AUSTRIAN CULTURAL
FORUM TOKYO
AUSTRIAN EMBASSY JAPAN
FORUM TOKYO
AUSTRIAN EMBASSY JAPAN
The Vienna World’s Fair of 1873 represented a significant milestone in the history of Japan: After several centuries of isolation, the Empire had the opportunity to present itself to the world for the first time. In a pavilion built by Japanese architects, builders and garden specialists, Japan displayed several thousand high-quality art and craft objects. For the first time, the European public had direct access to art, culture, architecture, philosophy and aesthetics from Japan. The Japan Pavilion not only triggered the Europe-wide wave of Japonism at that time, but it also marked the beginning of cultural and economic exchange between Japan and Austria.
To celebrate the 150th anniversary of 1873/2023, the Austrian Cultural Forum (ACF) Tokyo is organizing a series of projects in cooperation with numerous partner institutions:
Transmedia artist Johanna Riedl is commissioned by the ACF Tokyo to implement “ONCE UPON NOW”, Austria’s main contemporary project for the 1873/2023 anniversary in Japan, in the form of a performative video installation with sculptural and digital exhibition. The project takes place in cooperation with the leading art university in Japan, Tokyo University of the Arts, and will be shown at Chinretsukan Gallery from 11 May to 16 June 2023.
The Tokyo Tower Arts Festival in 2023 is dedicated to the 150th anniversary: from 17 March to 7 May 2023, 150 meters above the mega-metropolis of Tokyo on the Main Deck, the exhibition “Thinking of Tokyo” and a soundscape will create an artistic connection between 1873 and 2023. Historical photos and documents from the Vienna World’s Fair from Japanese and Austrian archives will be juxtaposed with contemporary works from the ACF Tokyo project #JapanRevisited202x . This cooperation with the University of Tokyo and the University Museum showcases works by Anita Gratzer, Claudia Larcher, Agnes Prammer and Hannah Neckel, among others.
The National Museum of Tokyo will dedicate a special exhibition to the Vienna World’s Fair from 21 March to 14 May 2023. On this occasion, Japan expert and curator of the Vienna World Museum Dr. Bettina Zorn will be in Tokyo at the invitation of the ACF Tokyo for research purposes and scientific exchange. She will also hold workshops and lectures as well as report at the ACF Tokyo on the current status of the project she is supervising to digitally record all objects from the Japanese Pavilion 1873.
In Vienna, the Museum of Applied Arts (MAK), the Weltmuseum, the Vienna University of Technology, and the Technical Museum, among others, are commemorating the anniversary through exhibitions and other projects.
SOURCE: AUSTRIAN EMBASSY JAPAN
IMAGE: TOKYO NATIONAL MUSEUM
To celebrate the 150th anniversary of 1873/2023, the Austrian Cultural Forum (ACF) Tokyo is organizing a series of projects in cooperation with numerous partner institutions:
Transmedia artist Johanna Riedl is commissioned by the ACF Tokyo to implement “ONCE UPON NOW”, Austria’s main contemporary project for the 1873/2023 anniversary in Japan, in the form of a performative video installation with sculptural and digital exhibition. The project takes place in cooperation with the leading art university in Japan, Tokyo University of the Arts, and will be shown at Chinretsukan Gallery from 11 May to 16 June 2023.
The Tokyo Tower Arts Festival in 2023 is dedicated to the 150th anniversary: from 17 March to 7 May 2023, 150 meters above the mega-metropolis of Tokyo on the Main Deck, the exhibition “Thinking of Tokyo” and a soundscape will create an artistic connection between 1873 and 2023. Historical photos and documents from the Vienna World’s Fair from Japanese and Austrian archives will be juxtaposed with contemporary works from the ACF Tokyo project #JapanRevisited202x . This cooperation with the University of Tokyo and the University Museum showcases works by Anita Gratzer, Claudia Larcher, Agnes Prammer and Hannah Neckel, among others.
The National Museum of Tokyo will dedicate a special exhibition to the Vienna World’s Fair from 21 March to 14 May 2023. On this occasion, Japan expert and curator of the Vienna World Museum Dr. Bettina Zorn will be in Tokyo at the invitation of the ACF Tokyo for research purposes and scientific exchange. She will also hold workshops and lectures as well as report at the ACF Tokyo on the current status of the project she is supervising to digitally record all objects from the Japanese Pavilion 1873.
In Vienna, the Museum of Applied Arts (MAK), the Weltmuseum, the Vienna University of Technology, and the Technical Museum, among others, are commemorating the anniversary through exhibitions and other projects.
SOURCE: AUSTRIAN EMBASSY JAPAN
IMAGE: TOKYO NATIONAL MUSEUM
1873 Japan comes to Europe
On 24 May 1870, Emperor Franz Joseph approved the official theme of the World’s Fair to be held in Vienna in 1873: to host
an international exposition showcasing agricultural, industrial and artistic products. In March 1871, Heinrich Ritter von Calice, the Austro-Hungarian envoy to Japan, presented the Japanese foreign minister, Sawa Noboy- ushi, with a formal invitation, which Japan accepted in late 1871.
In Japan, preparations began in earnest in 1872 based on a catalogue published by the Au stro-Hungarian commission. The cata- logue listed 26 categories of subjects to be presented, covering everything from ‘mining, chemical industry, agriculture, and textile, leather, metal, wood, stone, terracotta and paper industries (processing)’ to ‘printmaking, engineering, and army and navy affairs’ as well as subjects like ‘the bourgeois home,
the farmhouse’ or ‘the depiction of museums showcasing the decorative arts, ecclesiastical art, art from earlier periods, contemporary art, or the education system’.
A Japanese commission that also included foreign advisors, such as the brothers Alexander and Heinrich von Siebold an the chemist Gottfried Wagener, selected Japanese products based on this catalogue. For example, the choice of large objects, such as a cast of the Buddha of Kamakura, a thir- teenth-century bronze statue standing more than thirteen metres, was first suggested by Alexander von Siebold (see introductory panel).
BOOKLET: THE WOLD´S FAIR BOOKLET
SOURCE: WELTMUSEUM WIEN
WELTMUSEUM WIEN
IN 2023 VIENNA CELEBRATES THE 150th ANNIVERSARY OF THE VIENNA WORLD´S FAIR IN 1873.
IN 2023 VIENNA CELEBRATES THE 150th ANNIVERSARY OF THE VIENNA WORLD´S FAIR IN 1873.
A PROJECT BY JOHANNA RIEDL
FUNDED BY THE AUSTRIAN CULTURAL FORUM TOKYO
EXHIBITED AT TOKYO UNIVERSITY OF THE ARTS
SUPPORTED BY THE BMKOES