BOCA RATON, FL (BocaNewsNow.com) (From Morkiami) — October brings an exciting array of cultural events and exhibitions to enjoy at the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens! Guests can pay tribute to Japan’s three-day Obon holiday at Lantern Festival: In the Spirit of Obon, enjoy a fascinating display of new exhibits by Japanese American artists that explore art-making as a process of therapeutic healing, as well as attend several cultural workshops and classes. See below for a full list of the month’s events.
NEW EXHIBITION! Wendy Maruyama: Executive Order 9066
Organized by The Society of Arts and Crafts, Boston, Massachusetts, with travel funded by the Windgate Charitable Foundation. Funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Henri and Tomoye Takahashi Charitable Foundation.
Dates: Friday, October 9, 2015 through Sunday, January 31, 2016
(On view concurrently w/ Jimmy Tsutomu Mirikitani)
In 1942, President Franklin D. Roosevelt signed Executive Order 9066 authorizing the internment of tens of thousands of American citizens and resident aliens of Japanese ancestry. Wendy Maruyama, a third generation Japanese American and highly regarded artist and furniture maker based in San Diego, has created a compelling body of work examining this period in American history.
The exhibition includes three integrated parts: Executive Order 9066, the Tag Project, and a selection of historical artifacts. Executive Order 9066 involves a series of wall-mounted cabinets and sculptures referencing themes common in the internment camps. Maruyama’s pieces integrate photo transfers based on the documentary photographs of Dorothea Lange and Toyo Miyatake in conjunction with materials such as barbed wire, tarpaper and domestic objects. The Tag Project consists of groupings of 120,000 recreated, paper identification tags suspended from the ceiling. The suspended tags evoke a powerful sense of the humiliation endured by the internees and the sheer numbers of those displaced. Maruyama’s inclusion of actual objects owned or made by the internees brings an intensely personal awareness to the impact of Executive Order 9066. Included objects range from actual suitcases used by families during their relocation to an array of items made by internees from materials made available to them in the camps.
NEW EXHIBITION! Jimmy Tsutomu Mirikitani
Organized by The Wing Luke Museum of the Asian Pacific American Experience, Seattle, Washington, and guest-curated by Roger Shimomura. Funded in part by the National Endowment for the Arts and the Henri and Tomoye Takahashi Charitable Foundation.
Dates: Friday, October 9, 2015 through Sunday, January 31, 2016
(On view concurrently w/ Wendy Maruyama: Executive Order 9066)
Jimmy Tsutomu Mirikitani (1920 – 2012) was a fiercely independent Japanese American artist who lost his family and friends to the United States internment camps during World War II and Hiroshima’s atomic bombing. He survived the trauma of those two significant events and endured homelessness on the streets of New York City by creating art. This exhibition presents a selection of drawings that Mirikitani made before his death at the age of ninety-two. His work is a poignant exploration of the lasting impacts of war and discrimination, and the healing power of creativity.
Sumi-e Ink Painting: Floral
4-week session: Thursday, October 1, 8, 15 & 22, 2015
Time: 10:30am – 12:30pm
Cost: Non-Members $60; Members $55 (Advance registration required)
Sumi-e, literally “charcoal drawing,” is a form of Japanese ink painting brought from China in the 12th century. Students learn to grind their own ink and execute the primary sumi-e brushstrokes to capture the beauty of flowers and bamboo.
Required materials: Listed on http://www.morikami.org
Sumi-e Ink Painting: Landscape
4-week session: Thursday, October 1, 8, 15 & 22, 2015
Time: 1:30pm – 3:30pm
Cost: Non-Members $60; Members $55 (Advance registration required)
Sumi-e, literally “charcoal drawing,” is a form of Japanese ink painting brought from China in the 12th century. Students learn to grind their own ink and execute the primary sumi-e brushstrokes to mimic sweeping landscapes.
Required materials: Listed on http://www.morikami.org
Kitsuke Workshop: The Art of Kimono Dressing
Date: Saturday, October 3, 2015
Time: 1:00pm – 3:00pm
Cost: $35 (Advance registration required)
The iconic kimono is a work of wearable art whose design, material, imagery, and accessories tell a unique story. To properly wear kimono is a skill honed through the practice known as kitsuke. The casual cotton kimono, yukata, is popularly worn at Japanese summer matsuri, or festivals. In this hands-on workshop, learn how to wear a yukata – just in time for Morikami’s festival season!
Recommended dress: Please wear (hadajuban) kimono undergarment, or lightweight comfortable clothes (we suggest either leggings or shorts with a tank top or t-shirt).
Required materials: Bring your own yukata, yukata obi, and two koshihimo (at least 2.5 yards x 1 inch length of fabric sash). If you do not own a yukata, vintage yukata and obi will be available for purchase at the workshop (cash only payable to the instructor). Vintage yukata and obi prices each begin at $15.
Art of Bonsai: Intermediate
5-week session: Sunday, October 4, 11, 18, 25 & November 1, 2015
Time: 12:00pm – 3:00pm
Cost: Non-Members $91; Members $81 (Advance registration required)
The ancient art of bonsai (literally “tree in a tray”) creates the illusion of maturity in a tree, no matter its actual age. In the intermediate course students further explore new techniques to artfully train and trim their own trees.
Required materials: Students in this intermediate level class are asked to bring their own tree.
Nihongo: Japanese Language
8-week session: Sunday, October 4, 11, 18, 25, November 1, 8, 15 & 22, 2015
Time:
Level I: 10:15am – 11:15am
Level II: 11:20am – 12:20pm
Level III: 12:20pm – 1:20pm
Level IV: 1:20pm – 2:20pm
Cost: Non-Members $90; Members $80 (Advance registration required)
Japanese Language Level I & II cover Lessons 1-14 and introduce hiragana and katakana.
Japanese Language Level III & IV covers Lessons 15-25 and an introduction to writing kanji.
Required materials: Japanese for Busy People I (3rd edition, CD attached paperback, kana version)
Ikebana Flower Arrangement- Ikenobo School
4-week session: Tuesday, October 6, 13, 20 & 27, 2015
Time: 1:00pm – 3:00pm
Cost: Non-Members $70; Members $60
Flower fee: $80
Flower arrangement, ikebana, is a traditional Japanese art. The Ikenobo School is the oldest and most traditional. Students in this course learn the basic principles and styles of Ikenobo, creating fresh flower arrangements each week to take home and enjoy.
Ikebana Flower Arrangement – Sogetsu School
4-week session: Friday, October 9, 16, 23 & 30, 2015
Time: 1:30pm – 3:30pm
Cost: Non-Members $70; Members $60
Flower fee: $40
Flower arrangement, ikebana, is a traditional Japanese art. Students in this course learn the basic principles and styles of the contemporary Sogetsu School, creating fresh flower arrangements each week to take home and enjoy.
Sado Tea Ceremony Class
2-week session: Sunday, October 11 & 25, 2015
Time: Individual appointments begin at 10:15am
Cost: Non-Members $55; Members $50 (Advance registration required)
Learn to perform traditional Japanese tea ceremony in the authentic Seishin-an Tea House under the guidance of Master Soei Chieko Mihori. Tea Ceremony Workshop (offered in November, January and March) is a prerequisite for this class.
Lantern Festival: In the Spirit of Obon
Date: Saturday, October 17, 2015
Time: 3:00pm – 8:00pm (Members-only access 2:00pm – 3:00pm)
*NOTE: THIS EVENT IS SOLD OUT
Inspired by Obon, Japan’s traditional three-day holiday honoring ancestors, Morikami celebrates Lantern Festival in one fun-packed evening. Enjoy Japanese folk-dancing, drumming, our Ennichi street fair, the iconic lantern floating ceremony and an electrifying fireworks show during a fall festival in the spirit of Obon – Japan’s summer homage to ancestors who return for a brief visit to the living. Morikami’s Lantern Festival will feature Japanese street fair inspired food and drink, crafts and activities. Members enjoy priority access between 2pm and 3pm, featuring a kick-off taiko performance, members-only sake selections, and early bird lantern sales. Please note that the Morikami is closed during normal hours of operation on this day and opens at 2pm for members-only hour.
Documentary Film Screening – The Cats of Mirikitani
Funded by the Homer and Martha Gudelsky Family Foundation
Date: Wednesday, October 21, 2015
Times: 11:00am & 2:00pm
Cost: Free with paid museum admission (Limited seating in the theater – first come, first served)
Eighty-year-old Jimmy Mirikitani survived the trauma of WWII internment camps, Hiroshima, and homelessness by creating art. But when 9/11 threatens his life on the New York City streets and a local filmmaker brings him to her home, the two embark on a journey to confront Jimmy’s painful past. An intimate exploration of the lingering wounds of war and the healing powers of friendship and art, this documentary won the Audience Award at its premiere in the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival.
Demonstration of Sado: The Way of Tea
Date: Saturday, October 24, 2015
Time: 12:00pm, 1:00pm, 2:00pm & 3:00pm
Cost: $5 with paid museum admission
(No advance registration available, must purchase ticket day of, seating is first come, first served)
Observe Japanese sado, “the way of tea,” an ever-changing demonstration rich in seasonal subtleties. The true spirit of sado — harmony (wa), reverence (kei), purity (sei), tranquility (jaku) — along with a sip of green tea and a sweet can bring a calm perspective into a busy life.
Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens has been a center for Japanese arts and culture in South Florida since its opening in 1977. Morikami invites guests to discover South Florida’s heritage and its connection with Japan, and explore a series of six diverse gardens inspired by a different historical period and style of Japanese gardening. Experience traditional and contemporary Japanese culture through world-class exhibits, varied educational programs and seasonal events, world-class bonsai display, Pan-Asian cuisine and a distinctive Museum Store.
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