Azure and Creative (This week's Photo Hunt themes)

After I booked the flights and hotels for my recent Japan holiday, I got to realizing that I'd be missing this year's edition of Art Basel (formerly known -- more appropriately to my mind -- as Art HK) as well as spending FA Cup Final day (the first one Arsenal had been involved in since 2005) in the Land of the Rising Sun.  

I have to be honest and admit that the latter realization stung much more than the former --this not least because my Japan trip plans included a visit to places where I expected my culture vulture appetite would be satisfied.  And so it proved, particularly at Kanazawa's 21st Century Museum of Art, where I was treated to an exhibition of the creative works of Leandro Erlich that included the famous The Swimming Pool installation that's actually on permanent display at the museum.

Although my blog post on the 21st Century Museum of Art did not show it, this wonderful museological establishment does indeed feature works by Japanese artists as well as creative types from other parts of the world, with the often polka-dotted works of the inimitable of Yayoi Kusama also being on display there.

As with Kusuma's works, I first came across the art of her countryman, Takashi Murakami, in Hong Kong (though in his case, it was at a special exhibition at the Hong Kong Museum of Art rather than Art HK/Basel).  Interestingly, while looking at photos of their works which I had come across at the annual Hong Kong art fair, I noticed that they both have made use of azure colors in their works.  

Still, for a combination of azure and creative (Sandi's and Gattina's chosen Photo Hunt themes for this week), it's hard to beat Leandro Erlich's The Swimming Pool -- especially when viewed from underneath its water component.  To better see what I mean, go here to see an enlarged version of one of my photos of the creative installation)! ;b