Japanese intellectuals, fellow artists urge re-display of comfort women statue at Aichi Triennale
- 5 years ago
일본 지식인들 “소녀상 전시재개” 서명운동… 해외작가들도 작품 전시 철회 요청
A petition in Japan has garnered thousands of signatures calling for a major art festival in Nagoya to bring back a statue symbolizing victims of Japan's sexual slavery.
Artists are also demanding for their work at the Aichi Triennale to be taken down in protest of the statue's removal.
Lee Min-sun reports. After one of Japan's largest art festivals removed a statue representing victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery, known as 'comfort women', a group of Japanese intellectuals held a campaign urging the organizers to retract their decision.
The 'comfort women' statue was on display as part of the "After Freedom of Expression?" section at the Aichi Triennale festival.
From August 6 to 15th, honorary professors and lawyers in Japan collected over 6-thousand 6-hundred signatures on the street and online. These signatures were delivered to the local government along with a statement arguing that the art festival's decision reflects a lack of freedom of expression.
Also, 11 of the participating artists at the Aichi Triennale have asked for their artwork to be removed as long as the display of the statue is banned "as a public gesture of solidarity with the censored artists."
A group of artists sent an open letter condemning the decision to remove the statue and criticizing festival organizers for surrendering to irrational threats and political demands that violate freedom of expression.
The artists withdrawing their work include two Korean artists and 9 artists from Europe and Central and South America. Some of their works were the main pieces that were used on the festival's poster and for the opening ceremony.
Meanwhile, a Spanish art collector has decided to buy the very statue that was censored by the festival. The collector will display the statue along with other art pieces that have been censored or suppressed at an art center he will create next year called 'freedom museum' in Barcelona.
A group of art and cultural figures in Korea including the artist of the statue will hold a discussion on August 22nd in Seoul to take a closer look at the issue from multiple angles.
Lee Min-sun Arirang News.
A petition in Japan has garnered thousands of signatures calling for a major art festival in Nagoya to bring back a statue symbolizing victims of Japan's sexual slavery.
Artists are also demanding for their work at the Aichi Triennale to be taken down in protest of the statue's removal.
Lee Min-sun reports. After one of Japan's largest art festivals removed a statue representing victims of Japan's wartime sexual slavery, known as 'comfort women', a group of Japanese intellectuals held a campaign urging the organizers to retract their decision.
The 'comfort women' statue was on display as part of the "After Freedom of Expression?" section at the Aichi Triennale festival.
From August 6 to 15th, honorary professors and lawyers in Japan collected over 6-thousand 6-hundred signatures on the street and online. These signatures were delivered to the local government along with a statement arguing that the art festival's decision reflects a lack of freedom of expression.
Also, 11 of the participating artists at the Aichi Triennale have asked for their artwork to be removed as long as the display of the statue is banned "as a public gesture of solidarity with the censored artists."
A group of artists sent an open letter condemning the decision to remove the statue and criticizing festival organizers for surrendering to irrational threats and political demands that violate freedom of expression.
The artists withdrawing their work include two Korean artists and 9 artists from Europe and Central and South America. Some of their works were the main pieces that were used on the festival's poster and for the opening ceremony.
Meanwhile, a Spanish art collector has decided to buy the very statue that was censored by the festival. The collector will display the statue along with other art pieces that have been censored or suppressed at an art center he will create next year called 'freedom museum' in Barcelona.
A group of art and cultural figures in Korea including the artist of the statue will hold a discussion on August 22nd in Seoul to take a closer look at the issue from multiple angles.
Lee Min-sun Arirang News.