GUTAI DICTIONARY

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Outdoor Modern Art Experiment in the Midsummer Sun (Pine Forest by Lake Ashiya River)

The innovation of Gutai was not only in the production of their works, but also in the originality of the way of its presentations. The first exhibition of Gutai's work was held in Ashiya Park.
The exhibition, held in July 1955 as a related project to the Ashiya City Exhibition, was held for 24 hours in a pine forest along the shore of Lake Ashiya River. Since the exhibition was held outdoors, it was not just a matter of exhibiting paintings and sculptures, but also of dealing with the weather, the method of installation, the size and form of the works, etc. It was a challenge for the members to come up with works that were very different from those usually exhibited indoors, but many works with free ideas that were not bound by conventional thinking were exhibited. There were many original works that had never been exhibited before, such as works that successfully incorporated the natural environment and works that allowed the audience to participate freely. The outdoor exhibition was so popular that it was held again the following year, with even more content than the previous year. In particular for the second exhibition, light art was exhibited with nighttime in mind.

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