The art project on Nao Island
On Nao Island, a small island in the Seto Inland Sea, Benesse Holdings, Inc. and Naoshima Fukutake Art Museum Foundation have conducted various activities related to contemporary art.
The Art House Project is one of the activities that also includes Chichu Art Museum and Benesse House. (For more details of the facilities, see the related section.) The series is collectively called Benesse Art Site Naoshima.
The Art House Project is a permanent exhibition in the Honmura district on Nao Island.
Combination of art and empty houses in the village
To get a clear image of the project, imagine yourself as a resident of the village. All of the villagers have lived there for years, including you, and everyone is very familiar with the community. Some families have left the village and their houses are now vacant. The project uses the empty houses to create works of art.
In other words, the private houses are art pieces. Each piece incorporates a lived-in feel expressing the many years people spent in that house, filled with memories. The art are like members of the community.
Your daily life has not changed just because the empty houses have become art. However, if someone asks you for directions, you can show them the way. You can also help out with maintaining the art pieces. In Honmura, art is an integral part of everyday life.
Street and art coexist
In the Art House Project, all of the titles are taken from places you can find on a map: Kadoya, Minamidera, Kinza, Go’o Shrine, Ishibashi, Gokaisho, and Haisha. Kadoya is based on a 200-year-old building that was restored using plaster. Haisha (dentist in Japanese) uses a house with a dentist’s office that was decorated with sculptures and pictures. Go’o Shrine is a shrine that was founded in the Edo Period. The reconstruction work was an art project in which the flight of stairs to the main shrine was built with glass, and the staircase was designed to allow light to shine into the basement. The dramatic art pieces preserve tradition while introducing something new.
Many of the artwork look like ordinary houses, matching the landscape of the village. The work blends in so well, at first glance, it looks like just another rundown street.
You’ll be pleasantly surprised when you enter any of the art pieces, where a totally unexpected world awaits. The contradiction is cutting edge.
