Printed Temptations..

Printed Temptations is the title of an exhibition currently running at the Nagoya City Art Museum.Odd title.Odd exhibition.
The blurb reads.."Published art isnt just limited to standard printing.Printed art can be found in a diverse range of medium-from photographs to postage stamps."
So its a pretty loose brief and thats my primary problem with the exhibition.

There appeared to be no focus.One expected to see printed material but other medium are also on show.Sure there are prints and photographs.There were even posters of previous exhibitions which seemed no more than an attempt to fill out the show. Nothing spectacular.Nothing even particularly tempting.Lots of nondescript black and white photos.Theres a series of photos taken of winding towers.Nothing a good amateur weekend camera buff couldnt take.
There were some swirling black and white prints with lots of bold strokes that wouldnt be out of place in a kindergarten fingerpainting class.

I didnt expect to see non printed medium on display.One wall is given over to two huge brown paper wrapped parcels.Each about the size of a futon.Hardly printed material.
Nor was it the first time they have been on display if you looked closely at the posters of previous shows.Several other non printed material items were also getting an airing.One looked like a coat lying on a full size single bed while another was a self portrait collage made out of material such as silk and other fabrics.

I just the feeling that it was a hotch potch of old permanent collection items that have been dusted off with no real thought given to the relationship between the items or even if they fell under the definition of printed material at all.

The exhibition runs until September 28th.Admission was 1,300yen for adults and the only temptation I felt was to ask for my money back.