千葉市トップページ
総務局
市長公室
国際交流課
Guide to Chiba City Attractions
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このページの最終更新日 2010年8月20日
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| CHIBA CITY MUSEUM OF ART http://www.ccma-net.jp/ Tel：043-221-2311 Museum Information Hours 10am - 6pm (admission until 5:30pm) Fridays and Saturdays until 8pm (admission until 7:30pm) Museum Holidays
Entrance Fees Collection exhibits Adults: 200 yen(160yen each for groups with 30+ people) Students (High School & University)150 yen(120yen each for groups with 30+ people) Free Admission for Elementary and Junior High School Students Please check the current exhibition fees for the themed exhibits, as it varies. - Special Discounts Residents of the city over 60 years old: 20% off admission to Planned Exhibits, free admission to museum collection exhibits Visitors with disabilities and their caregivers: free admission to all exhibits *If you wish to receive a discount fee, please bring identification. - Membership Benefits:
Floor Guide 1 F - Saya-do Hall 6 F - Storage Facility 7 F - Exhibit Room, Museum Shop 8 F - Exhibit Room 9 F - Citizens Gallery (3 rooms), Lecture Room 10F - Administrative Office, Library 11F - Restaurant, Lecture Room Directions 〒260-8733 千葉市中央区中央3-10-8 3-10-8 Chuo, Chuo-ku, Chiba-shi 260-8733 From JR Chiba Station (East Exit): - 15 min walk - Take the Chiba City Urban Monorail toward Kencho-mae, get off at "Yoshikawa Kouen", walk 5min - Get on the Keisei Bus (Bus station #7) toward "Daigaku Byouin" or "Minami Yasaku", get off at "Chuo 3 Cho-me" and walk 2 min - JR Chiba Station is about 42min from Tokyo Station, on the Soubu-line Kaisoku toward Chiba.  See Exhibit Schedule Jump to... 1. Introduction 2. History 3. The Building 4. The Collection 5. Working With the Community 6. Current Exhibit Introduction On October 17, 2006, I visited the Chiba City Museum of Art to gather material for my second article on this webpage. The CCMA is a place of special importance to me, because one of my first jobs as a CIR (August 2006) was a book reading in English of the Pied Piper of Hamelinfor their themed exhibit, "Beautiful British Books." I was unbelievably nervous at the time (I was not too confident with communicating in Japanese at the time. It’s amazing what just two months can do), but it turned out to be a great chance to be involved in something that is apart from my normal work routine. When I approached the museum administrators with the request for an interview this time, they went above and beyond what I had hoped for by giving me numerous reference material, a full tour of the facilities, as well as a thorough explanation that took hours out of their busy schedules. I would hate to leave out any of the information they gave me, so I’ve divided the article into sections. Please use the links above to jump to the section that interests you, as the whole page is very long. Of course, if you have the time I’d love for you to read it all! History The City of Chiba first decided to establish an art museum in 1982. In 1989, a basic concept for the museum was formulated. The acquisition of artwork for the museum began in 1990, and construction of the building began the following year. The museum opened in November 1995. On September 13, 2006, the museum celebrated the arrival of its 1,000,000th visitor. The Building The CCMA building is unique in two ways: it shares the building with the Chuo Ward Office, and was built over an old bank building from the early Showa period. It is a bit unusual for a museum to be only on the upper floors of a building, but if you are a Chuo Ward resident and have business in the building, or if you attend a performance in the first floor Saya-do Hall, the museum is conveniently located upstairs for a casual visit. You can also get a nice view of the city from the library and restaurant windows!   The Library The Saya-do Hall is a unique piece of architecture. The building was built as the Chiba division of Kawasaki Bank in 1927 by architect Matakichi Yabe (1888~1941). It became the Chiba division of Mitsubishi Bank in 1943, and was afterwards used from 1971 to 1990 as the Chuo Ward Residents’ Center after its acquisition by Chiba City. When the Chuo Ward Office and the CCMA were built in this location, the city decided to use "Saya-do style" construction in order to preserve this valuable building. The outer building covers the inner one, but was built so that the two buildings stand independent of each other, and no pressure is put on the inside Saya-do Hall. It was also necessary to build an underground parking lot, so the entire hall was dragged to the side during this time, and then dragged back in to construct the rest of the building around it. The hall is currently used for various performance art shows and music concerts.    Saya-do Hall Points of interest
The Collection The museum focuses on artwork falling within the following three categories:
The CCMA is well known for its Ukiyoe collection, since there were no other public museums with a focus on the Edo period at the time of its opening. However, it also has an impressive collection of modern art. I found the collection of artwork associated with the Chiba area interesting as well, since it is so unique to the location. According to the museum personnel, the "poster girl" of the museum is "Beauty Enjoying the Cool" by Kitagawa Utamaro, which is a silk scroll painting from around 1794. This work was also voted as the number one piece of art that the museums volunteers recommend for others to see.  KITAGAWA Utamaro "Beauty Enjoying the Cool" c.1794-1795, Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk The museum owns about 7000 works, which are on rotation in exhibits according to the theme. Working With the Community The museum also wishes to become more accessible to everyone, and not just limit the visitors to art connoisseurs. Through the recent years, interactive projects have been incorporated into the art exhibits, such as musical concerts, craft activities, book readings(!), informative classes on the artists or artwork involved, and volunteer led gallery talks. These activities allow visitors without a lot of art knowledge to enjoy the exhibits and to learn more about them. The museum also works closely with local schools, and provides educational tours for students. Current ExhibitThe Chiba City Museum of Art Collection Exhibit, Chosen by Museum Volunteers There are 32 active volunteers at the CCMA as of October 2006. The current special exhibit, scheduled to run from October 17 to December 3 (Closed on 11/6), was planned and executed by these volunteers. Back in Spring of 2006, these volunteers voted for their ten favorite works from the CCMA Collection. Of these, the artwork that gathered more than two votes were displayed, for a total of 57 pieces (which is less than a 10% chance!). The volunteers chose the artwork based on if they wanted to "meet them again"(as the art is on display in rotation and some do not get exhibited for a long time), or if they wanted to "share the work with other visitors." I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to walk through the exhibit during my visit. When I entered the exhibit, I was met by an explosion of color: "Vitrine: Landscape, 1958" by Yamaguchi Katsuhiro. This artwork is a sheet of colorfully painted glass, which is lit up from behind, and viewed through another sheet of corrugated glass. It was an interesting piece to look at, because the wrinkles in the top piece of glass gave the illusion of movement when viewed from a different angle.   The First Room This first room features modern art, including both paintings and sculptures. It is a brightly lit, open space, displaying bold contemporary works, including the one described above. From the next smaller room, I found a large chest of drawers titled "WORK65-50" by Isobe Yukihisa particularly memorable. Apparently, the artist found this old unused chest in a Chiba prefecture farm, and decided to rebuild the inside. Scenes from ancient picture-scrolls are colorfully depicted on the back of each door, and the drawers are filled with "treasures," such as old newspapers and liquor medallions.  ISOBE Yukihisa "WORK65-60" The atmosphere changes drastically in the next room, where the lights are dimmed and the artwork is displayed in glass windows. Many of the artwork here are on screens and scrolls, giving the room a more "natural" color. This is the room of traditional Japanese art, where the famous masterpieces such as the museum’s "poster girl," Kitagawa Utamaro’s "Beauty Enjoying the Cool," Maruyama Okyo’s "Autumn Moon Over the Snow-covered Gorge," Nakamura Hochu’s "White Plum Tree," and Munakata Shinko’s "Buddha’s Ten Disciples and Two Bodhisattvas" are on display. I personally especially liked the latter two works.   Traditional Art The "White Plum Tree" is on a hanging paper scroll, and is my personal favorite piece. I don’t know what it is about it, but it’s so relaxing to look at. I love how the artist took such a common subject, but did not just draw it as is. The branches all grow straight up, and the round blossoms that all face forward look surpringly "modern"(not sure if that’s the right word to use...) and cute. The artist used a method of painting that involved "dripping" gold and blue-green paint onto the areas representing the bark of the tree, creating a subtle but beautiful pattern. It’s funny that I like this piece so much, since I was never really into traditional Japanese art before.  NAKAMURA Hochu "White Plum Tree" c.1804-18 Hanging scroll; ink and color on paper "Buddha’s Ten Disciples and Two Bodhisattvas" is a woodcut print on six two-fold screens. This is one of only few remaining original prints of this work, that were printed before the war. I love the contrast of black ink on white, and the bold shapes. It’s amazing how expressive the faces are, despite being represented by only a few thick lines.  MUNAKATA Shinko "Buddha’s Ten Disciples and Two Bodhisattvas" 1939 Six two-fold screens; woodcut on paper I highly recommend this exhibit, since it is a rare chance to see some of the most famous artwork side by side, regardless of their genres (modern and traditional art shown in the same exhibit is extremely unusual). In addition, it is the first volunteer planned exhibit in the history of the CCMA. If you can read Japanese, there are comments by volunteers next to each piece of artwork, which are very interesting to look at as well. If you can’t, don’t worry. The pieces speak for themselves! I only got a quick look during this visit, so I plan to take my time and go back for a longer visit on my own time as well. Once again, the exhibit runs until December 3, 2006, so I hope you take the opportunity to go. By the way, it’s only 200 yen for admission since it’s a Collections exhibit! |
© 2006 Chiba City all rights reserved
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千葉市トップページ
総務局
市長公室
国際交流課
Guide to Chiba City Attractions
|
(C) City of Chiba