Akiyoshidai International Art Village

 

The first place I stopped at to explore when I got to Akiyoshidai was the Akiyoshidai International Art Village.

It is tucked away up a narrow valley at the edge of the karst and I had never seen it before on any of my previous visits to the karst and cave.

A huge red sculpture stands at the entrance. It is Untitled No. 218 by the Japanese sculptor Yonekichi Tanaka.

The main reason I wanted to see AIAV was because it was designed by Arata Isozaki, a major Japanese architect whose work I appreciate.

The first section was the residential complex. Terraced concrete pools emukate the rice paddies that stood here before.....

An then a complex of buildings that includes a rebuilding of one of his earliest works that has been demolished at its original site in Oita.

The Nakayama House was the first house designed by Isozaki after he set up his own arhitectural firm in 1964.

The facsimile built here in 1998 is now used as a salon, connected to another small building and with the large restaurant building behind it.

AIAV was set up to be an arts center that brought international artists to stay in residence. Both visual arts and performing arts.

I think it is still ticking over with a few projects each year, but it did not become as successful as hoped. In some ways, it reminded me of the sports centre in Kagoshima, which was also built with numerous residential facilities and was intended to become a hub for national and international sports training. However, it now only offers gateball for its elderly population.

The largest structure in this set of ancillary buildings is the restaurant, which still seems to be operating.

Clad in unpolished marble, it is a huge cathedral-like space measuring 7 meters wide by 13 meters tall and 30 meters long.

Each end of the building glass, with one framing the main arts center building which I will cover next...

I did read that the location and idea for the arts centre actually came from Isozaki himself. Another intriguing rural art museum by him is the Museum Of Contemporary Art in Nagi, Okayama.

The previous post was on the Iwanaga Hachiman Shrine I visited earlier on my walk.

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