Gutai and Transnationalism: Nov 18

Gutai: A “Concrete” Discussion of Transnationalism
Wednesday, November 18, 6:30 pm
Guggenheim Museum

Participants include Paul Jenkins, Alexandra Munroe, Ming Tiampo, Judith Rodenbeck, and Reiko Tomii.

Fifty-five years have passed since the Gutai Art Association (Gutai) was founded in the city of Ashiya, west of Osaka, in 1954. The group’s aspiration to “present concrete (gutai-teki) proof that our spirit is free” resulted in an amazing body of work, ranging from gestural abstraction to performances, outdoor and indoor installations to Conceptualism. Already in the 1950s, Gutai’s work prefigured many of the newest and most important tendencies of 1960s art. Their radical experimentalism was enabled and disseminated by leader Yoshihara Jirō’s engagement with the international art world. Using his extensive library and connections, he kept the group in dialogue with artists internationally, even bringing the group’s journal Gutai to the library of Jackson Pollock, among others.

Today, as the contemporary art world becomes more globalized, Gutai’s transnationalism feels even more compelling and relevant than before. In the panel, art historians working at the forefront of Gutai scholarship in a “concrete” manner will explore Gutai’s transnationalism.

http://www.guggenheim.org/new-york/education/adult-and-academic-programs/public-programs?option=com_calendar&task=showevent&mt=1258520400&mh=+%40+6%3A30%26nbsp%3Bp.m.&aid=3014