Measuring the real state of "art" in this country - that is our first step. We think today's "art" is on the verge of a crisis. The question is not the so-called stagnation of art market, which is just the tip of the iceberg, but rather the statistics indicate what this crisis really is: the weakness of "art" itself brought about by the conflux of where art is placed, the supporting structure and the way art is understood. We believe that now is a good opportunity to consider this crisis. Rediscovering the potential art and devising methods to place art in our environment, in a broad sense, including towns where we live and our life-styles - that is our next step. If art spreads over and filters deeply into society, its involvement with companies and municipalities supporting the social environment will be strengthened naturally, and contrarily, its raison d'etre will be examined from their viewpoint - Starting from this recongnition, we would like to study "what art ought to be" in this country and put that into practice with companies and municipalities. Here, with these panels, we verify that "art" has not shown completely what it can do in our environment. By nature, art is a presentiment of the coming generation as well as a distinct reflection of the times. Art has been the last friend of a weak man, doomed to die eventually. We hope to support and convey such art as far as we can; it is our everlasting path. Fram Kitagawa, president Art Front Gallery This report was a collaboration of Art Front Gallery as a producer and Yuko Masui Office Ltd as a researcher and was originally exhibited in NiCAF (Japanese Contemporary Art Festival) 1993. English translation: Rei Maeda, Art Front Gallery