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- Convenors:
-
Annegret Bergmann
(Ritsumeikan University)
Katherine Mezur (University of California Berkeley)
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- Section:
- Performing Arts
- Sessions:
- Saturday 28 August, -
Time zone: Europe/Brussels
Short Abstract:
In our final session we invite everyone to join in an open discussion on how Japanese performing arts respond to crises, which may relate to the present COVID-19 pandemic, the 3-11 ongoing triple disaster, and/or historical climatic catastrophes. We encourage everyone to feel free to discuss any performances (online or live), which you think directly or indirectly addresses a climatic event or assimilates that event into the narrative or central subject/theme of the performance.
Long Abstract:
In our final session we invite everyone to join in an open discussion on how Japanese performing arts respond to crises, which may relate to the present COVID-19 pandemic, the 3-11 ongoing triple disaster, and/or historical climatic catastrophes. We encourage everyone to feel free to discuss any performances (online or live), which you think directly or indirectly addresses a climatic event or assimilates that event into the narrative or central subject/theme of the performance. Crisis in Japan is also deeply political. How do performing arts navigate the messy arena of critical activist response? What do these creative crisis responses reveal about Japanese arts?
To begin this discussion we will view a short section of Otake Eikoh and William Johnston's performance photography installation "A Body in Fukushima" (2011-2019). In her introduction to the work, Otake emphasizes the project is an artwork that is not "for" the inhabitants of Fukushima, but instead it targets this nuclear meltdown disaster. How do you consider this project by an artist who is Japanese but who has lived in NYC for decades? What kind of voice is raised here? Is she the voice of an "an inside outside "other"? Do you think this work does address the ecological issues of nuclear meltdown disaster and the direct human responsibility? Considering other social problems inside Japan, where performing arts still belong a kind of enclave in the society, do you know any other country where art - especial political art is that much ignored by the general public.
We will have a short discussion after this to kick off our own performance and crisis examples and further questions. We welcome any and all EAJS member to our concluding live meeting and discussion.