HOW TO GO:
What: “Deco Japan: Shaping Art and Culture, 1920-1945”
When: Through Jan. 25. Hours are 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Tuesday — Friday, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.
Where: Dayton Art Institute, 456 Belmonte Park North, Dayton
Admission: $12 for adults; $9 for seniors (60+), students (18+w/ID), active military and groups of 10 or more; $6 for Youth ages 7-17. A $2 per transaction fee will be added to all ticket sales for building Preservation and Art Conservation. Admission is free for museum members.
Price includes admission to the special exhibition and the museum’s permanent collection. Tickets for the exhibition and related programs may be purchased at the Museum’s Guest Services Desk, by phone at (937) 223-4ART (4278), or online at www.daytonartinstitute.org.
RELATED PROGRAMS: A Companion Program Series will include a reduction woodblock printing demonstration by Andrea Starkey at 1:30-3 p.m. Wednesday, Nov. 19, and from 6:30 to 8 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 20. Cost is $5 for members, $10 for non-members, reservations are required. Call (937) 223-4278.
A talk “Synthesizing Oppositions: Tradition meets the Future in Japanese Art Deco” by University of Dayton art historian Dr. Hsuan Tsen is slated for 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Dec. 11. The cost is $5 for museum members and $10 for non-members.
Other related programs include a special Super Saturday Family Day on Nov. 22, and the talk “I Was Modern, But: Tradition and Innovation in 1930s Japanese Film” at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 15.
For more information about Deco Japan, the Companion Program Series, and other related programs, visit www.daytonartinstitute.org/decojapan or call (937) 223-4ART (4278).
Book a Tour: Docent-led tours of the special exhibition are available for individuals, groups and schools. Contact Group Sales and Tour Coordinator Donna Young, at (937) 512-0152 or dyoung@daytonart.org, for more information or to book a tour.
VIDEO: To hear more about Deco Japan, check out MyDaytonDailyNews.com
Folks in our area are fortunate to be surrounded by some terrific examples of Art Deco — from Cincinnati’s Union Terminal and Netherland Plaza Hotel to Dayton’s AT&T and Liberty Tower buildings and the Island Park bandshell.
The design style, popular in the 20s, 30s and 40s, was known for its vibrant colors, bold geometric designs and blend of new technology and traditional crafts. The sleek and streamlined designs, fashioned from materials ranging from plastic to chrome, influenced all forms of artistic output during the inter-war years — from the fine and decorative arts to fashion, film, photography and commercial design.
Art Deco wasn’t just popular in America, it was an international hit as well, having been introduced at the 1925 Paris Exposition in France. Thanks to a new exhibit opening this weekend at the Dayton Art Institute, we have an unique opportunity to see how the artistic trend was interpreted in Japan, a country that was one of the forerunners of the Art Deco trend.
“Deco Japan: Shaping Art and Culture, 1920-1945” showcases a fascinating collection of 200 Japanese Art Deco objects — from matchboxes and songbooks to combs and dishes. The exhibit, on tour from Art Services International in Alexandria, Va., has traveled to cities from Sarasota, Fla., to Albuquerque, N.M., and was most recently shown in Seattle. It will be in Dayton through Jan. 25.
“The response to it here was enthusiastic, it’s a beautiful show,” said Jon Perry, communications coordinator of the Tyler Museum of Art in Tyler, Texas, which hosted the exhibit last summer. “It had a strong appeal to people who like Art Deco and we had a lot of people coming from other metro areas like Dallas and Houston.”
The Deco Japan exhibition is the first travelling exhibition held outside Tokyo dedicated to Japanese Art Deco. Attending the DAI’s Jefferson Patterson Society Preview and Reception on Wednesday evening were The Consul General of Japan, Dr. Kazuyuki Katayama and Dr. Kendall Brown, who curated the show.
How it Came About
Brown, an expert on early 20th-century Japanese Art who teaches Asian Art History at the California State University in Long Beach, walked DAI docents through his exhibit Wednesday morning and also gave a public lecture later that afternoon on the topic “Art Deco in Imperial Japan.” He said the history of the current exhibit began with a 2005 visit he paid to Bob and Mary Levenson of Clearwater, Fla. — the couple had been collecting Japanese Art Deco objects for years.
“Their collection began with Japanese Netsuke, the little miniature figurines that were worn on your belt like a decorative toggle,” explains Brown. “They became interested in Japan and were struck by a piece that looked both Art Deco and Japanese.”
When the Levensons asked art dealers about the combination, they were told there was no such thing as Japanese Art Deco. The couple set out to prove the art world wrong.
“Nobody had really studied it but the Levensons began collecting a whole range of crafts —metal, glass, lacquer ware, ceramics, sculpture, textiles, jewelry, ” Brown said. Their collection, thought to be the world’s premier private collection of Japanese art in the Deco style, also includes large decorative screens, lovely kimonos and huge paintings.
In 2007, Brown said he was asked by the Levensons if he would be interested in curating a touring exhibition of their treasures. He has also developed exhibitions of 20th-century Japanese art for the Los Angeles County Museum of Art; Minneapolis Institute of Art; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. For the Honolulu Academy of Art, he organized the exhibition, “Taisho Chic: Japanese Modernity, Nostalgia and Deco.”
“Deco Japan” opened in February of 2012 at the Japan Society in New York. A catalog displaying all of the objects in the show and essays by Brown and other experts is available in the DAI gift shop for $49.95.
The local connection
It was that New York exhibit that first caught the eye of the Aimee Marcereau DeGalan, the DAI’s curator of collections and exhibitions.
When she learned this it was the first time the subject of Japanese Art Deco had been explored in this country, she recommended it for the DAI. Dayton is its only Midwestern stop.
Brown, who has been invited to a number of cities which are hosting the show, said it’s always interesting to see how it’s displayed in different museums.
“It looks as good or better here than anywhere else!” he commented after viewing the show.
Seven galleries
In Dayton, you’ll tour seven galleries, each painted in a different Art Deco hue. The show organizes the artwork by the cultural, formal and social aspects of Art Deco designs.
One portion of the exhibit showcases Art on the Street and includes posters, sheet music, and the kind of items you might have seen in shop windows or picked up at a bar or restaurant.
The Art of the Home demonstrates the growth of the middle class home in Japan, so you'll view objects such as carpet, clocks, mantle decorations, glasses and dishes. The Art of the Individual features clothing and accessories — from kimonos to pens and hair accessories. The Art of the Exhibition Hall focuses on the great age of national art exhibitions where crafts and paintings were created by artists who hoped to achieve fame and fortune and to have their work purchased and displayed at museums.
Items in the exhibit are both handcrafted and mass produced.
“Art Deco is a hybrid style that goes from Egyptian to ancient Chinese motifs and blends the ancient and modern worlds, Eastern and Western styles,” explained Brown. He said museum visitors across the country have been fascinated by the Deco style and are interested in seeing how the Japanese embraced it and the range of social themes it represents.
Brown said those social themes fall into two basic categories: Cosmopolitanism and Nationalism.
Cosmopolitanism focuses on The Modern Girl or Moga — the equivalent of the American flapper with her short hair, short skirts, cigarettes. You'll see her pictured on everything from posters to sheet music.
“That was even more controversial in Japan, because the government had been stressing the “good wife and wise mother” ideal,” Brown said.
Nationalism, he said, is the other major category.
“There was nationalism before this but in the 1930s the nationalism ramps up culminating with World War II,” Brown said. “So this Art Deco category includes a lot of nationalistic images — rising suns, victorious lions, phoenix and dragon motifs. In 1939, the Japanese Navy had introduced the new Dragon class of aircraft carriers —so if you see images of dragons, there is an implication of military strength.”
Other subject matter in the exhibit ranges from plants and animals to the sea which encompasses ocean liners, beach resorts, tropical fish. You’ll see medals for sports and other achievements: Japan had done quite well in the 1932 and 1936 Olympics.
The exhibit also includes an interpretive area entitled “Deco in Dayton” where you’ll see examples of regional Art Deco architecture. There’s also a short video showcasing the Ohio Supreme Court building in Columbus.
DeGalan remembers being struck by the beauty of the Deco Japan show when she first saw it in New York and says she was especially impressed by the wide range of objects.
“There was a lot of buzz and energy surrounding the show, it was really accessible and fun,” she said. “You walk in and you immediately get it.”
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