The Study of Visual Arts and Museum Activities in North America

1990 Fiscal Year Final Research Report Summary

• Project/Area Number: 02041093
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Overseas Scientific Survey.
• Allocation Type: Single-year Grants
• Research Institution: The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo
• Principal Investigator: TOMIYAMA Hideo Deputy Director, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, 次長 (00000381)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): KANEKO Kenji Curator, Crafts Gallery, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, 工芸課, 染織係長 (20169569) ; ISHIMURA Hayao Curator, Crafts Gallery, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, 工芸課, 主任研究官 (60150041) ; HASEBE Mitsuhiko Curator, Crafts Gallery, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, 工芸課, 工芸課長 (70124203) ; ICHIKAWA Masanori Curator, Department of Fine Arts, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, 美術課, 美術課長 (20099930) ; IWASAKI Yoshikazu Curator, Department of Fine Arts, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, 企画・資科課・企画, 資料課長 (40000385) ; OKAJIMA Hisashi Assistant Curator, Film Center, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, フィルムセンター, 映画係長 (20132706) ; OBA Masatoshi Curator, Film Center, The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, フィルムセンター, 主幹 (30099931) ; HUJII Hisae Professor, Tsukuba University, 教授 ; SHINADA Yukichi , 映画評論家 ; KUSAKABE Kyushiro , 映画評論家 ; TOGAWA Naoki , 映画評論家
• Project Period (FY): 1990
• Keywords: Film / Photography / Design / Archives / Visual Arts / Museum

Research Abstract

In this year's research, which limited the target area to North America, we sent curators to various institutions to gather firsthand information in the areas of film, photography, and design, and reaped great results. They will be published in due course in a detailed report covering the whole of our researches overseas on this project.
1. Film : The researchers visited several film institutions in Canada and the United States. The National Film Archives of Canada, funded nationally, actively collects, preserves, restores, and screens films, and together with its large storage within its building, it is our good model. Other institutions too impressed us with their vigorous activities realized through cooperation with state or private organizations.
2. Photography : The researchers visited the photography departments of many museums in Canada and the United States. We learned that, at most institutions, they change lighting between historical photographs and contemporary ones. To accommodate the difference in optimum storage temperature between monochrome photographs and color prints, all institutions have separate storages. We also learned the details of handling color photographs in low-temperature storage when putting them on display.
All of these institutions are in the process of introducing computers in classifying and managing the works in collection, and we acutely feel the need to catch up.
3. Design : The researchers visited several museums in Canada and the United States. The Canadian Museum of Civilization presents various foreign cultures. The Walker Art Center functions as a new kind of arena for all artistic activities, and has educational programs in design and photography. The Cooper Hewitt Museum has one of the largest collections in design. The American Craft Museum was notable for its wide scope and unique viewpoint.
We could purchase many books and catalogues not obtainable in Japan through this research.