When the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art initially opened its doors in 1932, Chinese and Japanese art made up the majority of museum’s collection. In January 2005, the museum re-opened after a renovation that granted nearly twice as much viewing area. However, the main Chinese and Japanese art galleries were not completed and remained closed to the public.
“This museum was originally founded (to) display East Asian art, which is a real strength of our collection,” Curator of Asian Art at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art Charles Lachman said.
The museum was originally created to house the Murray Warner Collection of Oriental Art, which then consisted of more than 3,000 pieces of chiefly Japanese and Chinese origin. This fall, the Jordan Schnitzer museum will return to its emphasis of East Asian art by re-opening its permanent Chinese and Japanese installations and housing a special Japanese art exhibit.
“This is a really exciting time for us, because the heart of the museum really lies with this collection,” said Katie Sproles, public relations and marketing coordinator for the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art . “We had a spectacular re-opening last January, but many of our friends were unable to see their favorite pieces because the main Chinese and Japanese galleries were still being renovated.”
Beginning Oct. 8, the museum will also host a traveling installation of Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints created by some of the most renowned ukiyo-e artists of pre-modern Japan. The exhibit is titled “Inside the Floating World: Japanese Prints from the Lenoir C. Wright Collection.” It was originally organized by the Weatherspoon Art Museum of the University of North Carolina at Greensboro and will house a selection of about 100 woodblock prints from the 18th and 19th centuries. Kitagawa Utamaro and Suzuki Harunobu, who is credited with creating the first polychrome woodblock print, are among the many famous artists whose work will be put on display. Furthermore, Lachman has organized a companion exhibit that will feature Western artists who traveled to Japan and adopted traditional woodblock printing techniques.
Unlike the paintings many Western societies are accustomed to, these ukiyo-e prints are created through a process in which an image is initially created on ordinary paper and then transferred onto semi-transparent paper. This special piece of paper is placed face down on a block of wood; the surface is then cut and chiseled away, leaving a three-dimensional design consisting of raised lines and recessed surfaces. The blocks bear the ink that is transferred to paper.
Ukiyo-e, which translates as paintings of the floating or transient world, is a form of genre art that generally captured moments from Japanese entertainment districts, but also provides us with other images of everyday life in pre-modern Japan. A viewer of these images not only has the ability to see masterfully executed artwork, but is also provided with a glimpse into the life and popular culture of Edo-period Japan.
“One of the goals for having this exhibition is that it is really a great teaching exhibition because it is a kind of a survey of highlights of ukiyo-e prints, so the students will get a lot of first-hand experience and quality examples of all different types,” Lachman said.
To take advantage of this educational opportunity, this fall the Department of Art History at the University is offering a course dedicated entirely to Japanese prints. This course will be instructed by Aurora Testa and will grant a handful of students the rare opportunity to observe and study these works of art.
Although this class is nearly full, anyone who is interested in viewing or studying the Japanese woodblock prints can travel to the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art before Jan. 8. Admission is free for students with valid student ID, and the museum is open Wednesdays from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Thursdays through Sundays 11 a.m. to 5 p.m.