About the Exhibition

Tokyo - Berlin / Berlin - Tokyo traces the fascinating cultural links between these two great world capitals from the end of the nineteenth century until the present day. Through two world wars, a devastating earthquake, high-speed economic growth, failed ideologies, and economic recessions, both cities experienced similar periods of ruin and rebirth. Cultural contact between the two capitals at these times was not limited to art, but included numerous fascinating exchanges in such fields as architecture, photography, theatre and design. This exhibit reflects the varied interaction and traces their history in a total of some 500 works divided into 11 sections.
The first half of the exhibition showcases individual artists and exhibitions that influenced Tokyo's artistic community in the early twentieth century, including: Berlin architects Hermann Ende and Wilhelm Böckmann, who designed the original Ministry of Justice building (1887) in the Neo-Baroque style; the Der Sturm Gallery exhibition (1914), which Yamada Kosaku, a composer and others brought back to Japan from Berlin; Murayama Tomoyoshi, who created a sensation when he helped found the MAVO group (1923) after absorbing such influences as Russian avant-garde, Italian futurism, and Dadaism during a stay in Europe; and the film and photography exhibition FIFO, which had immense impact on the New Photography movement when it came to Japan in 1931. Also included are Yamawaki Iwao and Mizutani Takehiko, who studied at the Bauhaus, and Bruno Taut, one of the most important architects in Berlin who spent three years in Japan in flight from the Nazis in the 1930s. This part of the exhibition highlights these individuals as it explores the relationship between Bauhaus and Japanese architecture and design.
The second half of the exhibition focuses more on the parallel relationships between the two cities and their artistic movements. Works in this section start with the late 1930s,

when both nations were on the brink of World War II and continues through war and its accompanying defeat and the rebirth and reconstruction in the 1950s. This is followed by the 1960s, when the New York-centered Fluxus movement united avant-garde movements in Tokyo and Berlin, that then grew and flowered together. Finally, the focus of the exhibition shifts to Germany at the end of the Cold War. After the Berlin Wall was torn down the city once again became the capital of a reunified Germany. This revitalized Berlin has grown into a vibrant city capable of sustaining its both history and traditions to produce fresh and dynamic contemporary art.
Tokyo - Berlin / Berlin - Tokyo is one of the biggest events of the Germany in Japan 2005/2006 festival, and will also tour to Germnay, where it will be displayed at Berlin's Neue Nationalgalerie from June 2006.

Sections

• BERLIN-TOKYO 1880-1914 Exoticism and Modernity
• DER STURM IN TOKYO 1914 The Impact of the Avant-garde
• TOKYO-BERLIN 1912-1923 New Visions in Art and Architecture
• CULTURES IN CONFLICT 1918-1925 Berlin Dada, Tokyo MAVO and the influence of the Russian Revolution
• MODERN GIRLS, MODERN BOYS Moga and Mobo in 1920s Tokyo and Berlin
• FIFO (FILM UND FOTO) 1929-1931 New Approaches in Photography
• BAUHAUS AND BRUNO TAUT Design and Architecture in the 1930s
• THE DARK YEARS 1931-1945 Dictatorship, Resistance and War
• RECONSTRUCTION 1945-1950s The Aftermath of War
• FLUXUS, POP ART AND NEW EXPRESSIONISM IN THE 1960s
• BERLIN NOW Contemporary Art After the Wall

Artists

Mori Art Museum Podcast (BETA)

Take an audio tour of Tokyo-Berlin / Berlin-Tokyo by exhibition curator and Museum Director David Elliott. Podcasting file available here:

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Supplementary English Translations of Catalog Texts

Below are English translations of some of the texts that appear in Japanese in the catalog for Tokyo-Berlin / Berlin-Tokyo.

Tokyo-Berlin / Berlin-Tokyo: a continuing dialog of modern cities, by David Elliott and Peter-Klaus Schuster
Appears in Japanese on p13 to p20 of the catalog and in English on p318 to p324

Berlin-Tokyo: Expressionism in Film, by Donald Richie
Appears in Japanese on p59 to p61 of the catalog.

The Daughter of the Samurai, 1937: a German-Japanese co-production, by Donald Richie
Appears in Japanese on p62 to p63 of the catalog.

Architecture: The Berlin-Tokyo connection from the late 19th century until the late 1920s, by Andres Lepik and Iride Rosa
Appears on p118 to p119 of the catalog.

Modern Girls: New figures in a consumer age, by Barbara Sato
Appears on p170 to p171 of the catalog.

The Dark Years: 1931-1945, by David Elliott
Appears in Japanese on p228 to p245 of the catalog.

The New Japan, by David Elliott
Appears in Japanese on p250 to p251 of the catalog.

Tokyo-Berlin Exhibition Poster Receives Major International Design Award

It was recently announced that the poster for the Tokyo-Berlin / Berlin-Tokyo exhibition received a Gold award in the One Show Design category of New York-based design competition The One Show. The competition is held annually, and this year over 1800 entries were received from over 30 countries in the One Show Design category. The Tokyo-Berlin / Berlin-Tokyo poster was the only entry from Japan to be honored with a Gold award.

The poster was designed by Tokyo-based design company Good Design Company. The art director was Manabu Mizuno.
The poster is currently being displayed on The One Show website:
http://www.oneclub.org/oneshow/osd_awards.php?id=969

The One Show
The One Show was established over 30 years ago and, along with the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival and the Clio Awards, is considered one of the three most important advertising prizes in the world. It is judged each year by a jury of international design specialists.

MAM SCREEN each month presents a video work related to an exhibition currently on at the Mori Art Museum. The work is shown at several screens throughout Roppongi Hills, such as the 500 inch outdoor screen of Metro Hat and PDP monitors in West Walk. The work by Berlin-based artists participating in Tokyo - Berlin / Berlin - Tokyo will be screened until April 2006. Jan Martin Liebscher Sharing a Ride 2004 Feb Annika Eriksson People in Public Spaces 2000-2006 *It will be screened at the 500 inch outdoor screen of Metro Hat from 17:00 everyday. Mar Candice Breitz + Alexander Fahl Thriller 2005 Courtesy: Bifrons Foundation Apr Nina Fischer & Maroan el Sani Berlin (sunrise) - 10 sec thinking about the future 2000 Courtesy: Galerie EIGEN + ART Leipzig / Berlin and the artists

Ernst Ludwig Kirchner Potsdamer Platz in Berlin
1914 Oil on Canvas 200 x 150cm
Collection: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Nationalgalerie, (Inv. No. NG 7/99)
(c) (for works by E.L.Kirchner) by Ingeborg & Dr. Wolfgang Henze-Ketterer, Wichtrach / Bern

Max Beckmann
Tod / Death
1938 Oil on Canvas
121 x 176.5cm
Collection: Staatliche Museen zu Berlin, Nationalgalerie (Inv.No. B 80)

David Burliuk
Portrait of a Family 1921 Oil on Canvas
94.2 x 136.4cm
Collection: Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art

Martin Liebscher
Philharmonie 1
2005 125cm x 740cm
Lambda print  Sammlung Claudia and Kurt V. Storch
Courtesy: Wohnmaschine, Berlin

Okamoto Taro
Heavy Industry 1949
Oil on Canvas
206.3 x 266.7cm
Collection: Taro Okamoto Museum of Art, Kawasaki, Kanagawa

Saeki Shunko
Tea Room 1936 Color on Paper
264 x 197cm
Private Collection, U.S.A

Boris Mikhailov
In the Street
2001/03 150 x 100cm
Type C-Print
Courtesy: Galerie Barbara Weiss, Berlin
Photo: Jeus Ziehe, Berlin