Spring 2014 course on Parasophia at Doshisha University
July 25, 2014 (Fri.) 19:46
A course dedicated to Parasophia: Kyoto International Festival of Contemporary Culture 2015 and international exhibitions of contemporary art was held during the 2014 Spring semester at Doshisha University in Kyoto. The course, “Topics in Contemporary Art I,” taught by Professional Advisory Board member Professor Toshiya Echizen (Professor, Faculty of Letters, Doshisha University, Kyoto), was given the thematic title of “Contemporary Art in 2015: Parasophia—Its Meaning and Potential,” and consisted of 15 lectures and discussions organized around Parasophia: Kyoto International Festival of Contemporary Culture 2015 and the various events and other activities by the Parasophia Office since 2013. Students participated in lectures about the history and current state of international exhibitions of contemporary art, and engaged in active discussions on the meaning and future possibilities of such exhibitions based on these lectures.
For the lecture titled “Parasophia’s Organization” on May 6, Echizen invited Masayuki Ueda from the Kyoto Association of Corporate Executives and Tomoharu Hara from the Culture and Citizens Affairs Bureau of Kyoto City as guest speakers. Ueda and Hara spoke about the organization behind Parasophia and how it came to be. Parasophia’s curator Yoshihiro Nakatani was invited to speak about “Parasophia’s Sites,” or the sites where the exhibition will actually be installed, and other staff members from the Parasophia Office were also invited to speak about “Parasophia’s Open Research Program” and “Parasophia’s Public Program.” This course provided the Parasophia Office with the rare opportunity to speak in depth in front of many students, and to receive detailed feedback through questions and comment sheets. The students taking this course were in turn given the opportunity to think about Parasophia and international exhibitions of contemporary art in depth, and to get to know how such exhibitions are organized and how they function.
The syllabus for this course can be found on Doshisha University’s website (in Japanese only). For an English translation, see below.
2014–15
Course number 14412
Topics in Contemporary Art I
2 units; Spring semester; Imadegawa Campus; lectures
Toshiya Echizen
Overview
The Kyoto Association of Corporate Executives, Kyoto Prefecture, and Kyoto City formed the Kyoto International Festival of Contemporary Culture Organizing Committee in May 2013 with the purpose of holding the “Kyoto International Festival of Contemporary Culture” at the Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art, the Museum of Kyoto, and other venues from March to May 2015. The name of this exhibition, “Parasophia,” is a neologism that means “(a) wisdom” that is “beside or adjacent to” or “beyond or distinct from, but analogous to.” On the official website, the text titled “Parasophia: Kyoto International Festival of Contemporary Culture 2015—About the Title,” which comes across as a statement of purpose of sorts, closes with the following words: “‘Parasophia’ is meant to represent Kyoto’s position as an instrument of intellectual and cultural production, rather than a city that merely consumes” (Shinji Kohmoto, Artistic Director). In other words, this is an expression of a strong intent to move against today’s tendency to use the international exhibition of contemporary art for economic or local revitalization, and to develop it instead into something that can work as a sustainable cultural platform. But how can this be made possible? How far will the financial and public sectors be able to go in evaluating and assessing the quality and sustainability of “an instrument of intellectual and cultural production,” rather than its number of visitors or economic outcomes? Through this course, students will examine the meaning and potential of this exhibition based on lectures, including those by guest speakers who are directly involved with Parasophia who will discuss the purpose and outcomes of Parasophia’s “Open Research Program,” which started in June 2013; the organization and administration of the exhibition; and the actual sites where the exhibition will be held. The course will mostly be held in the form of lectures, but in the latter half of the course, students are strongly encouraged to engage in active discussions. Furthermore, there will be assignments outside of course hours, and the strong intent to complete work outside of course hours is required of all students taking this course.
Goal
Students will be able to go beyond simply viewing contemporary art exhibitions with subjective points of view, and to think about their operation and purpose as well.
Course plan
1. Orientation: What is Pararasophia? (Students are required to read Parasophia’s website thoroughly before the lecture.)
2. The History and Meaning of International Exhibitions of Contemporary Art: Early 20th Century
3. The History and Meaning of International Exhibitions of Contemporary Art: Late 20th Century
4. Parasophia’s Organization
5. The History and Meaning of International Exhibitions of Contemporary Art: 21st Century
6. Parasophia’s Sites
7. About Public Projection Sites
8. The 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa’s Preliminary Events: Lectures
9. The 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa’s Preliminary Events: Exhibitions
10. Parasophia’s Open Research Program
11. Parasophia’s Public Program
12. “Open” and “Public” in the Context of Contemporary Art
13. The Meaning of International Exhibitions of Art Today
14. The Meaning of International Exhibitions of Art in the Future
15. Summary
Several lectures will be delivered by guest speakers from the Parasophia Office and other affiliates. These dates will be announced at the first lecture. Please note that the course plan may be changed as the result of discussions with the students taking this course.
Grading
In-class participation: 25% (Based on lecture comment sheets and the students’ participation in the discussions held in the latter half of the course.)
Midterm paper: 25% (Students will participate in events outside of the classroom, such as exhibitions or lectures, and submit a report on the event.)
Final term paper: 50% (The subject and due date for the final term paper will be announced during this course. No questions will be answered regarding this paper outside of course hours.)
The course grade will be based on the three evaluation points listed above. Both the midterm and final term papers must be submitted in order to pass.
Reference
Hans Ulrich Obrist, A Brief History of Curating (Zurich: RP Ringier, 2008; Japanese translation, Tokyo: Film Art Inc., 2013)
Reference URL
www.parasophia.jp
Doshisha University: www.doshisha.ac.jp/en
Course syllabus (in Japanese): syllabus.doshisha.ac.jp/html/2014/14/114412000.html
For the lecture titled “Parasophia’s Organization” on May 6, Echizen invited Masayuki Ueda from the Kyoto Association of Corporate Executives and Tomoharu Hara from the Culture and Citizens Affairs Bureau of Kyoto City as guest speakers. Ueda and Hara spoke about the organization behind Parasophia and how it came to be. Parasophia’s curator Yoshihiro Nakatani was invited to speak about “Parasophia’s Sites,” or the sites where the exhibition will actually be installed, and other staff members from the Parasophia Office were also invited to speak about “Parasophia’s Open Research Program” and “Parasophia’s Public Program.” This course provided the Parasophia Office with the rare opportunity to speak in depth in front of many students, and to receive detailed feedback through questions and comment sheets. The students taking this course were in turn given the opportunity to think about Parasophia and international exhibitions of contemporary art in depth, and to get to know how such exhibitions are organized and how they function.
The syllabus for this course can be found on Doshisha University’s website (in Japanese only). For an English translation, see below.
2014–15
Course number 14412
Topics in Contemporary Art I
2 units; Spring semester; Imadegawa Campus; lectures
Toshiya Echizen
Overview
The Kyoto Association of Corporate Executives, Kyoto Prefecture, and Kyoto City formed the Kyoto International Festival of Contemporary Culture Organizing Committee in May 2013 with the purpose of holding the “Kyoto International Festival of Contemporary Culture” at the Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art, the Museum of Kyoto, and other venues from March to May 2015. The name of this exhibition, “Parasophia,” is a neologism that means “(a) wisdom” that is “beside or adjacent to” or “beyond or distinct from, but analogous to.” On the official website, the text titled “Parasophia: Kyoto International Festival of Contemporary Culture 2015—About the Title,” which comes across as a statement of purpose of sorts, closes with the following words: “‘Parasophia’ is meant to represent Kyoto’s position as an instrument of intellectual and cultural production, rather than a city that merely consumes” (Shinji Kohmoto, Artistic Director). In other words, this is an expression of a strong intent to move against today’s tendency to use the international exhibition of contemporary art for economic or local revitalization, and to develop it instead into something that can work as a sustainable cultural platform. But how can this be made possible? How far will the financial and public sectors be able to go in evaluating and assessing the quality and sustainability of “an instrument of intellectual and cultural production,” rather than its number of visitors or economic outcomes? Through this course, students will examine the meaning and potential of this exhibition based on lectures, including those by guest speakers who are directly involved with Parasophia who will discuss the purpose and outcomes of Parasophia’s “Open Research Program,” which started in June 2013; the organization and administration of the exhibition; and the actual sites where the exhibition will be held. The course will mostly be held in the form of lectures, but in the latter half of the course, students are strongly encouraged to engage in active discussions. Furthermore, there will be assignments outside of course hours, and the strong intent to complete work outside of course hours is required of all students taking this course.
Goal
Students will be able to go beyond simply viewing contemporary art exhibitions with subjective points of view, and to think about their operation and purpose as well.
Course plan
1. Orientation: What is Pararasophia? (Students are required to read Parasophia’s website thoroughly before the lecture.)
2. The History and Meaning of International Exhibitions of Contemporary Art: Early 20th Century
3. The History and Meaning of International Exhibitions of Contemporary Art: Late 20th Century
4. Parasophia’s Organization
5. The History and Meaning of International Exhibitions of Contemporary Art: 21st Century
6. Parasophia’s Sites
7. About Public Projection Sites
8. The 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa’s Preliminary Events: Lectures
9. The 21st Century Museum of Contemporary Art, Kanazawa’s Preliminary Events: Exhibitions
10. Parasophia’s Open Research Program
11. Parasophia’s Public Program
12. “Open” and “Public” in the Context of Contemporary Art
13. The Meaning of International Exhibitions of Art Today
14. The Meaning of International Exhibitions of Art in the Future
15. Summary
Several lectures will be delivered by guest speakers from the Parasophia Office and other affiliates. These dates will be announced at the first lecture. Please note that the course plan may be changed as the result of discussions with the students taking this course.
Grading
In-class participation: 25% (Based on lecture comment sheets and the students’ participation in the discussions held in the latter half of the course.)
Midterm paper: 25% (Students will participate in events outside of the classroom, such as exhibitions or lectures, and submit a report on the event.)
Final term paper: 50% (The subject and due date for the final term paper will be announced during this course. No questions will be answered regarding this paper outside of course hours.)
The course grade will be based on the three evaluation points listed above. Both the midterm and final term papers must be submitted in order to pass.
Reference
Hans Ulrich Obrist, A Brief History of Curating (Zurich: RP Ringier, 2008; Japanese translation, Tokyo: Film Art Inc., 2013)
Reference URL
www.parasophia.jp
Doshisha University: www.doshisha.ac.jp/en
Course syllabus (in Japanese): syllabus.doshisha.ac.jp/html/2014/14/114412000.html