Kyodo via Yahoo: Tokyo Hokusai exhibition tops global popularity table
The Hokusai exhibition at the Tokyo National Museum had the highest daily attendance figures in the world last year, according to a global survey. The exhibition topped a world league table published by the London-based Art Newspaper, which included four other Japanese shows in the top 10. Analysts say the high volumes in Japan can be attributed to the fact that museums are more market-driven and need to put on popular shows. They also have bigger venues. However, they say that the large amount of people at some Japanese museums can often take away the pleasure of viewing art...The exhibition of Hokusai, a celebrated Japanese woodblock print artist, attracted an average daily audience of 9,436 in 2005..."The Tokyo National Museum's most poplar exhibitions took place in the 2,900-square-meter Heisei wing, with a capacity of around 2,000 people at any one time -- a figure Japanese commentators say is only achieved by cramming the visitors in together. This inevitably leads to 'bottlenecks' at certain popular vantage points in exhibitions"...more...
