In Museums & Art Institutions

Pacific Asia Museum

Mingei literally means “folk art” in Japanese. Literary scholar and critic Yanagi Soetsu (1889–1961) coined the word in the 1920s to refer to and champion the kind of anonymous, handcrafted objects that had begun to disappear as Japan entered the age of mass production and western-oriented modernization. Yanagi and his followers revitalized the tradition of handicraft by re-evaluating the beauty of utilitarian objects and spurring a new artistic movement dedicated to maintaining what they defined as essential Japanese values.

Today, scholars are reassessing the theoretical and political underpinnings of the mingei movement. Yanagi’s “criterion of beauty in Japan” has been criticized for oversimplifying Japanese culture and for presenting that culture as serene and spiritual at a time of colonial expansion and militarism. Moreover, while Yanagi claimed to discover core aesthetic and social principles in common Japanese culture, many of his ideas were adapted from the English Arts and Crafts Movement.

Mingei East and West is drawn largely from the museum’s collection and includes pre-modern Japanese objects; modern Japanese works in the mingei style; 20th century Japanese inspired Arts and Crafts objects from Southern California, as well as new works by local American artists inspired by mingei. On exhibit through January 6, 2009

At a time when interest in China and its rich culture is increasing internationally, China’s interest in its own history and traditions has also been growing. Since the end of the Cultural Revolution in 1976, the Chinese have been looking to their past as they plan for their future.

Most notably, the Chinese have been showing a renewed interest in the teachings of Confucius, a philosopher, teacher and political thinker, who lived 2,500 years ago.

Confucius: Shaping Values Through Art explores how Confucian values have permeated East Asian culture. It utilizes the Museum’s own collection as a case study. On exhibit through January 11, 2009.

Confucianism has endured for centuries as a pivotal ideology in East Asia. However, it has also served to marginalize women. The Offering Table features the works of three female artists, Junwha Rhu, Miran Je and Insun Ha.

They explore issues of oppression and isolation in a rigidly Confucian society, and seek to define a long-repressed identity for women in contemporary Korea.

The exhibit will be on view concurrently with Confucius: Shaping Values through Art, which examines and illuminates the teachings and vast influence of Confucianism in China and East Asia.

Pacific Asia Museum.

46 North Los Robles Avenue, Pasadena. (626) 449-2742.

Website: |www.pacificasiamuseum.org

Open: Wednesdays - Sundays, from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Cost: Adults, $7.00. Seniors and students, $5.00. Free admission every fourth Friday of the month.