Visual Arts
Highlights
“Women’s Work- Culture and the Feminine” is a group show that brings together six artists with global perspective to examiner the role culture plays in constructing and deconstructing femininity. Through painting, sculpture, installation, video and printmaking, these artists bring fresh perspectives on feminist identity throughout different cultures. Includes work by Humaira Abid, Judy Shintani, Kathy Liao, Maura Donegan, Beni O’Donnell and Gazelle Samizay. Feb. 7 – March 16. Opening reception is Feb. 7 from 5 – 8pm. Artxchange Gallery at 512 First Ave. S. in Seattle. Open Tues. – Sat. from 11am – 5:30pm. (206)839-0377 or go to www.artxchange.org
“Interpolated Spheres” features work by Puget Sound Korean adoptees Nari Baker, Darius Morrison and Christina Seong. Each artist will deconstruct commonly held misconceptions about the Korean adoptee experience through various media while addressing themes of race, identity and adoption. Curated by artist/gallery owner and Edmonds CC visual arts instructor Minh Carrico. On view through March 12. A “meet the artists” event takes place on Friday, March 1 from 4:30 – 6:30pm. On the third floor of Lynnwood Hall at Edmonds Community College. Go to http://www.edcc.edu/gallery/ for details.
“Noh – Dance Drama of the Samurai” is a show currently at the Portland Museum of Art in Portland on view till Feb. 24. Go to www.portlandartmuseum.org for details.
Seattle photographer Carina del Rosario has new work out. “Fiction” features a new body of work on view at Centennial Gallery at 400 W. Gowe St. in Kent through March 1. For details on her work, go to cadelrosario.com.
“Sumi-e: East Meets West” features work by embers of the Puget Sound Sumi Artists group on view through March 3. 4864 Rainier Ave. S. in Seattle. Go to www.ColumbiaCityGallery.com.
“Visions of the Seattle Chinese Garden” is a juried group show that presents images of photographers who captured the Garden’s architectural and natural elements from early morning light to moonlight. The show continues on view through March 15, 2013. ArtsNow Gallery at 201 4th Ave. N. in the Edmonds Conference Center in Edmonds. Gallery hours are 10 am – 5pm weekdays. For details, call (425) 640-1234 or email [email protected].
Asian Pacific Cultural Center in Tacoma presents a gallery exhibition entitled “The Last Queen of Korea” by Lorraine Toler. The series of paintings is about the Empress Myecngseong (Queen Min), 1851 – 1896. Queen Min was an unlikely political power and responsible for opening Korea to the west and the modern Korea that exists today. On view through Feb. 26, 2013 at 4851 S. Tacoma Way. (253) 383-3900.
On view now till Feb. 23 is “Nostalgia and Progress: 20th Century Japanese Prints” that looks at Japanese prints made just before WW II. “Air and Mist” is a series of woodblock prints by Nuni Sauret up from Feb. 2 – March 2. Cullom Gallery at 603 S. Main St. (206) 919-8278 or go to cullomgallery.com. Open Wed. – Sat.
“BAM Biennial 2012: High Fiber Diet” is a group show that features more than 40 contemporary fiber artists including work by Jisean Lee Isbara, Paul Komada and Jan Hopkins. Through Feb. 24, 2013. Bellevue Arts Museum. (425) 519-0770 or go to www.bellevuearts.org.
Tacoma Art Museum’s “Best of the Northwest” exhibition (on view through March 2013) features work by Paul Horiuchi, Mark Takamichi Miller, Kenjiro Nomura, Frank Okada and Roger Shimomura. “Memories And Meditations: A Retrospective of Michael Kenna’s Photography” remains on view through March, 2013. This British photographer’s series on Japan is sublime, with evocative images of the snowy landscapes of Hokkaido. Tacoma Art Museum. (253) 272-4258 or go to www.TacomaArtMuseum.org. ArtXchange Gallery at 512 First Ave. S. (206) 839-0377 or try [email protected].
Seattle artist Saya Moriyasu’s work is featured in the following places. A group entitled “SOIL@SeaTac” at SeaTac Airport’s Concourse A (ongoing). The group show entitled “Japan’s Beckoning Cats – From Talisman to Pop Icon” at Bellevue Arts Museum opening Feb. 22 and on view till August 4, 2013.
Jewels Curna has a jewelry trunk show Feb. 9 & 10 from 12 – 5pm. Ceramics by Haruko Nakazato and Betsey Williams as well as sculpture by Nicky Falkenhayn on view. Also“Meet Me at Higo” permanent exhibit- Part Two” presented and sponsored by the Wing is a multi-media presentation and self-guided tour that tells the origins and history of the store as a Japanese American five and dime. All at Kobo at Higo, 604 South Jackson. E-mail [email protected] or call (206) 381-3000.
The Wing has the following shows and activities. “Reflections On Oak Creek II:Critical Mourning And The Logics Of Racist Violence” is a forum in remembrance of victims of the attack on a Sikh place of worship in August 2012. Thurs., Feb. 7 from 5:30 – 7pm in Tateiuchi Story Theatre. Free. Panelists include Keith Feldman, Anoop Mirpuri and Balbir K. Singh. “Paper Unbound: Horiuchi and Beyond” opens Feb. 21 from 6 – 8pm. The show celebrates Northwest artist and master of collage, Paul Horiuchi and shows his works along side the work of 7 contemporary paper artists including Romson Bustillo, Etsuko Ichikawa, Yuri Kinoshita, Bovey Lee, Taiko Suzuki and Jeong Hay Yun/Choon Hyang Yun. On view through July 14, 2013. “Fashion: Workroom to Runway” is on view till April 21, 2013. It shows how the fashion world has been touched by Asian Pacific Americans.Work and contributions by local and nationally known designers. An on-going exhibit “I Am Filipino” continues and offers a gateway of history through the telling of personal stories from Filipino American local families. Also small exhibits examine the identity and culture of Sikhs in America and the history of the “Killing Fields” in Cambodia. “Vietnam in the Rear View Mirror” explores the complex, interwoven identity of Vietnamese Americans as seen through the eyes of a younger generation. A YouthCAN exhibit entitled “Ghosts in The Field”. “HomeLessness” continues through August 18, 2013. “New Years ALL YEAR ROUND” remains on view till June 30, 2013. “Paul Horiuchi And Contemporary Paper Artists” opens Feb. 15 and continues until July 14, 2013. Learn from team members of Lieu Quan Lion Dance Team as they explain the fundamentals of the lion dance and its’ background and history. Sat., Feb. 9 at 10am. Space is limited. Family Fun Day activity on Sat., Feb. 16 from 1 – 3pm will celebrate the year of the snake as participants will learn how to create balloon snakes. Free in the Community Hall. Shirley Karasawa gives a Japanese Noodle Cooking Demo on Sat. , Feb. 23 at 3pm. She will show you how to make udon and soba. Space is limited. In the Community Hall at the Wing. Part of the Tateuchi Story Theatre Performing Arts Series. For more on Shirley Karasawa, go to www.lovelylanvin.com. For information on all of the above, go to www.wingluke.org or call (206) 623-5124.
A watercolor exhibition by fabric designer Akiko S. is currently on view at U.S. Bank Broadway East at 135 Broadway E. For details, go to [email protected].
Lynnwood artist Naoko Morisawa has work in a juried group show at the Collective Vision Gallery at 331 Pacific Ave. in Bremerton through Feb. 23rd. (360) 377-8327.
Performing Arts
Highlights
Seattle improvising composer/pianists Victor Noriega and Gust Burns perform and talk about “2 Trios”, their latest recording project. The pianists lead two separate ensembles but share the same rhythm section. Produced with assistance from Jack Straw‘s Artist Support Program. Wed., Feb. 13 at 7:30pm. Jack Straw Productions at 4261 Roosevelt Way NE in Seattle. Free.
Seattle composer/percussionist Paul Kikuchi performs in the Seattle Improvised Music Festival Feb. 7 – 9 at various venues around town with special guests. Go to http://seattleimprovisedmusic.us/simf/ for details.
Taiko masters Kodo perform at Meany Hall as part of their “One Earth Tour 2013: Legend” on Feb. 9 (8pm) & 10 (2pm) at Meany Hall on the UW Seattle campus. This Japanese group is one of the first groups to tour and perform on Japanese drums around the world. (206) 543-4880 or check uwworldseries.org.
Powerful violinist Jennifer Koh performs a program entitled “Bach and Beyond” that will surely set off sparks on Feb. 7 at Town Hall. From Bach, she goes to recent commissions and contemporary composers who have written for the solo violin. 1119 Eighth Ave. (206) 652-4255 or go to townhallseattle.org.
Joseph Lin is the new first violinist in the Juilliard String Quartet when they come to town on Feb. 6 and tackle Beethoven, Mozart and Carter at Meany Hall. UW Seattle campus at 15th Ave. NE and NE 40th St. (206) 685-
“THE BURDEN OF PURPOSE” is a 49 day, 2-person study with two separate but complimentary cycles performed by A. K. Mimi Allin and Haruko Nishimura at Mount Pleasant Cemetery on Queen Anne Hill in Seattle. Witnesses and participants are requested. Questions asked during this performance piece are – How does labor lead to stillness? How does silence build to song? What does work solve? What does rest allow? How does one state fuel another? Does the cycle itself make meaning? Mimi will be in a work/rest cycle while Haruko performs the silence/song cycle. Witnesses and participants are requested to bring burdens for Haruko to hold and to bury something with Mimi. To contact the artists to coordinate a visit, email Mimi at [email protected] and Haruko at [email protected]. For detailed information on this performance, go to www.acontinuouscycle.blogspot.com.
Talented conductor Julia Tai leads the Seattle Modern Orchestra in a refreshing program entitled “Delirious Serialists” that features the music of modernist composers Bruno Maderna, Luigi Nono and Pierre Boulez on Feb. 8 at Cornish College of the Arts. 710 E. Roy St. (206) 726-5151 or go to Cornish.edu.
Pork-filled Players improve comedy ensemble unveils a sneak peek at “The Clockwork Professor”, a new play by local playwright, Maggie Lee. This adventure combines romance, comedy and political machinations with a steam punk twist. Feb. 10 at 2pm at Elliott Bay Book Company. Free. Go to www.facebook.com/PorkFilledProductions for details.
Can Can Cabaret presents their current show entitled “Tune in Tokyo” that tries to catch the energy of today’s Japan pop dance. Through March 30 at 94 Pike St. (206) 652-0832×2 or go to thecancan.com.
Artist Trust, the non-profit organization that supports the arts in Washington State have their annual benefit art auction set for Feb. 23, 2013. For details, go to www.artisttrust.org.
“ASIA CROSSINGS – Travel Accounts Through Asia’s History” is the title for the upcoming Saturday University Lecture Series set for Seattle Asia Art Museum on Saturdays from 9:30 – 11am from Feb. 16 – April 13. Anand Yang speaks about “China and India are One: An Indian Soldier’s Travelogue of Beijing in 1890-1901” on Feb. 16. Tansen Sen will talk about “The Politics of Pilgrimage: Xuanzang and His Meetings with Indian Kings” on Feb. 23. Presented in partnership with UW’s Jackson School of International Studies and Elliott Bay Book Company. For more details, go to [email protected].
Some new releases in the music world include the following –
Jazz guitarist Miles Okazaki grew up in Port Townsend. Based in New York, he was a finalist in the Thelonious Monk competition. His latest offering on Sunnyside is “Figurations” which is his third and final installment of a compositional cycle that is meant to mirror the method by which improvising musicians approach their music from conception to performance. Go to www.sunnysiderecords.com for details.
Film/Media
Last chance to catch Hong Sang-soo’s “In another Country” which ends on Feb. 7 In a triptych of overlapping stories, three different French women visit a small Korean resort town and encounter a flirtatious director, a lovestruck lifeguard and far too much soju. Billed as a comedy that plays like a lost French New Wave classic and stars Isabelle Huppert in her first English language film. A Seattle premiere. Screens at 7 & 9pm. Grand Illusion Cinema at 1403 N.E. 50th in the “U” District. (206) 523-3935 or go to grandillusioncinema.org
“Free First Saturdays” is a children’s program that connects with the arts and culture of Asian on the first Saturday of each month from 11am – 2pm.. Free and open to the public. No registration required. “Girl Power!” on March 2 celebrates the Japanese holiday Hinamatsuri or Girls Day. Explore the Japanese art collection in the museum and create your own artwork from the Doll Display in the Garden Court. Then at 1:30pm, see the animated feature film by Hayao Miyazaki entitled “Kiki’s Delivery Service”. Seattle Asian Art Museum in Volunteer Park at 1400 E. Prospect St. Go to seattleartmuseum.org for details.
The “First South Asian International Documentary Film Festival” takes place at SIFF Film Center at 305 Harrison St. in Seattle Center on Feb. 23 & 24. For details, go to www.tasveer.org.
Congratulations to Masanobu Takayanagi whose crisp, jabbing cinematography perfectly captures the frenetic rhythm of a working class Philadelphia family in David O. Russell’s “Silver Linings Playbook” starring Bradley Cooper, Jennifer Lawrence and Robert De Niro. Now playing at select Seattle theatres.
“Happy People – A Year in the Taiga” (see article elsewhere in this issue) catches Siberian hunters in their element and is a documentary film currently playing in Seattle. Directed by Werner Herzong and Dmitry Vasyukov.
“We Don’t Care About the Music Anyway…” is a documentary film on the Tokyo avant-garde music scene. Check out radical turntablism by Otomo Yoshihide, laptop music innovation by Numb and classical instrument hijacking by Sakamoto Hiromichi. Feb. 8 – 14 at Grand illusion at 1403 NE 50th St. (206) 523-3935 or go to grandillusioncinema.org. Presented in conjunction with Seattle Improvised Music Festival. Screens Fri. – Sun. and Tues. – Thurs. at 7pm and Mon. at 9pm.
“JUN-AI” (Pure Love) is a Japanese-Chinese collaboration and will have a Seattle screening on Saturday, March 16 at 6pm with doors opening up at 5:15pm. Special guests include Keiko Kobayashi who was lead actress, Executive producer and script writer on the film and Project Manager Shogo Kobayashi. They will give a brief talk and answer questions after the screening. Donations will be sought for production costs, tsunami relief and various other causes. The movie is subtitled in English, Chinese and Japanese. Advance tickets are available or can be picked up at the door. Nisei Vets Hall at 1212 South King St. To purchase tickets, go to http://www.ticketriver.com/event/5790 or contact Midori Kikuchi at [email protected]
Master Iranian filmmaker Abbas Kiarostami (“Taste of Cherry”) returns with a new project filmed abroad. “Like Someone in Love” is a romantic drama set in Japan. The story revolves a brief encounter between an elderly professor (Tadashi Okuno) and a beautiful sociology student (Rin Takanashi) who moonlights as a high-end escort. What’s on his mind is not so much sex as cooking her soup and playing her his Ella Fitzgerald records. Screens at a Landmark Theatre in Seattle for one week starting on March 15. Go to www.ifcfilms.com/films/like-someone-in-love for details.
More and more the film industry is going global. The recent return to film by Arnold Schwarzenegger in “The Last Stand” featured an almost all South Korean team behind the scenes. The film was directed by Kim Ji-woon, a respected director in his own country. This marks his American debut. Cinematographer was Kim Ji-yong and the soundtrack was composed by Mowg. All have worked with the director in South Korea. Another Hollywood action hero, Sylvester Stallone has a South Korean actor as his co-star in his latest film, “Bullet To The Head”. Sung Kang plays a Washington D. C. cop who teams up with Stallone to get revenge.
Some new films bound to surface in Seattle eventually include the following – “The Taste of Money” by noted South Korean director Im Sang-soo (“The President’s Last Bang”, “The Housemaid”) looks at the lap of luxury and an indulgence in sex and power through the eyes of a powerhouse family. “Vishwaroopam” is a new film by Indian actor/director Kamal Haasan. Recently the film has faced controversy in India over how he was distributing the film. His goal is to break the Bollywood mold and make more mainstream films and to bring the films to everyone in India and the world. The film premieres in Los Angeles on Jan. 24th. For more details, go to http://tribune.com.pk/story/490576/dth-face-off-deepens-kamal-to-premier-vishwaroop-in-la/ Acclaimed South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-Wook (“oldboy”, “Lady Vengeance”, “Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance”) presents his first English-language psychological thriller “Stoker” which tells the story of a young woman who loses both father and best friend in a car accident and how she finds herself drawn to her father’s long-lost brother when arrives for the funeral. Stars Mia Wiasikowska, Dermont Mulroney, Matthew Goode and Nicole Kidman. Release date is scheduled for March.
Noted Japanese film director Nagisa Oshima recently died at the age of 80. He was a former student radical from Kyoto who earned a reputation as a “new wave” director who explored social and political themes in the 1960’s. Not one to shy away from controversy, he tackled issues such as diverse as capital punishment, sex, racism and homosexuality. He is most known for “In the Realm of the Senses” based on a true story dealing with a psychotic murder case which stirred a debate because of explicit sex scenes. His anti-war drama, “Merry Christmas, Mr. Lawrence” was a global hit and starred David Bowie, Takeshi Kitano and Ryuichi Sakamoto. He won the best director award for “Empire of Passion” at Cannes. His film, “Death By Hanging” criticized capital punishment and racism in a powerful way. In his last years, he was a popular guest on television frequenting quiz and talk shows.
“Lost Years _ A People’s Struggle For Justice” is a Chinese Canadian documentary film created by Kenda Gee for the Canadian Broadcasting Company. This award-winning film screened at last year’s SIFF in Seattle and is now available in a DVD edition. Go to www.lostyears.ca/vip for details.
The Written Arts
Highlights
For years now, a small press from New York has published some fine translations of poetry from around the world (some fine volumes from Asia) and poetry in the United States. Local poet and Examiner contributor Shin Yu Pai joins publisher/poet/translator Dennis Maloney and fellow White Pine poets/translators Carolyne Wright, Andrew Schelling Kelli Agodon and Susan Rich in a 40th anniversary celebratory reading on Feb. 26 at 7pm. At Hugo House located at 1634 – 11th Ave. in Seattle (206) 322-7030.
“MIGHTY SILENCE: IMAGES OF DESTRUCTION” (Rizzoli New York) is the title of a powerful new book published on the second anniversary of the tsunami in Japan by photographer Yasushi Handa.
Noted fiction writer Julie Otsuka, winner of the 2012 PEN/Faulkner Award (When The Emperor Was Divine”, “The Buddha in the Attic” on Knopf) reads from her work followed by a lecture and a Q & A session. Jan. 29 at Benaroya Hall. Presented by Seattle Arts & Lectures. For tickets & information, go to www.lectures.org.
For lovers of contemporary fashion, Taschen Books has just published a series of monographs on noted fashion designers. Included in the series are books devoted to the work of Yohji Yamamoto and Rei Kawakubo. For details, go to www.taschen.com.
“Becoming Mexipino” is a new book by Rudy P. Guevarra Jr. that traces the earliest interactions of both Filipinos and Mexicans and their relationships with Spanish Colonialism particularly in the San Diego area. For details, go to www.asiabookcenter.com.
Hugo House presents a program entitled “Strong Female Leads” including talented women from various disciplines in performance. Includes superb Seattle poet Arlene Kim, cartoonist Kelly Froh and others. Feb. 8 at 7:30pm. 1634 11th Ave. (206) 322-7030 or go to hugohouse.org.
Michelle Rhee is a driving force behind American education reform and known for her past tenure as chancellor of Washington, D.C. public schools. On behalf of her new book, “Radical: Fighting to Put Students First” (Harper), Rhee will talk about her life story from years of teaching in inner-city Baltimore and her role as an educational activist. Tues., Feb 19 at 7pm at Town Hall Seattle. Co-presented by Washington Center For The Book At The Seattle Public Library & Seattle Cityclub. Free admission on a first-come basis. 1119 Eighth Ave. at Seneca. See www.spl.org or call (206) 386-4636. Early arrival is suggested. Doors open at 6:15pm.
Seattle poet/editor Koon Woon reads with Keith Holyoak on Feb. 22 at 7pm. Woon reads from his much awaited second book “Water Chasing Water” (Kaya Press). He has written about his struggles with mental illness, homelessness and life on the margins in immigrant culture. His first book was a finalist for the PEN Oakland Award. Holyoak is a Professor of Cognitive Psychology and a translator and poet in the classical Chinese style. Elliott Bay Book Company is at 1521 Tenth Ave. (206) 624-6600.
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Elliott Bay Book Company sponsors and co-presents fascinating readings by authors in venues across the city and in their own bookstore as well. Some not-to-miss events include the following. Elliott Bay Book Company is at 1521 Tenth Avenue in Seattle’s Capitol Hill neighborhood. (206) 624-6600 or visit www.elliottbaybook.com. Early warning- Coming to the store in the spring are the following authors and new books. Noted novelist Gish Jen (“Typical American”, “Mona in the Promised Land”, “World and Town”) will have her fist non-fiction book published by Harvard University Press entitled “Tiger Writing: Art, Culture and the Interdependent Self”. Drawing on a rich array of sources, including her father’s account of childhood in China, “Tiger Writing” explores the aesthetic and psychic roots of the independent and interdependent self- each mode yielding a distinct way of observing, remembering and narrating the world. Northwest author/filmmaker Ruth Ozeki (“My Year of Meats”, “All Over Creation”) comes out with her latest novel entitled “A Tale For The Time Being” (Viking) in which a novelist on a remote Northwest island finds a Hello Kitty lunchbox, debris from the tsunami washed ashore. Inside, the contents tell another story of another life somewhere across the Pacific. How these two lives intertwine in a shared humanity comes alive in this sparkling new novel.
“Japanese Eyes, American Heart – Vol. II: Voices from The Home Front in World War II Hawaii Islanders of Japanese Ancestry” collected by the Hawaii Nikkei History Editorial Board covers the period of Pearl Harbor through the eyes of Japanese living on the islands during that dramatic time. For details, go to www.bookshawaii.net.
“Debts & Lessons” is a forthcoming new poetry book by Lynn Xu on Omnidawn books.
“Ashulia” (Tavern Books) is a new chapbook of poetry by Zubair Ahmed who was born and raised in Dhaka, Bangladesh. In 2005 his family won the DV (Diversity Visa Program) lottery, which enabled them to immigrate to the United States. He currently studies Mechanical Engineering and Creative Writing at Stanford University. His first full-length collection entitled “Dhaka City” is forthcoming from McSweeney’s Poetry Series. Go to www.tavernbooks.com for details.
Art News/Opportunities
Congratulations to Seattle’s Degenerate Arts Ensemble co-founded by Haruko Nishimura and Joshua Kohl. The performing arts group won a 2013 grant in the category of “Emerging Fields- Literature And the Performing Arts” from Creative Capital in New York. They will embark on a series of multi-disciplinary site-transforming portraits revealing six anti-heroines inspired by historical, mythical and contemporary women. Other Asian Americans across the country to receive this award were Taylor Ho Bynum and Dohee Lee.
Artist Trust is a state-wide non-profit support organization for the arts. Below are some of their ongoing activities. Washington State artists practicing in Folk & Traditional Arts, Emerging Fields & Cross-disciplinary Arts, Performing Arts, and Visual Arts are eligible to apply for the 2013 Artist Trust Fellowships. Application deadline is Feb. 18, 2013. Artist Trust also has a workshop for visual artists on
“The Free Book Incident” is a month-long experiment and celebration of books and community created by Wessel & Lieberman Booksellers and Olson & Kundig architects in Pioneer Square. Donated books from the bookstore will be placed on a three-way kinetic bookshelf with pivoting sections that will activate a multitude of spaces and hopefully ideas. During the next few weeks, the public is invited to participate in this project by hosting or performing an event in this space involving books and people. On view through mid-Feb. 406 Occidental. Books are not for sale but are given away to the public. Hours are M – F, 11:30 – 1:30pm. For a list of events that go from readings, bookmaking, workshops to performances, follow Facebook or go to www.olsonkundigarchitects.com or email [email protected] or mark@
Seattle Art Museum has appointed Dr. Xiaojin Wu as its’ new Associate Curator of Japanese and Korean Art. Wu grew up in Hangzhou, China and is a specialist in Japanese painting with a Ph.D from Princeton University. Her first SAM installation on view now is a reinstalling of the Japanese art galleries at Seattle Asian Art Museum in Volunteer Park.
Asian American poets are encourage to submit new work to a special issue of the Malpais Review, a respected Southwest literary magazine. For details, go to malpaisreview.com.
