The British Museum is planning to hold the above exhibition from 19 July until 21 October 2007. JICC recently conducted an interview with Timothy Clark, Head of the BM Japanese section. This exhibition is supported by the Embassy of Japan.
What is the background to this exhibition?
Japan has a long tradition of making, using and appreciating beautiful craft objects and this tradition is closely integrated into people��s lives. A respect for the beauty of these objects and the materials and techniques used to create them is embedded in Japanese social attitudes and culture. This exhibition celebrates the best of the last fifty years of the annual ��Japan Traditional Art Crafts Exhibition��, with each of the 112 works created by a different leading artist, past and present. It has been adapted from the show ��Waza no bi�� which successfully toured Japan in 2003-4 and which I viewed with much admiration in Kyoto. Many of the artists have been designated by the Japanese government as ��Living National Treasures��, holders of important craft skills. Their works represent some of the best art crafts, both traditional and ultra-modern, to have been produced in Japan during the last half century, since the annual exhibition began in 1954. Most of the pieces are on loan from The National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto, and the Agency for Cultural Affairs in Japan. The exhibition is supported by The Japan Foundation and planning support has been given by Asahi Shimbun. At all stages in the project we have worked closely with Dr Nicole Rousmaniele, Director of the Sainsbury Institute of Japanese Arts and Cultures, who has assisted me as guest curator and editor of the catalogue.
Would you introduce to us the contents of the Japanese art crafts exhibition?
The British Museum exhibition will be divided into six sections, each featuring a different medium: ceramic; textile; lacquer; metal; wood and bamboo; and other crafts (cut metal foil, glass, dolls). In addition, a small display of pre-modern craft objects from the British Museum��s own collections will provide context for the contemporary pieces.
Japan has one of the oldest ceramic cultures in the world yet identified, dating back to 14,500 BC. Contemporary ceramic expression in Japan is deeply interwoven with local traditions and varies from ��Genesis��, a highly refined porcelain bowl with vivid, glass-like coloured glazes by Tokuda Yasokichi III to a rugged stoneware rectangular plate in black Bizen style made by Isezaki Jun.
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