‘As the artistic directors of “YOKOHAMA 2001,” we have pondered how best to make this large-scale international exhibition appropriate to the dawning of a new age. In considering this problem from various angles, it occurred to us that art needs to be released from the bounds of traditional categories. The basic policy that we adopted was to promote interaction and dialogue between the visual arts, other forms of art, and fields such as science, philosophy, and medicine and to find ways of relating art to the broader concerns of society.
The culture of the twentieth century has developed through increasing specialization, making it difficult to build bridges between different professions. This tendency is unfortunate because of many serious problems, for example, the devastation of the environment and issues in biological ethics, that cannot be solved within the limitations of separate disciplines. That is why we felt it important to explore the possibilities of a more comprehensive approach in this project, even though our main focus is on art.
Taking a flexible approach, we hope to cross over the ordinary boundaries of traditional areas of professional expertise and bring ideas together from many different fields. As we enter an age of unprecedented change and innovation, we want this exhibition to present a new, more comprehensive vision of the role that art can play in society’.
– Artistic Directors: Kohmoto Shinji, Nakamura Nobuo, Nanjo Fumio, Tatehata Akira