Naoshima
Last month I spent an extended weekend on the tiny island of Naoshima, in the Seto inland sea. Naoshima became a well known cultural spot in Japan after the Benesse corporation (owner of the Berlitz language schools) had Tadao Ando design and build two museums for contemporary art. I usually dislike museums because they feel more like mausoleums than anything else. However the Benesse House – as the first one is called – is an interesting place not just for the art it holds but because you can sleep there: the museum also serves as a small hotel. Art pieces are on display everywhere, from your bedside to the surrounding outdoors and even on the beach. Art becomes part of your messy life, as it should be – it isn’t sterilized and sanctified ready-for-worship. Getting out of your room late at night and wandering through the deserted museum is quite an experience! I would go so far as to say it completely changes your relation to the pieces. Now, if only they would let me sleep in le Louvre…
