I went to the exhibition at Mori Art Museum (Roppongi) titled “Another Energy: Power to Continue Challenging – 16 Women Artists from around the World” in early June, right after the emergency declaration being lifted.
As I have been thinking about living as a woman,
growing older,
still living while growing older till I die,
it was only exciting that the exhibition focuses on worldwide female artists of over 70 and above.
It was like going to see the mentors of life.
So, I opened up and jumped into the museum for a long time!
Then, what does “another” mean of the “Another Energy?”
Is it to what or to whom?
I do not know how to understand it precisely while it is the core concept of the exhibition.
Maybe it is to the mainstream, so-called male-dominated capitalism, market, or academia; however, I do not know how those female artists have been evaluated. Also, I think they should not be lumped together because they are women.
However, what I see from the arts, profiles, and messages of those 16 artists is their attitude in common; they have kept their world in their own ways, not by force, putting energy and never been rotten. They have kept the attitude even through experiences that they had to be receptive or passive physically, mentally, economically, or socially in their lives as women.
If we define such an attitude as femininity, I understand it is the theme of the exhibition and indeed another value of today’s standard.
Doing slow but long.
Being supple and creative.
Protecting and nurturing.
Being open and sensitive.
Connecting and sharing.
Being present.
Maybe the attitude gives a hint for everyone but especially for those who have never experienced being receptive or passive in their lives to survive such an era of coronavirus.
At the same time, I received a message that you can finally live freely even by releasing limits you put on yourself, which is the most troublesome, as long as you try to follow your heart.
And you can give love because you are free.
I hope to feel so light as if I had wings in my heart when I get older and even walk heavily.
As I went to the museum with my children, it was difficult to appreciate the exhibition thoroughly.
But it is OK.
I will accept the reality, my status right now; still, I will keep my lamp burning.
I will sustain my energy to someone or something, slowly for a long time.
Here are some notes of my favorite words and works from such a brief appreciation:
Finding myself is no different from forgetting myself.
– Kim Soun-Gui
I waited for a long time.
– Carmen Herrera
There is a saying “if you wait for the bus, the bus will come.”
I waited almost a century for the bus to come, and it came!
The work goes on just like anyone’s life goes on.
– Arpita Singh
Untitled (Trees)
by Etel Adnan
Performance Piece
“Pregnancy, age, and external force and violence induce changes in the body, expressing the forms that our lives take.”
by Senga Nengudi
The exhibition “Another Energy: Power to Continue Challenging – 16 Women Artists from around the World” is held at Mori Art Museum till Sunday, 26th September.
Details: https://www.mori.art.museum/en/exhibitions/anotherenergy/index.html