Kazari in World Cultures: The Dynamic Arts of Decoration and Display

A one-day symposium organized in conjunction with the Japan Society Gallery exhibition Kazari: Decoration and Display in Japan, 15th-19th Centuries exploring the concept and practice of kazari, the dynamism inherent in Japanese decorative aesthetics, and its counterparts in other world cultures, including Europe, China, Africa and Central Asia. Participants include Nobuo Tsuji, President, Tama Arts University (exhibition co-curator); Nicole Rousmaniere, Director, Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Culture (exhibition co-curator); Timothy Clark, Deputy Keeper, Japanese Antiquities, The British Museum; Iwao Nagasaki, Professor, Department of Textile Studies, Kyoritsu Women’s University, Tokyo; Robert Farris Thompson, Professor of African and African American Art, Yale University; James Trilling, former Curator of Old World Textiles at the Textile Museum in Washington, D.C.; Steven Owyoung, Curator of Asian Art, St. Louis Art Museum; Yoshiya Ishida, Chief Curator, Suntory Museum of Art; and Sheila Canby, Assistant Keeper of Islamic Collections, Dept. of Oriental Antiquities, The British Museum.

Followed by a reception.

Tickets: $35; Japan Society members, American Friends of the British Museum, and seniors $30; students $20.

Agenda
Morning Session: Japan on Display

10 am
Welcome & Introduction

10:15
Exploring Kazari: A Conversation between Exhibition Co-Curators Nobuo Tsuji, President, Tama Art University and Nicole Coolidge Rousmaniere, Director, Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Cultures

11
The Floating World on Display
Timothy Clark, Deputy Keeper, Japanese Antiquities, The British Museum

11:30
Costume Aesthetics: Comparing Samurai and Merchant Women’s Styles
Iwao Nagasaki, Professor, Dept. of Textile Studies, Kyoritsu Women’s University, Tokyo

12 pm
The Depiction of Matsuri in Japanese Screens
Yoshiya Ishida, Chief Curator, Suntory Museum of Art

12:30
Questions and Answers with the audience

1 – 2:30
Lunch Break
Gallery Tours led by Mr. Masa’aki Arakawa (Idemitsu Museum) and Mr. Toshinobu Yasumura (Itabashi Museum) will be scheduled from 1:45 – 2:15 pm

Afternoon Session: Kazari in the World

2:30
Byzantine Ornament: An Exception in Medieval Eurasia
James Trilling, Research Associate, Old World Textiles, The Textile Museum

3
Sacred Objects and Values in Action: A Comparison of Japanese and Classical Kongo Art
Robert Farris Thompson, Professor of African and African American Art, Yale University

3:30
Forged in Dragon’s Blood: Archaism in Later Chinese Bronze Design
Steven Owyoung, Curator of Asian Art, St. Louis Art Museum

4
Aesthetic Systems and Ornament in Islamic Art
Sheila Canby, Assistant Keeper, Oriental Antiquities, The British Museum

4:30
Panel discussion with all symposium presenters and questions with the audience
Moderated by Nicole Coolidge Rousmaniere

5:30 – 6:30
Reception