Project Japan: Architecture and Art Media, Edo to Now

Graham Cooper, the author of ‘Project Japan: Architecture and Art Media, Edo to Now’ (Images Publishing, 2009), considered contemporary Japanese architecture through its relationship to art. In the book, he explores Japan’s situation, which has allowed diverse forms of architecture to co-exist to an extent unparalleled in the rest of the world.

 

“The juxtaposition of old and new, high and low in art, artefact and architecture produces special visual impact, revealing the essence of Japanese culture” – Fumihiko Maki

 

For this talk he presented graphic representations as a means of understanding building spaces and structures, considering the special characteristics of urban spaces in Japan, including the buildings of architects such as Tadao Ando, Kishio Kurokawa, and Kengo Kuma.

 

“Cooper’s attempt is more persuasive than others in that it is based on detailed personal observation made during many hours spent walking about.” -Tadao Ando.

 

Graham Cooper was born in Bury, Lancashire. An art practitioner and protagonist with a special interest in Japan, he was an adviser for the recent Japan – UK150 and was the architectural coordinator for the Japan 2001 festival.

 

In 1995–96 he was awarded The Japan Foundation Art Fellowship, and in 1998 received a GB Sasakawa Foundation bursary to explore the ways artists and designers were contributing towards health care in Japan. In 1998 he introduced Tadao Ando to the Manchester Piccadilly Gardens regeneration, the first major building in the UK by a Japanese architect. He has published three books, ‘Art and Nature: Healing Health Design for Health in the UK & Japan’ (Book Art and Architecture, 2006), ‘Art & Architecture Celebrating 25 Years’ and ‘Project Japan’ (Images Publishing, 2009). He is currently completing a further book ‘Grand Parade Art and Architecture in the UK and Western Europe’.

 

Events and exhibitions he coordinated for Japan 2001 include ‘Modernity and the Construction of Scenery: Architecture of Fumihiko Maki’, Victoria & Albert Museum, London; ‘Eco Architecture, Eco City: Kisho Kurokawa’ Royal Botanical Gardens Kew, London; ‘4×4 Apartment Avant-Garde’: featuring 16 architects in a DVD interactive project shown simultaneously in London, Glasgow, Bristol, and Manchester; and ‘Celebration and Contradiction: New Art Museums and Japanese Culture’, a symposium at Tate Britain.