Naoshima Island: Part 2

 

Appreciating Tadao Ando and others

[ Yayoi Kusama - Narcissus Garden ]

Once Norah and I had settled in at Oyajino Umi we headed out to catch a shuttle to the east side of the island where there are a series of museum spaces and outdoor sculptures nestled within the landscape of the island. Several of the museums were designed by Tadao Ando, a modernist architect whose work integrates form and landscape, called something like "critical regionalism".  I was really looking forward to seeing some of his work. 

[ Drink a Cup of Tea, Kazuo Katase ]

Many of the structures  at the Benesse Art Site on the island were designed by Ando so that is where we headed. We had a 3:30 reservation at one of the museums, the Chichu Art Museum, where the number of visitors inside at one time is limited so that you can have the chance to experience the space as Ando intended. Our plan was to see some of the other museums and sculptures along the way to this museum. 

[ Three Squares Vertical Diagonal, George Rickey ]

It was a hike, let me just say. After about a 30 minute climb up hill after crossing along a path along the sea, we reached the George Rickey sculpture and the Kazuo Katase cerulean cup of tea. After feasting on the sumptuous view of land and sea and art we kept going to reach the Valley Gallery of the Benesse House Museum. This structure is tucked into the fold of the hills and blends in with the surface of the earth. Yayoi Kusama's Narcissus Garden sprawls on the front lawn and in the pond. It was magical.

[ Valley Gallery of the Benesse Art Museum ]

We hiked a little further and reached the Chichu Art Museum, where we had a 3:30 reservation. We were met at the gate by the museum guard, who checked our ticket time and asked us to wait outside of the gate for the 17 minutes until we could go in. This museum is completely below ground from the entrance and I could not really understand where I was going once we were let in. 

[ Here is an aerial view of the Chichu Museum, designed by Tadao Ando ]

I cannot sufficiently describe the beauty and the drama once we were inside the museum. We walked in alone down a concrete corridor with a sliver of light coming from above us (the sky). After climbing an outdoor metal staircase along the square walls of an outdoor garden we entered a semi-dark room where a group of people were silently sitting on a bench removing white slippers and putting on their shoes. We did not know what to do so we just stood there. 

[ Making our way to the second floor ]

Once they got up and walked away into the darkness, a docent in all white directed us to sit down and remove our shoes and put on the white slippers. She then directed us towards a seemless concrete doorway with a glowing white light coming from inside. We entered and found ourselves in the Claude Monet Room, a completely white room with glittering tiny white marble tiles on the floor,  white walls and ceiling, and natural light somehow glowing down from the ceiling. Straight ahead in the room was a giant painting of water lilies floating on the wall. Four more giant water lilies paintings hung from the walls to the right and left. We were alone with these paintings for quite awhile before a few more people slippered in. 

[ Time/Timeless/No Time, Walter De Maria (secret snapshot by Norah) ]

We were not really permitted to take photos, but Norah snapped this one on the way to another area of the museum where we had to wait in a skylit room for our turn to view a light canvas Open Sky by James Turrell. To view this piece, we once again had to remove our shoes and walk silently up a staircase into a white room. The room was then bathed in color for awhile creating a feeling of spaceless-ness. It was an experience. 

Before leaving we sat in an open air concrete square room where the sky dropped in from above without any ceiling edges. We theorized that the outside walls were bevelled and when we saw the aerial view of the museum we found the square room with bevelled ceiling. 

[ another secret snapshot by Norah of room with bevelled ceiling ]

The museum did have a very nice cafe nestled into the hills and facing out to the sea. We sat with a drink and just settled in on our experiences that day. It was a really lovely moment. We made our way back down the hill to the shuttle bus stop to return to our accommodations for the night. I was able to walk out to the dotted pumpkin that I promised my students I would find and photograph to bring back to show them. Norah and I took some photos before the sun set on a beautiful day. 

[ Pumpkin, Yayoi Kusama ]

There were quite a few museums that we did not make it to on our visit. The Benesse Art Museum is perched up on a hill with a spectacular vista of the sea beyond the island. They have a museum hotel and restaurant that is the front wing of the museum facing the sea. As we walked along the path to leave, visitors were sitting on their balconies watching the sunset and (hopefully) basking in their great luck to be staying at this magical place where time can stand still for at least a few hours. 

[ Slippers, futons, and tea ]

Once we were back at our place, we rolled out our futons and turned in for the night. The following morning we would take the bus, ferry, shinkansen, and airplane back to Hokkaido.