Not surprisingly, the weather forecast is on the warmer side. Today we will have a max of 37 degrees Celsius, with a real feel of 42. Tomorrow it will go to 38 and real feel 43. Noe is going to the fresh haven of her office in Waseda, the rest is aiming for museums. Today, we are going to the National Art Center. We take a subway from Higsahi-Shinjuku, 7 minutes away from home, and will exit the subway inside the museum building.
We reach a very spiffy site, full of light, and a building that is very nice and aerial from the inside. It is very interesting to look at from the outside, but this we discover after first taking a tour of the current exhibit, which is entitled “Museum Ludwig, Cologne – History of a Collection with Civic Commitments”. Some items of the collection of the Köln museum are on display. The idea is that the Ludwigs and other collectors, are donating their collections pushed by a sense of civic commitment. In fact, Mr. Ludwig is heard, in an interview, stating that the private collector is able to buy pieces that are not yet established, and that no public institution could justify buying. The exhibition presents 152 notable works, including paintings, sculptures, photographs, and videos by artists associated with German Expressionism and Neue Sachlichkeit as well as Picasso and friends, the Russian avant-garde, Pop art, and some more contemporaneous pieces. We enjoyed it much.
After visiting a bit the building from the inside and the outside, we take the subway to Omote Sando, enjoy a good Japanese curry, and stroll along the neighborhood in order to admire two works on public display: Kodomo-no-ki (tree of children) by Taro Okamoto and Myth of Tomorrow by Taro Okamoto, which depicts the moment the A bomb explodes on Hiroshima. The mural was discovered in the suburbs of Mexico in 1993 in subpar condition, so it was transported to Tokyo and restored. It is now imposingly on view on the Shibuya train station. After this, Gadea goes back home and Eyquem and Samuel go shopping. The evening is tranquil.
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