ABSTRACT
Art is encountered in dispersed ways in the islands of the Seto Inland Sea: a colorful public bathhouse made with parts from a fishing boat, a sex museum, and a black-and-white film or a community house infused with paper wishes, a tranquil interior, and a contemplative stone garden. People discontented with the speed of urban areas are coming to the islands in increasing numbers. Commencing in the 1990s on Naoshima and continuing today on thirteen islands, art activities presented in the Setouchi Triennale are re-envisioning the “unpopular” to create gathering places that are bringing increasing fame to the region.
This chapter examines alternative visions of popular culture through two art works and the cooperative networks associated with them: Naoshima Bath “I♥YU” (2009) by artist Ohtake Shinro and Sunset House: The House as Language of Being (2010) by James Jack. Working with recycled materials available on the islands and including the hopes and dreams of the community in the structures opens alternatives to the commercial aims of popular culture, which engage communities in the sustained life of the artworks over time. Through cooperative artworks such as these, culture is produced collectively by multiple participants in rural areas. Herein, the potential for art to change society with creative arrangements of “what is already there” is transforming the islands into a place where pursuing dreams is possible.
