Akasegawa Genpei's 1967 Text 'The Objet after Stalin' Explores Revolutionary Art Parallels

Japanese artist Akasegawa Genpei authored 'Sutarin igo no obuje' in 1967, later translated as 'The Objet after Stalin.' This text emerged following his trial for creating a photomechanical reproduction of a 1,000-yen note. Akasegawa draws a parallel between Marcel Duchamp's 1917 presentation of a urinal as art in a New York museum and the Bolshevik Revolution that occurred in Russia the same year. Through a Surrealist-inspired concept of the artistic objet, he warns against the bureaucratization that can affect both political and artistic revolutions. The translation was published on October 5, 2015, by ARTMargins Online. Access to the full article is restricted to subscribers through MIT Press. The original work reflects Akasegawa's critical engagement with the boundaries of art and institutional authority. His trial underscored the legal and cultural tensions surrounding artistic expression in post-war Japan.