[ Partly Closed ] 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa
Courtesy: 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa
Opened in 2004, the 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa stands out compared to more traditional art museums. The museum features a captivating disc-like design, as if it were a UFO touching down in the middle of Kanazawa. All the walls are made of glass and the building features five gates, all pointing towards different parts of the city.
The museum exhibits experimental contemporary art that visitors can touch or sit on and is perfect for children and adults alike. Some of museum’s highlights include commissioned works, which are integrated into the building’s unique design.
The 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa excels at offering visitors unique experiences that can’t be found anywhere else. Highlights include Leandro Erlich's The Swimming Pool, which enables visitors to feel as if they’re standing at the bottom of a swimming pool, and a wall decorated with flowers gathered from the suburbs of Kanazawa.
Photo WATANABE Osamu
Courtesy: 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa
Photo WATANABE Osamu
Courtesy: 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa
Main works (stored items)
Leandro ERLICH, "The Swimming Pool", 2004
In one of the museum’s courtyards is a swimming pool framed by a limestone deck. When viewed from the deck, the pool appears to be filled with deep, shimmering water. The work sets up an unfolding sequence of experiences, from our astonishment at peering down and finding people under the water to our gazing upward from the interior of the pool. While undermining our everyday assumptions about what we think to be obvious, the work invites our active involvement in its spaces—once we catch on to its deception—and produces a sense of connection between people looking at each other.
Collection: 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa
Photo WATANABE Osamu
Courtesy: 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa
Jan FABRE, "The Man Who Measures the Clouds", 1998
This work was inspired by Birdman of Alcatraz (1961, USA), a film based on the true story of a man who kept birds in his cell while imprisoned in solitary confinement and became an ornithologist. At the film’s end, when the man, who has been denied permission to continue his research, is asked about his future plans, he replies: “I am going to measure the clouds.” The artwork takes its title from this line. Although modeled after the artist himself, The Man Who Measures the Clouds also pays homage to his late twin brother. It is thus a work blending various elements—human life and death, natural science, and the poetic gesture of “measuring the clouds.”
© Angelos bvba
Collection: 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa
Photo NAKAMICHI Atsushi / Nacása & Partners
Courtesy: 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa
- James TURRELL, "Blue Planet Sky", 2004
- LAR/Fernando Romero, "Wrapping", 2005
- Pipilotti RIST, "You Renew You", 2004
- Olafur ELIASSON, "Colour activity house", 2010
- Michael LIN, "People’s Gallery 09.10.04-21.03.05", 2004
- Anish KAPOOR, "L'Origine du monde", 2004
- Florian CLAAR "Klangfeld Nr.3 für Alina", 2004
- Patrick BLANC, "Green Bridge", 2004
