Since July 25, Japan House, a cultural center on Hollywood Boulevard, has showcased a new exhibit that brings art lovers back to their childhood: “POKEMON x KOGEI | Playful Encounters of Pokemon and Japanese Craft.” The rotating exhibit closes Jan. 7 and features Pokemon sculptures that are created through various practices, such as metalwork, woodwork and ceramics.
The cultural mission of Japan House, set by Japan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is to encourage people to experience the best of Japan through programs and exhibitions, according to Sky Whitehead, chief producer for planning and business development at Japan House.
The art pieces traveled from Japan’s National Crafts Museum, Whitehead said.
“There’s so much rich history, culture, tradition, but also technique and many young artists as well who are engaged in creating and continuing to update and innovate Japanese craft,” Whitehead said.
Trast Howard, senior manager for gallery and exhibitions at Japan House, said that there is widespread interest among the audience.
“You see this exchange of information,” Howard said. “Our guests and visitors who are familiar with Pokemon share their experiences about Pokemon with those who may not know or have yet to experience Pokemon.”
Kogei, as mentioned in the name of the exhibit, refers to Japanese crafts with technical virtuosity and has been a large facet of Japanese culture, according to Occidental art and art history professor Yurika Wakamatsu.
“It developed during Japan’s modernization in the second half of the nineteenth century when new conceptions of art — as well as art institutions such as museums and academies modeled after Western counterparts — were being formed,” said Wakamatsu.
Wakamatsu said that there was a boundary between fine arts and kogei, as paintings and sculptures were defined as fine arts and kogei was not.
“Artists and kogei designers in modern Japan who submitted their works to both domestic exhibitions and international expositions faced a dilemma,” Wakamatsu said. “It was believed that art had to have a universal appeal, but at the same time, it had to represent cultural or national specificity. This is a dilemma that some contemporary Japanese artists and craft designers might still be grappling with.”
One of Howard’s favorite pieces in the exhibition is a lacquer Pokeball box by Terumasa Ikeda, as he said it connects traditional crafts with the modern information system.
“I find that the juxtaposition of the contemporary and the information age with this very meditative traditional practice of tea ceremony and the objects that are involved in that tea ceremony is very interesting,” Howard said.
According to Howard, the piece is a representation of the growth and evolution of Japanese culture from the past to the present, while thinking of the future.
“That bridge is also a part of what we do at Japan House, we bridge the past with contemporary thinking,” Howard said.
Whitehead said his favorite piece is the Charizard Jar by Keoko Matsumoto as it connects Pokemon to the art practice of ceramics.
“She had chosen a fire type Pokemon… she was really taking the type of Pokemon and enacting elements of that, in the actual process of how she creates and produces the artwork,” Whitehead said.
According to Howard, Pokemon connected the young and old generation while bringing augmented reality into mainstream media.
“It’s a bridge between a young generation and those who may be a little older and have experienced Japanese craft,” Howard said. “I think that was a goal of this exhibition, especially in Japan, to create this dialogue between generations… and elevate understanding and appreciation of Japanese craft.”
According to Whitehead, despite not having much of a personal connection with Pokemon, he recognizes that Pokemon has become universal.
“The way they exist as this object that you seek and you find and collect, as things that evolved as these types of motifs for card games, for battle, is something that I’ve seen present in so many other games,” Whitehead said. “I always see echoes of Pokemon.”
Contact Reyan at nguy@oxy.edu.
