Cubism in Asia: Unbounded Dialogues
Furuichi Yasuko―Measuring the distance to Western modernism
Though a bit long, I would like to cite a passage from the “Foreword” of theexhibition catalogue of the Tokyo exhibition.

As an influential force in Western modernism, Cubism [which was foundedby Picasso and Braque, among others, at the beginning of the 20thcentury] spread instantaneously (…) As an analytical aesthetic model,
rather than merely a new painterly expression, it spread rapidly all over
the world providing a modern view and approach to things. That is not tosay that Cubism was simply received passively all over the world. As aform that circulates and transmits notions of “modern art” conceived in
the West, it also provides an opportunity for us to refocus our sights on
the various cultural factors that may operate out of the Western
framework of “modernity.” In Asian countries too, through repeatedcollision and fusion with the diverse range of pre-existing artistic styles,traditions, and customs, Cubism provided a stimulus and portent driving
force for “modern art” to evolve specific to differing cultural settings.
(Cubism in Asia—Unbounded Dialogues, exhibition catalogue, 2005, p.005)

Reading this passage in 2020 enables us to surmise the place where curatorsstood back in 2005. In other words, the curators, no matter how impartially they
approached the artworks in question, were only able to perceive modernism inAsia by way of understanding from a distance its commonalities and differences

with the Western concept of Cubism. This post-colonial situation, where Asia isalways discussed alongside the West, was also prevalent in the international
symposiums held across Asia during the first half of the 2000s. To word it
differently, we can say that the exhibition came into being because of this sort ofhistorical background.

“Cubism in Asia” started as a theme-based exhibition in Tokyo, which thentraveled to Korea and Singapore. Later in 2007, the exhibition was reorganizedaccording to regions/countries and was shown at the Maison de la culture duJapon à Paris as a sort of homecoming for Cubism. The exhibition was highly
recognized as a project organized collaboratively by national museums acrossAsia for the first time, from the research stages to the exhibition presentation,
while overcoming many difficulties along the way. Later, the national museums of
Korea and Singapore followed suit and co-organized the exhibition “Realism inAsian Art,” but no Japanese museum took part in it. One reason for this, perhaps,is the difference in degree of sensitivity to the post-colonial situation revolving
Asia. In that sense, we are never entirely free from our historical and cultural
backgrounds.

Cover of Cubism in Asia—Unbounded Dialogues, exhibition catalogue (Tokyo: NationalMuseum of Modern Art, Tokyo and The Japan Foundation, 2005)

Poster of “Cubism in Asia—Unbounded Dialogues,” (Tokyo exhibition), 2005
Design: Hattori Kazunari

Related Links
The Japan Foundation Asian Art Archive "Cubism in Asia: Unbounded
Dialogues"
https://www.jpf.go.jp/e/publish/asia_exhibition_history/35_05_cubism.html
International Symposium 2002 "Asia in Transition: Representation andIdentity"
https://www.jpf.go.jp/e/publish/asia_exhibition_history/29_02_transition.html