Introduction to the Third "Art of the Heart" exhibit: The Spark of Life

Introduction to the Third "Art of the Heart" exhibit: The Spark of Life

The Art of the Heart exhibit, sponsored by the Association of Tokyo Psychiatric Hospitals, is a special show that illuminates the darkness of modern society. Since the first exhibition in 2010, it has been quietly evoking emotions.

With this third exhibit, our purpose is to have the artists and the viewers together face society and send out a message with the meaning of "Living, Ailing, Expressing." In this exhibit, it is not simply a one-directional appreciation of the works displayed, but rather the artists and the viewers together discover the power of art, and it is a place to signal those possibilities.

The main part of this exhibit, the "Public Works Exhibit," displays pieces entered from 67 Tokyo area psychiatric hospitals. The jury president, Otohiko KAGA (author, psychiatrist), and the five members of the selection committee, Shouji TATSUKAWA (Kitasato University professor emeritus, medicine and medical treatment historian), Tsuneo SENBA (emeritus president of the Japan Association of Psychiatric Hospitals), Shouji SAITO (Chief chairperson and director of the Saito Hospital), and Kouhei ABIKO (formative artist), earnestly examined each work, and made their judgment with enthusiasm. The works displayed convey the urges of each artist, the earnest "voices without a voice, murmurs, sighs, soliloquies, and the cries of the soul."

In the "Feature Exhibit," we introduce the expressive activities, spanning over 40 years, of Youzou NAGURA: "Pictures are a Crutch for Living, a Mirror of One's Heart." Since he was hospitalized at twenty years old, he has used drawing pictures to support his heart, and through it he survived a turbulent life. Here we introduce the vast works he produced while inside the hospital.

In the "gallery talks" that the artists give to introduce their own works, about "What is Being Sick," "What is Expression," "What is Drawing," healthcare professionals, artists, and members of the general public talk together. These talks are held every day the exhibition is open at 2 pm.

At a "Roundtable Discussion," the selection committee, psychiatrists, health professionals, and others will talk about expressive activities, and the possibilities in art. These occur during the exhibition daily at 3 pm.

On the 22nd and the 23rd from 11 am, stained glass artist Hitoshi NOGUCHI will run a stained glass workshop, and on the 20th and the 21st from 11am, Yuko ENAKA will hold a collage workshop. In addition to these, there is a decalcomania workshop planned.

In the "Hospital Art" corner, the selection committee member Kouhei ABIKO introduces approaches to the question of "Hospital Art." Although the hospital was often a bleak sight, ABIKO brought the "color, shape, light" back to the hospital.

He is engaged in creating a mood of mutual understanding, like a gentle wind, with "art as a window" between the healthcare workers and the patients.