For press inquiries, contact Chris Komai at ckomai@janm.org, or at 213.830.5648.
-
Kokeshi: From Folk Art to Art Toy Exhibition
Studio-Online, July 2, 2009 -
Kokeshi originated in the north of Japan in a region called Tohoku, and often were the toys of the children of farmers or souvenirs for visitors to nearby hot springs. Handmade out of wood, they traditionally were characterized by a slim trunk for a body and a larger round head. As a Japanese folk toy, kokeshi are believed by some to be charms that can help ward off dangers, especially fire. The wood of the mizuki tree is often used for kokeshi and mizuki literally translates as "water tree."
-
Preview: Kokeshi: From Folk Art to Art Toy @JANM (7.11)
Daily DuJour, June 24, 2009 -
Presented by LATDA, Kokeshi from Folk Art to Art Toy opening on July 11th, 2009 @ the Japanese American National Museum, offers a broad survey of a multitude of Kokeshi – Japanese wood dolls that were traditionally collected as souvenirs by hot springs visitors. The large show will feature three sections – the first features over 300 examples of traditional kokeshi from the collection of Itske and Anthony Stern, the second features contemporary original takes on the koekshi from eleven artists working in diverse media, and the third section entitled Custom Kokeshi 2009 curated by Christina Conway features over 100 international artists interpretations of an identical blank kokeshi wood form.
-
Upcoming KOKESHI: FROM FOLK ART TO ART TOY Exhibit Subject of Discussion Board
The ARTCHIVAL, May 27, 2009 -
The National Museum's upcoming new exhibition, Kokeshi: From Folk Art to Art Toy, which opens July 11, is already the subject of discussion on message boards. Over 100 artists are participating by creating customized Kokeshi dolls for the show.
Click on the link to see what people are saying about this exciting show.
-
Curator Shares Insights to 'Living Flowers'
Flower Blog, August 13, 2008 - When I found out that LA's Japanese American National Museum was hosting a major exhibition that pairs ikebana (flower arranging) with cutting-edge art, I thought it would be a good chance to learn more about this fascinating Japanese tradition.
-
Arranged Marriage: Mixing It Up With Flowers and Art
L.A. Weekly, July 23, 2008 - What exactly does that series have to do with ikebana? (That is, the 600-year-old Japanese tradition of arranging flowers, guided by a principle of uniting humanity and nature, a pursuit of beauty via combinations of color, shape and line — from which the revelation of meaning is arrived at only with the arrangement’s completion.) The short answer is that both have flowers, but surely curator Karin Higa had something more in mind when pulling together an eclectic mix of international art by 20 venerable and up-and-coming artists (from modernist master Isamu Noguchi to art star Laura Owens), presented alongside floral displays created by local chapter members of three key schools of ikebana.
