Japan opens massive '21st century' museum
2007-01-21

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Japan has opened its largest art museum, a futuristic complex with no permanent collection that architect Kisho Kurokawa believes reflects a new 21st-century way of thinking.

The National Art Center-Tokyo, located in the heart of the crowded metropolis, combines traditional Japanese elements with a glittering high-tech facade made entirely of glass.

The museum's main peculiarity is that it will hold no collection of its own, making it the world's largest art center living on temporary exhibitions that range from acclaimed foreign work to pieces by lesser-known emerging artists.

"We will be able to bring any collections from Japan or abroad that we want at any time -- that unpredictable quality, coupled with our mission to attract young, new artists of quality, is the museum's main originality," Kurokawa told AFP in an interview before Sunday's opening.

"This would be impossible with the Louvre museum, but is possible with the National Art Center. I think this is the 21st-century way of thinking," he said.

With 14,000 square meters (150,600 square feet) of exhibition space, the state-backed center, built at a cost of 35 billion yen (290 million dollars), will be part of a triangle in the glitzy Roppongi area with the Mori Art Museum and the renovated Suntory Museum.

It is across town from Tokyo's main art hub of Ueno, which already has some of the world's most visited museums.

While saving on the exorbitant expense of buying a permanent collection for the museum, Kurokawa also hopes that the National Art Center-Tokyo can eventually make do without physically bringing fragile artwork into Japan.

The 72-year-old architect's idea is that the museum can use cutting-edge technology to display photographs of artwork on walls equipped with flat-screen panels.

"If we try looking at the real Mona Lisa, it's really hard to see clearly. Now Japan excels in film technology, so with digital technology and the Internet, people will be able to see artwork more clearly than if they were in the actual museum," he said.

"If we can collect data from museums across the globe, then the National Art Center will be the world's first Internet technology museum," he said.

However, due to copyright hurdles, the museum will not attempt the idea in the immediate future, he said.

The museum's first exhibition, on loan from Paris's Pompidou Center, shows the work of foreign artists based in the French capital since 1900, and the walls are booked up for years to come.

Kurokawa -- whose projects have included Kuala Lumpur International Airport, the exhibition wing of Amsterdam's Van Gogh Museum and the Melbourne Central commercial hub -- defines himself first as a philosopher.

He believes his latest work is true to his idea of achieving "symbiosis" between conflicting forces.

"One main coexistence is between localism and globalism," said Kurokawa.

"I express localism through the material I used: wood, concrete, steel, glass. But I have left them in their natural states, leaving their natural colors, which is a very Japanese concept.

"At the same time, the functionality of the museum is very global -- it has the ability to house any kind of artwork," he said, "with the right kind of security and technology."

The interior floor is made of ulin wood from Borneo that extends out of the museum onto the veranda.

"That way, the person will be confused whether he is inside or outside. I like startling people in many unexpected ways, stimulating their senses," Kurokawa, wearing dark sunglasses, said with laughter.

He said the museum, which features a library, cafes and a restaurant supervised by renowned French chef Paul Bocuse, maximizes free space in a bid to make it a hot spot for dates -- or chance encounters.

"Traditionally in Japan, people expressed interest or love through their eyes. Today, even if you are sitting next to someone you communicate behind cellphone text messages," Kurokawa said.

"So I'm trying to create a renaissance in eye communication, which I believe is a very good thing to do," he chuckled.

"I'm excited to watch people inject life into this museum, because without them, it will have no soul."