To commemorate the 120th anniversary of Dogo Onsen's reconstruction in 2014, the town of Dogo will host the art festival "DOGO ONSENART 2014." The pre-opening took place on December 24, 2013, followed by a grand opening on April 10, 2014, and a finale on December 31. This event brings together up-and-coming artists at Dogo Onsen, Japan's oldest hot spring, which is even mentioned in the Nihon Shoki (Chronicles of Japan), to implement a variety of art programs. Experience-based art will appear throughout the town of Dogo, primarily in hotels and inns. Art direction and management are handled by local creators, and the event is comprehensively produced by Spiral/Wacoal Art Center. One of the main programs, "HOTEL HORIZONTAL," is a project that transforms the guest rooms of 10 hotels and inns in the Dogo area into artworks that visitors can actually stay in. Each artist will be assigned a room, which will be transformed into an overnight installation.
Five of these will open early in preparation for the pre-opening. Hotel Kowakuen, featuring Nobuyoshi Araki, is based on the concept of "paradise," with "bondage" photographs displayed on the four sliding doors that divide the Japanese-style rooms, each over 16 tatami mats in size. The Japanese house and the alluring beauty of women in kimono resonate in the space.
Takaraso Hotel is the world of Yayoi Kusama. In addition to Kusama's "Memories of My Soul. In Search of Various Happiness," archive works and new works will be on display. Hanayuzuki will also feature a work by Akira Minagawa titled "Ro." The rooms will be decorated with fabric boards featuring "choucho," the iconic textile from his own brand, mina perhonen, and shoji screens depicting trees that appear to attract forest creatures. Fujio Ishimoto, a native of Ehime Prefecture and former textile designer for the fabric brand Marimekko, has produced an original room at Chaharu titled "Suuri Taiga (Great Prairie)." Poet Shuntaro Tanikawa will exhibit "Hana no Ie," a work based on the concept of "Tanikawa Shuntaro's desk," comprised of his favorite items, at the Dogo Hall. Details of the plans for other participating accommodations, including Dogo Yaya, Funaya, Dogo Prince Hotel, Hotel Luna Park, and Yamanote Hotel, will be announced at a later date. Other events planned to commemorate the pre-opening include artist Jiro Hirano's citizen participation event "GINGA" and Aya Tsukioka's fictional travel agency project "Tsukki Tours." At the grand opening on April 10, Rhizomatiks and Fujiko Nakaya, known for her mist-themed works, will transform the Dogo Onsen Main Building into an artwork.
In addition, the uniforms for the event will be designed by Ehime-born designer Mitsushi Yanaihara, and will be partially in use from the grand opening.
[Event Information]
Dogo Onsen Art 2014
Venue: Dogo Onsen and the surrounding area
Dates: Pre-opening / December 24, 2013
Grand opening / April 10, 2014
Finale / December 31, 2014
