KATAGAMI Style- Paper Stencils and Japonisme

28 August - 14 October 2012

Organized by Mie Prefectural Art Museum, Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Inc., Chunichi Shimbun Co., Ltd, Mie Television Broadcasting Co., Ltd

Cooperation provided by All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd., Kinki Nippon Railway Co., Ltd.

Subsidized by The Cultural Foundation of Okada, Mie Prefectural Art Museum Assistance Foundation

Supported by Imuraya Group Co., Ltd., Okasan Securities Co., Ltd., The Daisan Bank, Ltd., The Hyakugo Bank, Ltd., The Mie Bank, Ltd., Japan Transcity Corporation, Mie Kotsu Group Holdings, Inc., Wadakin Ltd., Shutaikai Hospital, Oyamada Memorial Spa Hospital, Mie Kenmin Kyosai Seikatsu Kyoudou Kumiai

  In the second half of the nineteenth century, Japanese arts and craft objects that had crossed the seas for display at international expositions thrilled the Europeans and Americans seeing them for the first time. Artists were inspired by the radically new compositions and designs and the sophisticated techniques displayed by these works. The effects the phenomenon called Japonisme thus set in motion have been thoroughly dissected in relation to painting, in particular the relationship between Impressionist paintings and Japanese ukiyo-e prints.  Opportunities to showcase Japonisme's impact on crafts have, however, been rare, in part because the techniques involved are so numerous.

   Katagami, the paper stencils traditionally used in the dyeing of fabric for kimono and other garments, were brought to Europe and America during this same period. Their beautiful designs and  technical refinement excited admiration that made them hugely influential on the then flourishing arts and crafts reform movements.

   This exhibition, the first of its kind in Japan, is an introduction to the impact of katagami, among the many Japanese objects that reached the West in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, on the creative activities of artists in Europe and America. It shows how katagami created in Japan crossed the seas to Europe and America, where, freely interpreted, they gave rise to numerous applications besides their original use in dyeing textiles. The more than 400 items on display at this exhibition provide a comprehensive overview of their broad impact on Art Nouveau and other arts and crafts reform movements.

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