The University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UWSP) is presenting a special art exhibition and a month-long series of lectures, workshops, films and performances examining the culture and history of Japan. The College of Fine Arts and Communication (COFAC) will feature visiting artists and scholars from around the country with special expertise in Japanese art, theatre and culture in “COFAC Creates: Japan – The Floating World.”
The centerpiece of this interdisciplinary effort is a unique collection of 18th - 19th century Japanese woodblock prints from the Utagawa School that will be exhibited in the Edna Carlsten Gallery of the Noel Fine Arts Center (NFAC) on the UWSP campus from October 26 through November 25. The collection is on loan from the Chazen Museum of Art in Madison.
“The concept of the floating world, ukiyo, derives originally from Buddhist notions of impermanence,” according to Cortney Chaffin, a UWSP East Asian art historian who is coordinating the program. “Mass-produced ukiyo-e images served as the earliest form of market-driven graphic art.”
“During the Tokugawa period (1603-1868), ukiyo-e images of the floating world represented the pleasure quarters, kabuki theaters, and commercialized urban culture,” added Valerie Barske, a UWSP East Asian historian.
Appreciation of the prints and a better understanding of Japanese culture will be highlighted in a series of notable events throughout the month. Experts from universities in Oregon, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin will present lectures and workshops on printmaking and the historical importance of Japanese art. An Asian theatre professor from UW-Madison will demonstrate and discuss kabuki theatre makeup and character movements. In addition, an award-winning law professor and speaker from the University of San Diego will offer his insights on race based on his perspective as a Japanese American.
Specific lectures, workshops and demonstrations will include:
• October 26: Opening Reception for The Floating World: Japanese Woodblock Prints from the Collection of the Chazen Museum of Art, 4-7 p.m., Edna Carlsten Gallery.
• October 29: “Printmakers in Edo,” a lecture by Drew Stevens, the curator of prints, drawings and photographs at the Chazen Museum of Art, Madison, 6:30 p.m., 221 NFAC.
• November 5: “Admiring the Sunrise: Japanese Woodblock Prints as seen by 19th century Europeans,” a lecture by Larry Ball, a UWSP art historian, 6:30 p.m., 285 NFAC.
• November 6: “The Path of The Onnagata-Male to Female,” a lecture/demonstration on kabuki theatre makeup by David Furumoto, a theatre professor from UW-Madison, 4 p.m., NFAC Courtyard.
• November 7: “A Kabuki Primer – A, B, C’s of Performing Kabuki,” an interactive workshop and demonstration of basic character movements found in kabuki theatre by Professor Furumoto, 10 a.m., 136 NFAC.
• November 11: “Appraising Desire in Ukiyo-e: Representations of Courtesans in Late 18th-century Japan,” a lecture by Julie Davis, University of Pennsylvania art historian, 6:30 p.m., 221 NFAC.
• November 17: “The Race to Erase: Reflections on a ‘Post-Racial’ Society,” a lecture by Junichi Semitsu, a University of San Diego law school professor , 7 p.m., 221 NFAC.
• November 18: “Persona Perspective: Prints by Yuji Hiratsuka,” a lecture by Yuji Hiratsuka, Oregon State University fine arts professor, 6:30 p.m., 221 NFAC.
• November 20: Closing Reception for The Floating World: Japanese Woodblock Prints from the Collection of the Chazen Museum of Art, 4-7 p.m., Edna Carlsten Gallery.
Both gallery receptions will feature Japanese art, music and dance. The visiting artists and scholars also will be guest lecturers in university art and communication classes.
In addition, a special film festival showcasing three classic Japanese films will be presented on Sunday evenings in November. The film presentations will include:
• November 1: Kwaidan (1965) directed by Masaki Kobayashi. This award-winning film features four nightmarish tales adapted from traditional Japanese ghost stories.
• November 8: Double Suicide (1969) directed by Masahiro Shinoda. In this striking adaptation of a Bunraku puppet play, a paper merchant sacrifices family, fortune and ultimately life for his erotic obsession with a prostitute.
• November 15: Ugetsu (1953) directed by Kenji Mizoguchi. Derived from stories by Akinari Ueda and Guy de Maupassant, this haunting tale of love and loss – with its exquisite blending of the otherworldly and the real – is one of the most beautiful films ever made.
All three films will be presented at 7 p.m. in Room 221 NFAC.
“COFAC Creates should provide our students and the community an extraordinary opportunity to learn more about the rich history and culture of Japan,” said Jim Haney, the interim dean of COFAC. “We hope the campus and central Wisconsin residents will enjoy this wonderful free program.”
COFAC Creates is an annual event that brings students and faculty members from multiple disciplines in the College of Fine Arts & Communication together to learn from each other. The event is made possible this year through the generous support of the College of Fine Arts & Communication, the University Library, the Edna Carlsten Gallery, a College of Letters and Science Enhancement Grant, the Chancellor’s Office, the Provost’s Office, International Studies, International Programs, the Division of Communication, the Central Wisconsin Initiative, the Design Center, and the Departments of Art & Design, History, and Foreign Languages.
For more information, visit: www.uwsp.edu/cofac/cofaccreates.
Contact: Cortney Chaffin, 715-346-3881
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