“I planned the exhibition so that it becomes a story where the viewer travels through these islands [of ideas]. Whether the contents of each chapter came first or the artist came first in making the decision was different in each case.” FirstsIdeasDifferentStoriesArtistDecisionCasesIslandsChaptersViewersExhibitions Author:Yasumasa Morimura
“Of course, the process of curating is different from art making. Exhibition-making is a process that involves collaboration with various participating artists.” ArtDifferentArtistCoursesProcessVariousCollaborationParticipatingExhibitionsArt Making Author:Yasumasa Morimura
“I was worried that I, the artist Morimura, would have conflicts with the participating artists and develop a strenuous relationship with them. But the actual experience was completely the opposite. The artists accepted my requests rather positively, because it came from a fellow artist. I strongly feel that the fact that my being an artist avoided the usual curator vs artist tension, and led to creating a positive atmosphere as well as developing a solidarity amongst artists and building a community for artists.” FeelsWellsFactsArtistCommunityBuildingConflictCreatingOppositesFellowsAcceptedDevelopingWorriedAtmosphereTensionUsualSolidarityPositivelyAvoidedRequestParticipatingBeing An ArtistCurator Author:Yasumasa Morimura
“When we talk about contemporary art and contemporary artists, we usually imagine artists who are alive. But I feel very uncomfortable about placing a border between living artists and dead artists.” FeelsArtArtistAliveImagineContemporaryBordersUncomfortableContemporary Art Author:Yasumasa Morimura
“The artists could be dead, but some of them are not so distant from us, and make us feel as if they are alive with us. Such artists are worth calling "contemporary artists".” IfsFeelsArtistAliveCallingContemporary Author:Yasumasa Morimura
“Leonard de Vinci, for example, is a great artist, but he is living in the past. However, I don't feel John Cage and Matsuzawa Yutaka as artists who live in the past. Their ideas are still alive in our world because they express the very important concerns of our age. That is why I could trust them as "contemporary artists".” WorldFeelsStillsImportantIdeasAgePastArtistAliveExampleConcernContemporaryOur WorldCagesGreat ArtGreat ArtistLiving In The Past Author:Yasumasa Morimura
“I put priority on such artists who focus on the world of "oblivion" and who consider placing themselves into the world of "oblivion" as fundamental to their attitude for their expression.” WorldArtistAttitudeFocusExpressionFundamentalsPrioritiesOblivion Author:Yasumasa Morimura
“This is why there is not any artist who takes Internet as the theme. My position is quite the opposite to the current trend of art, but this is exactly why the title of my exhibition is "ART Fahrenheit 451".” ArtArtistPositionInternetOppositesCurrentsTitlesThemeTrendsExhibitions Author:Yasumasa Morimura
