"Japan Art Spaces presents the more than two hundred works of art created for the Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial, an international modern art festival taking place in Japan's Niigata prefecture every three years, drawing half a million visitors. Author Fram Kitagawa, director of the festival, describes how it was first launched in 2000, in order to revitalize former farming communities, which have suffered from depopulation and loss of income since the government's call to abandon farming and promoting the country's industrial endeavors. The exhibition invites artists from around the world to create installations in rice fields, vacant houses and buildings, or in the natural landscape. Including works by Marina Abramovic, Daniel Buren, Antony Gormley, Katsuhiko Hibino, Sue Pedley, Dominique Perrault, and Kiki Smith, among many others, Japan Art Spaces will be the only English-language book to explore these extraordinary spaces. Each artwork is illustrated and described in brief captions. In addition an essay by Lynne Breslin and several other short articles discuss the context of the paradigm shift from urban museums to decentralized, remote installations. --this will be the only English-language book that explores the Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial, a huge public art festival that has half a million visitors --A treasure (art) hunt through the spectacular landscapes of Echigo-Tsumari and the Japan Inland seas, presenting an alternative art siting to the museum"-- Provided by publisher.