YAMASHITA Kohei

This paper explores the Japan Ushimado International Art Festival held in Okayama Prefecture, Ushimado, every year from 1984 to 1992. Few papers have focused on the Japan Ushimado International Art Festival; moreover, art historians have not comprehensively explored this festival. Therefore, I clarify this festival as a whole through materials collected and interviews of the concerned people and examine the art historical condition. In addition, I examine the transformation and context of open-air art exhibitions in the 1980s Japan. Analyzing the context of each time, Japanese warehouses (Kura) as well as hills and harbors were transformed into spaces for exhibition in this art exhibition, and we can determine the response of the problem between the transformation of “art work” and “display,” the dilemma of traditional large-scale art exhibitions in Tokyo (the center). On the other hand, this festival references Ushimado’s local culture. Thus, the transformation of “art exhibition” such as the Japan Ushimado International Art Festival reflects not only the expansion of “art” but also the problem of the institution of “art.” This perspective indicates the aspect of post-modern Japan that cannot be overlooked .