Alfredo Jaar is angry with America ¡ª that is, the country monopolizing that name.
In ¡°You and Me and the Others,¡± a new exhibition at Tokyo Opera City Art Gallery, the New York-based Chilean artist and architect takes the United States to task. The works in the show are fiercely critical of U.S. hegemony (¡°America is a continent, not a country,¡± Jaar is wont to say) as well as countries that he says enable it ¡ª like Japan.
¡°I have always been shocked by the weakness and dependence of Japan towards the United States,¡± the artist says at a press preview, arguing that Japan has no strong identity when it comes to the superpower. ¡°Only recently have I heard some Japanese politicians talking about this publicly...asking for independence from the U.S.,¡± he says.
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