Museums in Japan are Awesome

Today we went to a museum showcasing the work of Terayama. He was an avant-garde artist who did most of his work in the 40's and 50's. Apparently his art wasn't appreciated then but now people love it. Basically his main goal in art was to shock or scare people.

The museum itself was so fun. They had an interactive section with all sorts of wooden creations you could actually climb in and ride around. The boys sat on the floor and built an elaborate wooden domino design culminating in a heart. They had a "create your own art" section with all sorts of things to craft together, along with power tools and saws (and it's supposed to be for children...) to help you create. I made a little wooden sculpture (for lack of a better word) and left it there so I can now brag that I have a piece of art on display in a Japanese museum. I bet you don't know many people who can say that! They also had a big wall where people write their name or draw a picture to leave their mark. You can see my simple contribution below. It was unlike any museum I've seen in the States and as strange as it was I kind of loved it.

These last two pictures are my favorite. The top one says "Sue" in Kanji and the bottom one says "Aaron." We had a friend write them for us (front and back) and then Aaron strung it on some string to make a little necklace for me. So cute. And the strangely fantastic red mustache? That was the front door. We knew right away we were in for something awesome.