Thursday 15 november 2018
Naoshima Island

Two years ago, we were lucky enough to see the “Tarot Garden” in Tuscany. It’s described in a New Yorker article at https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2016/04/18/niki-de-saint-phalles-tarot-garden which I hope can be read without a subscription. The garden is certainly the most fantastic collection of huge sculpture we’ve ever seen. It’s the work of Niki de Saint Phalle, and we never expected to see her wacko sculptures again.

Then magic happened, and we took this Japan tour that included a trip to the Benesse complex on Naoshima, which is pretty fantastic itself. It’s designed as a combination of art, architecture, and nature, and in today’s crisp clear weather, it was stunning. Here’s dawn, looking across the Seto Inland Sea through the pines:

and here’s one of the artworks, a huge pumpkin on a short pier:

I could try to describe the complex, but I can’t do it justice. However, we were excited to see old Niki de Saint Phalle again, this time in much smaller works, still very fun. Here’s an elephant:

and here’s a guy on a bench:

and a loveseat, with snakes, naturally:

How terrific to see these crazy things twice!