her pinkie toe has escaped the straps of
her red sandals. Here traditional Japanese
culture gives way to the spirit of the
modern age and the fast tempo of jazz.
In addition to music, the artists of the
Art Deco era were inspired by new modes
of transportation and improvements in
technology which seemed to increase the
pace and speed of everyday life, particularly
in the cities. Airplanes, ocean liners, trains
and zeppelins promised faster and more
luxurious travel. The curvilinear flourishes
of Art Nouveau design gave way to the
linearity and geometric patterns of the
Art Deco style. Speed lines were common
motifs in graphic design, advertising and
all kinds of decorative art objects. Elegant
fountains with powerful spouts and jets
of water were popular in civic design in
Japan as early as 1905 and became another
popular motif for the arts by the 1920s.
Presenting Sponsor:
Education Sponsor:
Supporting Sponsors:
Dr. and Mrs. Stephen F. Serbin
Sylvan’s Jewelers
Mikimoto (America)
Dr. Suzan D. Boyd
and Mr. M. Edward Sellers
Contributing Sponsors:
Fuji Photo Film, Inc.
Kay and John Bachmann
Benjamin and Jerry Dell Gimarc
Robin and John Mark Dean
Smith Family Foundation
The Japan Foundation, New York
Kobayakawa Kiyoshi,
Dancer (or Curved Line of the Instant),
1932, Woodblock print, ink and color on paper,
16 ½ x 10 in. (Catalog 165)
Other novel influences on the artists of
the 1920s and 1930s in Japan included a
variety of new sports and leisure activities
like skiing and football. As in the United
States, film was the greatest spectacle of the
age in Japan. In a culture saturated with
film, movie posters and even movie-making
became a design motif.
The artistic themes in Japan and the Jazz
Age represent common interests and
influences for East and West during a
period associated with great political
differences. It is about a cross-cultural
fascination that stretched across an ocean.
Although this period ended in conflict,
jazz again became popular in Japan in the
1950s, and that fascinaton lasts to this day.
The exhibition is drawn from The
Levenson Collection and is organized and
circulated by Art Services International,
Alexandria, Virginia. Support has been
provided by The Chisholm Foundation
and the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter
Foundation.
columbiamuseum.org
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