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Paper short abstract

This paper reconsiders the notion of 'Japan' in Japanese art history through the lens of marginalised refugee artists: Vladimir Tamari (1942–2017) and Simko Ahmed (b. 1968). These two case studies reveal ethnonationalism in Japanese art history, which has excluded various minority artists.

Paper long abstract

Japanese art history has tended to uphold ethnonational ideologies since its inception. In other words, Japanese art history has generally been thought of as a written history of the cultural expressions of the Japanese people originating in the Japanese archipelago. Within this framework, the creative activities of ethnic minorities, refugees, asylum seekers, stateless people, and immigrants who have settled in Japan have been virtually excluded from conventional Japanese art history. Can we narrate Japanese art history without being constrained by the nationality or ethnicity of its creators? How might Japanese art history appear different if diaspora artists and their works were studied seriously? Ultimately, what constitutes Japanese art history? With these questions in mind, this paper reconsiders the notion of 'Japan' in Japanese art history through the lens of marginalised diaspora artists. In particular, it examines the displaced life and evolving art of Vladimir Tamari (1942–2017) and Simko Ahmed (b. 1968). Born in Palestine, Tamari lost his homeland due to the 1948 Nakba. From 1970 until his ultimate death, Tamari evolved his unique perspective as a diaspora artist by exploring non-representational art in Japan. Ahmed arrived in Japan from Iraqi Kurdistan in 1996. By utilising the resources and networks available to him in Japan, Ahmed generated minor transnationalism with other marginalised artists such as a third-generation zainichi Korean sculptor Ro Fung Sok (b. 1955). Instead of treating these refugee artists as odd exceptions, disconnected from the local Japanese context, this paper sheds light on how their careers and works were deeply embedded in solidarity movements that emerged from Japan. By tracing Tamari and Ahmed’s global migratory journeys and their points of contact with the Japanese art world, this paper argues that émigré artists who fled from colonial violence and dictatorial repression formed a close network with Japanese artists committed to anti-imperialism and anti-colonialism. Together, they explored an alternative 'internationality' that resonated with global decolonial movements and departed from Euro-American centrism in art. Ultimately, these two case studies lead us to look beyond the conventional framework of Japanese art history, which has excluded various ethnoracial minority artists.