gorgeous sea-gazing from the outdoor passenger deck. The sky is a little hazy here, leading at times to an ethereal blend of sky and sea.
Back in Takamatsu we walked to the train station for dinner and re-stocked on snacks at 7-11.
(18 963 steps)
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