Deco Japan: Shaping Art and Culture, 1920-1945 June 7, 2012

Showcasing the craftsmanship and sophisticated design associated with both Japan and Art Deco style, this exhibition is the first in the U.S. to explore a little-known brand of pre-WWII modernism borne of competitive ingenuity and vivacious cosmopolitanism. Curated by Dr. Kendall Brown, 'Deco Japan: Shaping Art and Culture, 1920-1945' subtly conveys the complex social and cultural tensions in Japan during the Taisho and early Showa periods through dramatically designed examples of metalwork, ceramics, lacquer, glass, furniture, jewelry, sculpture and evocative ephemera such as sheet music, posters, postcards, prints and photography. The vitality of the era is further expressed through the theme of the moga ("modern girl")--an emblem of contemporary urban chic that flowered briefly, along with the Art Deco style, in the 1920s and '30s.