Lecture on Contemporary Art at the Japan Foundation

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Time: Friday, May 1, 6:30 - 8:30 PM
Place: The Japan Foundation, Toronto [Event Hall]
131 Bloor St. W., 2nd Floor
Language: Japanese with English interpretation
Admission: Free
RSVP required: [url=http://www.jftor.org/whatson/rsvp ]www.jftor.org/whatson/rsvp [/url] or (416) 966-1600 x 229

In conjunction with <Passage to the Future: Art from a New Generation in Japan>
March10 ~ June 9, 2009 at The Japan Foundation, Toronto. www.jftor.org

Introducing works by Japanese artists which light-heartedly present different ways of seeing our world, transforming the objects and landscapes of everyday life.
In the exceedingly hyperactivated environment of Contemporary Japan, we are surrounded by cryptic signs full of characters and edited images. The root of this phenomenon can be traced back to the 1960s when "information" as a concept began to be discussed widely.
By comparing the works of the past and present, the lecture will provide suggestions and ideas on decoding contemporary art.

About the Speaker:
Yuri Mitsuda has been a curator at The Shoto Museum of Art, Shibuya, Tokyo since March 1989. She specializes in contemporary Japanese photography and has curated numerous art exhibitions in Japan and abroad. She was a commissioner at the Asian Art Biennale Bangladesh 2002, and curated an exhibition of Naoko Majima's pencil drawings, which won the Grand-Prix.
Ms. Mitsuda's collaborations with The Japan Foundation include the touring exhibition "Counter Photography: Japan's Artists Today," which opens in Gatineau, Quebec on April 30.
Ms. Mitsuda will spend the upcoming summer in Venice, Italy as one of the five curators for the Japanese pavilion at the Biennale 2009.