Volume 04, Number 09

Diversions
By Owen Schaefer

Fiction for the Real

Looking for threads to connect the works of the four female artists involved in the National Museum of Modern Art’s “Fiction for the Real” exhibition may well be a futile endeavor. And that is as it should be. The show is, after all, not about identifying unifying themes among women artists. Instead it chooses to draw attention to the concept of what is “real” when faced with the seemingly everyday splintering of groups and categories into subgroups and subcategories. It’s a broad idea, but one that moves neatly between the artworks themselves as objects, the subjects they explore, and in some cases, the narratives they imply.

The featured artists are Leiko Ikemura, Miwa Yanagi, Chiharu Shiota, and Sophie Calle, and their works have been drawn primarily from the collections of the National Museums of Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. Ikemura works in sculpture and paint, while Calle and Yanagi use photography and words, and Shiota creates installations. Their backgrounds and styles could scarcely be more different, and the works are more likely to confuse than clarify any concepts of the “real,” which, in the end, adds power to the idea of its fiction.

Fiction for the Real (to May 27) National Museum of Modern Art Tokyo. Takebashi Metro Station. ¥420. 10am–5pm (Fri. to 8pm) Closed Mon. Tel. 03-5777- 8600. www.momat.go.jp

Tokyo International Pirates

Perhaps it is not the very model of a modern major musical, but even though Gilbert and Sullivan’s comic opera, The Pirates of Penzance, hasn’t seen a revival in recent years, it still ranks high among popular productions with community theater groups such as Tokyo’s own Tokyo International Players (TIP). Why? Don’t be silly. ‘Tis about pirates, me hearties!

The story follows a young man, mistakenly apprenticed to a group of overly-nice pirates until his 21st birthday. Upon completion of his duties, he falls in love, only to later learn that his birthday is February 29, and he is still indentured for decades yet to come.

Those raising eyebrows over the word “opera” needn’t worry. Certainly, sections of the libretto make full use of an operatic singing style, and TIP, in turn, makes full use of the production’s female lead, Akiko Otao, whose classically trained voice is captivating in her solos. But the show is, at heart, a precursor of modern musical theater, and in Sullivan’s own (humble!) words, “it is exquisitely funny, and the music is strikingly tuneful and catching.”

The cast is a swashbuckling mixture of TIP veterans, such as Tom Clark in the role of the Major General, and singing-dancing newcomers. And even if the story seems a bit dusty for modern audiences, “Pirates” may, in some respects, be the perfect musical for the present day. After all, it’s short, sweet, and breezy— not at all taxing for the internet generation—and yet still plenty clever. And there are one or two surprise additions to TIP’s staging that bring it amusingly up to date.

Pirates of Penzance (May 17–20) Shinjuku Sun Mall Theatre. Shinjuku-Gyoenmae Metro Station. Adults ¥4,000, students ¥2,500. 7:30pm (Sat. & Sun. matinees at 2pm) Email: boxoffice@tokyoplayers.org. Tel. 090-6009-4171. www.tokyoplayers.org

Photography in check

Amy Adler’s work, in many ways, could equally be considered “fiction for the real.” While her work tends to be labeled photography, it’s about as loose a usage as one could hope for, distancing the viewer a step from the original photographic image by showing only an altered print. Her photos take on sketched or painted qualities, and the ghost of the original is constantly present in the mind of the observer.

In this small exhibition, entitled Player’s History, Adler takes a further step away from photography by using found photos of young chess players, both internationally famous and unknown. The players are rendered in pastel on canvas in Adler’s near-trademark grays, and the images lose all sense of being documentary evidence, becoming instead contemplative portraits.

The eight works depict each player without an opponent, and the pastels seem to focus attention on the facial expressions of each. Competitiveness and concentration give way to faces that seem by turns to be dreaming, sad, angry, or bemused. And, as with her other work, there is the question of what could be considered the true image, the photographic original, always competing for cognition with the whites and grays of the physical canvas.

Amy Adler Player’s History (to May 12) Taka Ishii Gallery. Kiyosumi-Shirakawa Metro Station. Admission free. 12pm–7pm. Closed Sun. and Mon. Tel. 03-5646- 6050. www.takaishiigallery.com

Listings:

Bruno Taut: The Role of Art in Society (to May 27) Overview of the German architects speculative and more concrete works. Watarium Museum. Gaienmae Metro Station. ¥1,000. 11am–7pm (Tue. to 9pm) Closed Mon. Tel. 03-3402-3001. www.watarium.co.jp
Forever Rouge (to Jun. 10) Series of photos by Yoshihiko Ueda along with museum exhibit of lip rouge and women’s relationship to it through the ages. House of Shiseido. Ginza Station (Metro, JR). Admission free. 11am–7pm. Tel. 03-3571-0401. www.shiseido.co.jp/house-of-shiseido
Magic Revolution: The Xperience (May 21–24) Magic with Japanese master of illusion Cyril in Hall C of the Forum. Tokyo International Forum. Yurakucho Metro Station. ¥6,300–¥8,400. Various times. Tel. 03-5500-0359. www.t-i-forum.co.jp/english
“Aloha a mau loa aku e Hawai’i” (Jun. 3–5) Hula dance extravaganza from the Academy of Hawaii Arts. Bunkamura Orchard Hall. Shibuya Station (JR, Metro). ¥8,000–¥12,000. Various times. Tel. 03-3477-9111. www.bunkamura.co.jp
Falstaff (Jun. 13–21) Verdi’s final opera and his only comedic offering, based on Shakespeare’s Merry Wives of Windsor. New National Theatre. Hatsudai Station (Keio Line). ¥3,150–¥21,000. Various times. Tel. 03-5351-3011. www.nntt.jac.go.jp/english
Don Quixote (Jun. 28-Jul. 1) Special guests from the Bolshoi Ballet take to the stage in this colorful performance. New National Theatre. Hatsudai Station (Keio Line). ¥1,500–¥9,450. Various times. Tel. 03-5351-3011. www.nntt.jac.go.jp/english