Sogetsu Art Center

rdf:langString Sogetsu Art Center

rdf:langString The Sōgetsu Art Center (SAC) was a Tokyo-based experimental art space. The center was established in 1958 and its activities ceased in 1971. It was founded by Sōfū Teshigahara, creator of the Sōgetsu-ryū (草月流), a school of ikebana (Japanese floral art), that he founded in 1927. It was directed by Teshigahara's son, Hiroshi Teshigahara. It is considered a major hub for post-war Japanese art, especially for experimental and avant-garde activities. The SAC was a pivotal venue for those involved in the phenomenon of Tokyo pop, whether Japanese or international. Events held there brought together musicians, visual artists, designers, critics and curators around multidisciplinary and collaborative events, on the margins of conventional art institutions. Activities at SAC converged towards a search for new forms of expression, at the crossroads of different artistic genres. The SAC was also an international platform, providing a venue in which the Japanese art world witnessed happenings and Fluxus events (notably in performances by Toshi Ichiyanagi and Yoko Ono), or radical musical and artistic approaches (through the invitation of John Cage, David Tudor, Robert Rauschenberg). The ambition to highlight international art was central to the SAC creators' approach, which proved to be a complex undertaking, as Japanese avant-garde artists both idolized and destabilized the dominant cultural discourse created by figures such as Cage and Rauschenberg.