Arts & Culture
A taste of Japan comes to Stevens Point
The Pointer
kshan945@uwsp.edu
The Noel Fine Arts Center is offering a truly Japanese experience this month. The sounds of Japanese music, University of Wisconsin Stevens Point students and others dressed in kimonos and ultimately the atmosphere of Japanese Culture as part of COFAC Creates.
Beginning Oct. 26 until Nov. 25, “COFAC Creates: Japan – The Floating World,” will take place right on the UWSP campus. The month is packed with events including a special Japanese art exhibition of 200-year-old Japanese woodblock prints. There will also be performances, workshops, films and lectures.
When first walking into the Edna Carlsten Gallery, the prints on the walls simulate the way Japanese culture began and their transformation throughout time. Each of the prints have underlying themes and express something all their own.
“Japanese woodblock prints, also known as ‘ukiyo-e,’ or pictures of the floating world, were first published in the 16th century during the Edo period (1615-1868). These mass-produced prints illustrated themes, such as sake, women and theatre, favored by the merchant and artisan classes,” said Assistant Professor of Asian art history, Cortney Chaffin.
Chaffin, the coordinator of this event, along with many others involved with this project, feel that this gallery exhibition should be the starting point for each student when viewing the prints. This premier collection was from the Chazen Museum of Art in Madison, Wis. Since the 200-year-old prints have such vibrant, watercolor pigments, they can only be exposed to light for a short amount of time. But this is not stopping the COFAC and other coordinators of this event from spreading this dynamic Japanese culture.
“The heart and soul of this program is the gallery exhibition and should be a starting point for every student. I think they will find the vibrant colors, subtle textures and dynamic themes of the prints fascinating. Hopefully, students will be inspired to learn more about Edo period Japan through our wonderful series of lectures, workshops, films and performances. This is a great opportunity for students to experience Japanese culture and history right here in Stevens Point,” said Chaffin.
This event is bringing to the Stevens Point area culture that it has never truly seen before. To experience something of this proportion is truly an opportunity that one does not want to miss. Many students have Chaffin as a professor in their classes, along with other art history students, and get to experience hands-on what it takes to create these Japanese woodblock prints. Design professors, students and the community all get something out of this opportunity.
“I hope that this event will help to revitalize our long tradition of Asian studies on campus. I hope students will consider taking courses on Asian art, history, culture, language, politics, etc. This event is a spectacular chance for students to become inspired to think outside the box and learn more about Japan. For the community, this event offers an opportunity to engage in new cultural experiences right here in Central Wisconsin,” said Valerie Barske, assistant professor of Asian art history.
This experience connects the student’s minds to what they are learning in their art history classes. It also highlights that not only is it important to understand the concepts of what you learn, it is also vital to see the culture and history in the making.
“I can definitely see the style that [my professor] was talking about in class. You can see how it reflects symbols and all the cultures that she mentioned. It’s good to have culture come to Point,” said UWSP student, Elizabeth Smith.
Other activities are going on throughout the time period mentioned that highlight the Japanese culture, art and theatre.
Other activities are going on throughout the time period mentioned that highlight the Japanese culture, art and theatre. Starting on Oct. 29, Drew Stevens, curator of prints, drawings and photographs at the Chazen Museum of Art in Madison, Wis, has a lecture about “Printmakers in Edo.” On Nov. 1, a Japanese Film Festival: Kwaidan will show its film about Japanese Ghost Stories. On Nov. 5 a lecture, Admiring the Sunrise: Japanese Woodblock Prints as seen by 19th century Europeans will be held by Dr. Larry Ball, art historian, of UWSP. On Nov. 6, a lecture, The Path of The Onnagata: Male to Female will be held by David Furumoto, associate professor of acting, of UW-Madison. Again, on Nov. 7 Furumoto will host an interactive workshop, A Kabuki Primer: A,B,C’s of Performing Kabuki in the Noel Fine Arts Center. Nov. 8, another Japanese Film Festival: Double Suicide will be held. Nov. 11 will be a lecture, Appraising Desire in ‘Ukiyo-e:’ Representations of Courtesans in Late 18th-century Japan by Dr. Julie Davis, art historian, University of Pennsylvania. Nov. 15, another Japanese Film Festival: Ugetsu. Nov. 17 will be a lecture, The Race to Erase: Reflections on a ‘Post-Racial’ Society by Junichi Semitsu, professor of law, University of San Diego School of Law. Another lecture will be held Nov. 18, Persona Perspective: Prints by Yuji Hiratsuka. The closing reception of the Japanese woodblock prints will be on display until Nov. 20.
