FUKUSHIMA--The prefectural museum of art here is echoing with the joyful sound of children's voices as they jump and slide on a giant piece of installation art made of futon mattresses.
FUKUSHIMA--The prefectural museum of art here is echoing with the joyful sound of children's voices as they jump and slide on a giant piece of installation art made of futon mattresses.
Its creator said he wanted to give a little joy to local children, some of whom have been largely confined to playing indoors because of radiation fallout from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant disaster.
Artist Tsuyoshi Ozawa used about 130 futon mattresses spread on a sloping wooden frame. He named the work "As you like somebody, everybody likes somebody."
Children are invited to climb on the 2-meter-high bedding and bounce on about. Such is their glee that their cheers can be heard in the museum's Japanese-style painting exhibition corner.
Curators don't mind.
"It's best to hear children's laughter," one said.
The exhibition runs through Dec. 24. Admission is free.