Before photography became a relatively affordable pastime at the beginning of the 20th century, lithographic prints were touted as the democratic image-making medium that could reach all classes of society. At the same time, because the design was drawn directly onto stone, it could be used as a platform for artistic expression; not just a cheap way of reproducing images, but creating multiple versions of an original work. This potential was most eagerly embraced in France, with Picasso, Braque and Matisse creating ¡°masterpieces¡± that could be owned or collected by more than one person at a time. A revolutionary idea, but also good business.
¡°Listen, I¡¯ll Tell You The Truth ...The Actual Center of The World is Where You Are Creating Something Unique,¡± at Tokyo Station Gallery, is a group exhibition of prints from the venerable Idem lithographic workshop in Paris, which occupies a building of lithographic presses that was originally established in 1881. The title comes from the recently published novel ¡°Romancier¡± (¡°Novelist¡°) by Maha Harada, which features the Idem workshop and a fictional exhibition of lithographic prints at, as you may have guessed, the Tokyo Station Gallery.
¡®The idea of this fictional exhibition becoming reality is very mischievous, but self-reflexivity aside for a moment, time and place are also big issues in this show.
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