Over 300 art works by more than 300 artists from 40 countries are exhibited during the Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennale, producing an intriguing combination of modern art with traditional countryside.
Rather than concentrated in a single location, the art exhibits are scattered all over the Echigo-Tsumari region. Many of them are in the open air, in rice fields, besides rivers or in the villages. While some of the exhibits are near the town centers, others stand in remote places, that are quite difficult to access.
Over 130 of the art works of previous triennials, able to withstand the heavy snow of the winter months, have become permanent exhibits, justifying a visit to the Echigo-Tsumari region also outside the triennials.
All art exhibits are related to the people, lifestyle, landscape or social issues of the region. A lot of art pieces involve abandoned buildings and schools, which have become numerous due to the depopulation trend. They are used to exhibit art objects or have been transformed into art works themselves.
Furthermore, various events are held during the triennials and during smaller festivals in the summers between triennials, some of which are using art exhibits as their stage. Please check the official festival website (see links at the bottom of the page) for an event calendar.
Below follows an incomplete list of some of the outstanding art exhibits of the Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial 2009 (some of the below listed exhibits may be removed after the end of the triennial):
Tokamachi Area
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Exhibit number: 39
Echigo-Tsumari Exchange Center "Kinare"
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By Hiroshi Hara + ATELIER, Japan
Built in 2003
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Reached in a ten minute walk from Tokamachi Station, the Kinare is one of the festival's stages and information centers.
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Exhibit number: 9
Culture bound syndrome
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By Yamazaki Ryoichi, Japan
Built in 2009
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Small dolls with facial expressions of social anxiety are displayed in an abandoned elementary school building.
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Exhibit number: 10
Light of the World, Light of the Intelligence II
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By Airan Kang, Korea
Built in 2009
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Book shelves with LED lights transform a traditional Japanese room into an artistic space.
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Exhibit number: 12
Wasted
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By Mukaiyama Tomoko, Japan
Built in 2009
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Art installation consisting of 10,000 pieces of silk clothing.
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Exhibit number: 28
Storm Room
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By Janet Cardiff & George Bures Miller, Canada/Germany
Built in 2009
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A violent thunderstorm seems to be battering the windows of a room in the second floor of an adbandoned residential home, while simulated thunder and lightening perfect the illusion of a storm passing by.
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Exhibit number: 31
restructure
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By Yukutake Harumi, Japan
Built in 2006
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House covered by mirrors on the inside and outside.
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Kawanishi Area
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Exhibit number: 63
House of Light
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By James Turrell, USA
Built in 2000
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This house combines traditional Japanese interior design with the artistic use of light. It is possible to stay overnight in the House of Light.
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Matsudai Area
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Exhibit number: 147
No Butai Snow-Land Agrarian Culture Center
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By MVRDV, The Netherlands
Built in 2003
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Five minutes from Matsudai Station on foot, the No Butai is another of the festival's stages and information centers.
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Exhibit number: 147
The Rice Field
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By Iliya & Emilia Kabakov, Russia
Built in 2003
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Sculptures in terraced rice fields combined with poems, when viewed from the No Butai.
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Exhibit number: 162
Scarecrow Project
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By Oscar Satio Oiwa, Brazil
Built in 2000
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Red figures, depicting a farmer's family, working in a terraced rice field.
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Exhibit number: 179
The Seat of Rain Spirit
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By Kuniyasu Takamasa, Japan
Built in 2000
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An evolving sculpture made of tree trunks, depicting the water god, guarding rice fields.
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Exhibit number: 199
Mountain
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By Richard Deacon, United Kingdom
Built in 2006
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Sculpture along a remote mountain road.
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Exhibit number: 214/215
Shedding House
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By University College of Art Sculpture Course, Japan
Built in 2006
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Carvings cover the walls, pillars and floors of this abandoned house.
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Matsunoyama Area
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Exhibit number: 232
House Memory
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By Shiota Chiharu, Japan/Germany
Built in 2009
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44 kilometers of wool strings make this abandonned residential house feel like the home of a spider.
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Exhibit number: 234
The Last Class
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By Christian Boltanski + Jean Kalman, France
Built in 2006
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An abandoned school turned into a haunted house like art object.
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Exhibit number: 240
Dream House
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By Marina Abranovic, Former Yugoslavia
Built in 2000
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Another of the art exhibits that double functions as an accommodation. Guests are asked to record their dreams into a book in the following morning.
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Nakasato Area
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Exhibit number: 125
For Lots of Lost Windows
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By Utsumi Akiko, Japan
Built in 2006
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A window to rediscover the ordinary view of the landscape.
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Exhibit number: 134
POTEMKIN
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By Architect Office Casagrande & Rintala, Finland
Built in 2003
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Former illegal dumping ground turned into a riverside park.
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