Sunday, August 19, 2012

  Pacific Asia Museum  
46 North Los Robles Avenue    Pasadena, CA 91101

2 p.m. (prompt) Program

 “The Evolving Surface of 20^th Century Kimono”
with

Hollis Goodall

 Guest Curator, “Kimono in the 20^th Century”

Curator of Japanese Art, Los Angeles County Museum of Art

A source of pride as the national costume in Japan, the kimono is a palette for expression by a discerning wearer, and for the observer it can be perceived as an emblem of sophisticated Japanese taste. The form of the kimono has not evolved greatly over the last century, but with changing fashions and adaptation from other forms of graphic or painterly art, kimono textile patterns and color can bring modernity and cutting-edge style to what is otherwise essentially a pre-modern form of dress.  In the early to mid-20th century, kimono textiles displayed a vogue for adaptations of imported Western design styles such as Art Nouveau, Constructivism and Art Deco, then Jazz style in the post-war era. In the 1920s and 1930s, Japanese textile designers also developed their own fashion for oversized motifs in bright, acid colors, often laid against a geometric or other repeat ground. This was based on rediscovered technology, meisen weaving, that allowed for larger patterns and less costly production. Luxury goods were banned during wartime, but the recovery in the 1950s brought a trend back toward bold motifs, this time on richly-toned grounds, and sometimes with Pop-art or stylishly abstract effects. Guest curator Hollis Goodall will discuss the unprecedented changes in kimono textiles over the 20^th century as well as the intricate – and timeless - art of wearing kimono.

Hollis Goodall received her Bachelor’s Degree from the University of Texas with Honors in 1977, and a Master’s Degree in East Asian Art from the University of Kansas.  Engaged at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art since 1981, with a two-year hiatus as Research Fellow at the University of Kyoto in Japan between 1986 and 1988, Goodall is now Curator of Japanese Art.  She oversees installations in the Pavilion for Japanese Art, planning of exhibitions for the Japanese department and in cooperation with other museum departments, educational programs, web programming, as well as collection management, growth, and research.  From April 1988 to April 2012, Ms. Goodall has overseen more than 260 installations of permanent collection and special exhibitions, and has written numerous books and articles on Japanese art.

Pacific Asia Museum   46 North Los Robles Avenue    Pasadena, CA 91101

Admission:   TMA/SC & Pacific Asia Museum Members:  Gratis    /   Guests:  Free with museum admission 

PARKING:  There is a free parking lot adjacent to and north of the museum.  Enter on Los Robles Ave. 

Obtain an exit token when you check in at the museum Admissions desk.

This program is co-sponsored by TMA/SC and the Pacific Asia Museum