Hakone Open Air Museum
Located a distance from any major city in the shadow of Mt. Fuji, the Hakone is a shocking and pleasant surprise for visitors to the region. It is about as eclectic a museum as one could ever imagine. Its major components include a vast sculpture garden with a wide variety of artists, including Henry Moore and Rodin, as well as many Japanese sculptors. For ceramic lovers, there is an entire exhibit of Picasso's work in this area. Next to the exit is an indoor museum with a wide variety of 18th-20th century European artists, as well as an impressive collection of architectural artifacts in the museum housed in the main building. The photo to the left shows the entrance to the Hakone Open Air Museum, while Nikki de Saint-Phalle's Miss Black Power (photo to the right) marks the entrance to Hakone's sprawling sculpture garden. We used to have a narrated slide show of the major work of art, but it has long since died, owing to javascript security issues. In its stead we offer this Vimeo video slide show below showcasing many of the prominent works in this museum.
Open Air Museum from Colourphill Design on Vimeo.
In
addition to the outdoor
sculpture garden, the museum has several separate exhibitions. The
photo to the left is the Symphonic Tower, essentially a circular tower
of stained glass. Another major exhibit is the Picasso hall, featuring
sketches and the ceramic creations of the artist. Near the entrance to
the museum is a plaza that features the sculptures of Rodin, as well as
interesting pieces of sculpture such as the head sprouting ivy "hair,"
shown in the photo to the bottom right.
