Japanese Modernism Across Media

Welcome to Japanese Modernism Across Media! The following eleven student curated exhibitions seek to examine the revolutionary transformation of Japanese artistic practice from the late 19th century through the present day. Drawing upon a variety of media ranging from prints, photography, oil painting, textiles, anime, and time based art these virtual exhibitions explore how Japanese artists wrestled with issues of identity and nationhood as they attempted to embrace foreign methods and modes of representation while also translating universal conceptions of individualism and self-expression into a local vernacular.

Confrontations between tradition and modernity, state and self, colonizer and colonized, commercial and noncommercial drive the thematic concerns and content of these virtual exhibitions. Topics concerning the exchange, adaptation, and display of modern and contemporary art by Japan from European and American sources are also considered. Through a rigoruous and thoughtful curation process these student exhibitions seek to explore the various ways in which technological shifts and cultural transformations have shaped artistic production and visual media consumption within modern and contemporary Japan. We invite you to visit each of the exhibitions and explore the fascinating visual and textual content that has shaped the development of modern and contemporary Japanese art.