Japan is perhaps the country with the highest number of small and large museums in the world: from ancient art to modern art to the most recent contemporary expression.. There is a widespread artistic trend that accompanies and enriches those who travel through its fascinating islands.
Today we are going to visit the Nakamura Keith Haring Collection, the only museum on the planet to exhibit exclusively the artworks of Keith Haring—a forerunner of American contemporary art.
Hokuto and the Nakamura Keith Haring Collection
Hokuto lies about 150 kilometers northwest of Tōkyō, in Yamanashi Prefecture. Located at the foot of Mount Yatsugatake, the town has almost 50,000 inhabitants and is a popular tourist destination for the domestic market but still unknown by international tourism. The museum in 2007 and features a permanent collection of three hundred works by Keith Haring. Temporary exhibitions, workshops, and events are held annually, curated by scholars of the artist. Keith Haring was one of the most legendary figures on the Pop-art scene in the 1980s, both for the original artistic production and for the promotion and active closeness to the LGBT movement. The messages of the works on display underline the artist’s ironic and colorful approach to society’s uneasiness, where wars, discrimination, and violence still exist.
Kazuo Nakamura and his museum
The building of the Nakamura Museum is based on the concepts of light and darkness, chaos and hope to invite people to reflect about the times when the artist was working. The external façade surrounding the theatre evokes the power of nature and welcomes visitors with powerful colors: red, blue, black, and white blend with the green of the trees in the background. There are several galleries inside, plus a café, a book shop, and a theatre. The whole complex seems to create a dialogue with the art of Keith Haring, whose works emphasize the importance and wonder of existence. For those who want to travel virtually to the museum, here is the link to access:
-Fab Palmeri-
Kawaii thinking
