BRUNSWICK — An exhibition exploring themes of the supernatural and otherworldly creatures in woodblock prints of the late Edo period (1600–1868) opens today at the Bowdoin College Museum of Art.
Organized on the occasion of the 25th anniversary of Asian Studies at Bowdoin College, “Fantastic Stories: The Supernatural in Nineteenth- Century Japanese Prints” will be exhibited at the Bowdoin College Museum of Art through March 3, 2013.
The exhibition includes 40 woodblock prints, all drawn from the private collection of Cornell University faculty member Dan McKee. A selection of the Bowdoin College Museum of Art’s collection of netsuke (small ivory carvings that depict demons and animals) will be also displayed and complement the prints on view.
“‘Fantastic Stories’ invites visitors to revel in scenes of mythical beings, vengeful ghosts and mischievous demons and also will explore how the accompanying narratives conveyed in these prints informed codes of moral instruction and social commentary in Japan,” museum staff member Sarah J. Montross, Andrew W. Mellon Postdoctoral Curatorial Fellow, said in a news release.
Supernatural themes have been prominent fixtures in folktales and legends from Japanese literary and religious traditions for over a millennium. The prominent 19th-century artists featured in this exhibition, such as Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Kawanabe Ky’sai, Utagawa Kunisada, and Katsushika Hokusai, mined these rich histories in their development of innovative printmaking techniques that engaged a broader, and increasingly secularized, public.
Among the highlights of the exhibition are several prints that represent scenes from Yotsuya Kaidan — the classic ghost tale of a betrayed wife who, after death, seeks revenge on her deceitful husband.
“Fantastic Stories” will also include clips from classic Japanese ghost films of the 1960s to demonstrate how such frightening narratives have evolved during the 20th century.
Lender Dan McKee said in a news release, “Japan, with its lack of stark division between the divine and the mundane, has particularly rich traditions of otherworldly and worldly interaction. These prints represent many pleasurable and chilling representations of what may lie ‘out there,’ unseen around us, or beyond the grave.”
This exhibition was organized in conjunction with Assistant Professor of Asian Studies Vyjayanthi Selinger’s Fall 2012 course, The Fantastic and Demonic in Japanese Literature.
Professor Selinger noted in a news release, “The show gives visual form to themes that students have been tracking in Japanese literary texts all semester. These themes include spirit possession, discourses of the marginal, and the role of play in culture.
Students will not only get to see for themselves how these typically unseen worlds were visually rendered, they will also get to interpret the prints as they act as cultural guides for friends and family members.”
To mark the opening of the exhibition, McKee will deliver a lecture, “From Abject Horror to Witty Play: The Oscillating Modes of the Supernatural in Nineteenth-Century Japan” in the Beam Classroom, Visual Arts Center, Bowdoin College on Thursday, Nov. 15, at 4:30 p.m. A reception at the Bowdoin College Museum of Art will follow.
The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; Thursday 10 a.m. to 8:30 p.m. and Sunday 1 to 5 p.m.
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