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A. D. McCormick
A. D. McCormick

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Motoyuki Shitamichi’s Inland Sea Archive

The Venice Biennale alum discusses photography, research, and his latest project on Japan’s “island of art.” (日本語のインタビューはこちら) Motoyuki Shitamichi is an explorer first and artist second: a nomad whose quests have taken him on a road trip uncovering abandoned fortifications along the coast of Japan; to former colonies in Asia…

Art

15 min read

Motoyuki Shitamichi’s Inland Sea Archive
Motoyuki Shitamichi’s Inland Sea Archive
Art

15 min read


Apr 17, 2020

The Island Without Tourists

After a few days of perfect, cloud-free blue, the sky on Naoshima settled into a muted gray. Up the street from us, an old man was burning wood scraps and other garbage in a barrel, and the campfire smell made its way through the village. But unlike most Aprils, this…

Travel

5 min read

The Island Without Tourists
The Island Without Tourists
Travel

5 min read


Jun 21, 2019

Inujima, the Art Island

This article is part of a series on the “art islands” in Japan’s Seto Inland Sea. Read the first installment here. Of the thousands of islands in the Seto Inland Sea, a few are vast landscapes of green, punctuated by cities, rivers, and farmland. However, the great majority are little…

Travel

6 min read

Inujima, the Art Island
Inujima, the Art Island
Travel

6 min read


Dec 5, 2018

Finding the Art Island

A small island’s fame as a destination for art tourists is growing by the day, but the big picture is more complicated. — From the moment the ferry to Naoshima leaves Uno port, the sea-rooted mountainscape unfolds around you. It’s here in the Seto Inland Sea where you can most readily appreciate how Japan is one big mountain range sitting on the ocean floor, with bits here and there poking up above the…

Travel

7 min read

Finding the Art Island
Finding the Art Island
Travel

7 min read


Mar 28, 2018

Bearing the Heavy Gods At Kichijōji’s Autumn Festival

By A. D. McCormick In the lingering heat of September, teams of locals buzzed on sake take their deities on rides through the neighborhood. Welcome to Kichijōji, the hippest spot in Musashino, just west of Tokyo proper.

Travel

4 min read

Bearing the Heavy Gods At Kichijōji’s Autumn Festival
Bearing the Heavy Gods At Kichijōji’s Autumn Festival
Travel

4 min read


Published in Another Japan

·Feb 21, 2018

Kurashiki Is Not the Venice of Japan, Thankfully.

In praise of Japan’s small cities, Part 1. — On my first trip to Japan in 2016, I spent about 24 hours in center-of-everything Tokyo before hopping on the bullet train out of the big city. Destination: Kurashiki, a town you’ve never heard of, and that I knew next to nothing about at the time. Kurashiki is called a…

Travel

7 min read

Kurashiki Is Not the Venice of Japan, Thankfully.
Kurashiki Is Not the Venice of Japan, Thankfully.
Travel

7 min read


Jan 27, 2018

Taking Cactus Portraits In the Summer In Arizona

Just about nobody goes to Phoenix in August if they can help it. When I arrived, the temperature had fallen to 110 degrees Fahrenheit from close to 120 several days prior, and it was all the locals were talking about: “You’re lucky you weren’t here last week.”

Arizona

4 min read

Taking Cactus Portraits In the Summer In Arizona
Taking Cactus Portraits In the Summer In Arizona
Arizona

4 min read


Jan 21, 2018

After the Town Lost Its Train

Schools are closing. Populations are shrinking. Towns are fading away. Rural Japan is turning to art festivals for a fresh start. — Last September, I traveled to a little town on the edge of nowhere in Japan to look at art. Nearly a hundred miles from the nearest urban center, Suzu City is alive with art: large-scale indoor installations and outdoor sculptures, freshly built and breathlessly promoted on a slick new website…

Travel

23 min read

After the Town Lost Its Train
After the Town Lost Its Train
Travel

23 min read

A. D. McCormick

A. D. McCormick

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A. D. McCormick is the director of the Art Island Center on Naoshima.

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