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Unique Japanese art at University museum
By Mirig Rodrigues
Erniea ! Contnhutor
Two urmprcly different Japa
mom’ .1 rI forms are on ciisp!h\ at
the University's Mummiid of
AM
"Kxjirossivi’ Quills. ,i collet
lion of hand sown pic.toriaI
quilts by r ontemparary Jspo
nese-Amnrii.an artist Kumiko
Sudo of Kugene, is a far throw
from the Americ .in (pull
1 sing ant tout! silk, colton ki
monos and obis as her [lrimarv
materials. Sudo marries tradi
liomil Japanese color and do
sign principles with a c ontern
porarv American flair for the
pictorial (sc ones from ’The
Tale of the (.flip" and the III
bio) and the abstract
Hut while So do's work
blends the best of hast and
West, she only began employ
mg Japanese subjet ts after mm
mg here five years ago
When I live in my own
country. I am not so careful to
see ms own history or environ
men!, said Sudo in what she
refers to as my broken l og
lish
In Japan. I already know
about American quilts for 1!0
sears Hut I never ms- my own
country's history Hut in moy
mg to United Slates, I am re
membering what ms country is
over the sea Then start to
study what Is good about ms
country, she said
In ancient Japanese society,
lie cording to Sudo. dress ssas of
social importance, and thi- old
lupaiiesc costumes signified
ones social status Certain rot
ors and design patterns haii
symbol)* meaning, and there
w< re rules about what clothing.
i olor and [.dim s could be worn
together
lius historic a I influi'iice lias
survived in modern Japan and
forms part of Sudo s i ultural
heritage, making tier approai h
different from traditional quilt
ing and giv ing it a < harac ter all
its own
Japanese Ukiyo-e woodblock
prints portraying at tors iri fa
minis Kahuki theater roles is
the other Museum of Art exhih
it
Due to feudalism s break
down and Japan's consequent
transition from a rn e to a man
e\ minoniv . the Tokugawa era
saw the rise of the urlsin mer
( hant middle c lass who found
ed its own comparable art form
m the Kahuk i and ! 'kivo e
I 'kivo e liter,ills means "pit
Hires of the floating world re
ferring to the fleeting nature of
material goods and sensual
pleasures Themes often deplet
ed in these prints include at
tors in tile Nuh theater roll’s,
the aristiH rate i lass s dramatic
form and the Geisha s private
entertainment sphere The (lei
shii were not courtesans, but
entertainers specializing In
song and dam e
Closer in social connotations
and atmosphere to a vaudeville
theater than to an opera house
tile ]HtJi i enlury Kabukt theater
was founded on pantomime
i lior.t! and musical at < otnpam
men!, lavish costumes and
Cou*1«4f photo
One ol the Japanese woodblock prints displayed at the University's
Museum ot Art features the actor Ichikawa lx as Terasubi No
Kamiko. a demon
make-up
doth exhibitions are held in
conjoin lion with the 5()th unni
vers.irv celebration of the Uni
versity's Asian Studies I’ro
ttr.un
1'hc exhibitions will he on
ihsphn until Sunday, May 3
Tin* Museum of Art is open free
to the public from noon till T>
p m Wednesday through Sun
day
JilZZ, a new novel by Toni Morrison, is irresistible for the
exquisite lyricism and refined sensuality of its disarmingly
simple yet profound love story.
In 1926, in uptown Harlem, a tragedy ensues Joe Trace, a door-to-door
sali'sman of beauty products in his 50's kills his teenage lover whom he
madly loves. Violet, his wife, a hairdresser, tries to disfigure thecorpseat the
funeral
In a triumphant, spellbinding, jazz-like act of improvisation, a mysterious
voice whose identity is a matter of each reader s imagination-depicts the
sights and sounds and smells of black urban life, as it refracts and enriches
the bittersweetness of the story
Other works by Toni Mormon include: The Bluest Lye, Sutu, Song of
Solomon (winner of the 1978 National Book Critics Circle Award), Tar Baby
and Beloved (winner of the 1^88 I\ilit/er Pri/e tor fiction).
Hardback 21.00
13th & Kincaid • 346-4331 • M-Sat
MV I KSIIY
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