Have you ever stared at something and noticed that it is not quite right? Like you weren’t sure if the frame was crooked or if it was just the photograph itself; you are nearly certain it’s the photograph, but you are not convinced. Certain yet perplexed is exactly how you will feel going to the current JapanAmerica exhibition at the Johnson Museum of Art. Certain that something is either Japanese or American, perplexed because it is both.
After the opening of Japan in the late 19th century, the Western world fell into a dizzying “Japan Craze,” or Japonism. Everything Japanese was a source of inspiration to both artists and commoners alike. Westerners, beginning in Europe and spreading to America, were fascinated in two very different ways by Japanese art and culture. Some thought the exoticism of Japan served to reinforce Western customs and values. Others, such as the avant-garde, looked at Japanese art and customs as unconventional and thus innovative. Nonetheless, this cozy yet cataclysmic mix created very interesting hybrids. While American artists longed to produce Japanese art, Japanese artists seemed to send us a pat on the back by making their art just a touch Western.
The effects that Japonism had on people and art are bizarre and fascinating. For example, many American women would request their portraits to be done in the Japanese style. Women would dress up in kimonos and style their hair and pose with stereotypically Japanese items such as tea sets and pottery. Imagine you, an American woman, absolutely dying to show your guests a portrait of you in a kimono, or you and all your sisters in kimonos, as is the case with one piece in the exhibition. The melange truly becomes chaotic when Japonism mixes with art deco and you get decorative pieces of stark silver and gold bamboo shoots that attempt at delicacy, yet are unmistakably brash. The Americans also tried to emulate the Japanese tradition of tranquil, remote nature motifs. In this category, I recommend The Iris Flower of Hori Kuri, Tokyo, or A Cup of Tea by Charles Pearce. These are some of the few American paintings in the exhibit that truly translate such feelings.
My personal favorite were pieces, such as posters, pamphlets, and paintings, inspired by the ukiyo-e prints. Ukiyo-e are Japanese woodblock prints often depicting nature or pleasures such as geishas and sumos. The Impressionists and other artists sought to imitate the bold lines, two-dimensional quality, and rich color of these prints in their art as a way to break from tradition. While very different from the Japanese ukiyo-e prints, the American pieces, such as Mary Cassatt’s Peasant Mother and Child and the black and white commercial magazines, are quite interesting and beautiful.
If you do see the exhibit, there is a game I recommend you play called “American or Japanese.” It is simple: look at the painting, drawing, or decorative piece and guess its origin: America or Japan? You will probably guess right in most instances. It is fascinating that while American art is trying to emulate Japanese, it is still very obviously American, and vice versa. To compare, many original, non-Westernized Japanese pieces can be found on the lower floor of the museum. These pieces offer infinitesimal detail and tranquility that Americans so longed for in their own pieces, which can also allow you to see the difference in Japanese art that caters to Western tastes. This exhibit is definitely worth seeing, as it sheds light on an often-forgotten American trend. From an artistic point of view, it is an absolutely one-of-a-kind interaction between two very different artistic cultures coming together to create unique and visually rare pieces of art.