An international symposium titled ""Design" as Interdisciplinary Knowledge" ("Design" als grenzüberschreitendes Wissen) was held at the North Hall on Keio’s Mita Campus on February 6. This symposium was part of MEXT’s Top Global University Project. The symposium was convened as part of a research agreement concluded between Keio and the University of Vienna in 2016, with a total of four researchers, including Professor Raphael Rosenberg and Professor Sebastian Schütze visiting Keio from the University of Vienna.
Under the moderation of Professor Mario Kumekawa from the Keio University Faculty of Letters, the first half of the proceedings kicked off with a speech from Professor Shiro Yamauchi, Dean of the Graduate School of Letters. This was followed by assertions from the University of Vienna researchers, Professor Lukas Nickel, a researcher on the art history of East Asia; Professor Markus Ritter, who conducts wide-ranging research on Islamic art; Professor Schütze, a celebrated expert on European medieval and modern art history; and Professor Rosenberg, on the potential of, and new perspectives on, design, which encompassed architecture, painting, crafts, and graphic works across eras and regions. After hearing these views, the Japanese side began with a report on the current state of research in international standards overseas by Taisuke Edamura, a researcher in contemporary art, which was followed by Professor Masato Naito, Professor Fumiko Goto, and Professor Kumekawa giving lectures from their respective positions on the history of Japanese medieval painting; the history of modern western art; and contemporary German literature and cultural history research, under the moderation of Professor Markus Joch of the Faculty of Letters.
The approximately 70 symposium participants included many external researchers, and an engaging and lively Q&A session was conducted. In today’s context of a questioning of culture’s sustainability, this symposium threw the renewed potential of art from the perspective of "design" into bold relief in international and interdisciplinary contexts as per the promise of its title. It was a valuable opportunity to reaffirm the ongoing potential to further education and research in collaboration based on the relationships of mutual trust which exist between the two universities.
Reference
University of Vienna: Department of Art History
University of Vienna: Wiener Kunsthistoriker in Japan