In the eyes of a Westerner, all those things that make the Japanese culture so intriguing — the mastery of complex technologies, the embrace of natural elements and environmental sustainability, the obsession over all things “cute” — are on display in interactive exhibits throughout the Kennedy Center in Japan! Culture + Hyperculture. Filling the inside halls and spilling over to the exterior grounds and even the parking garage, the exhibition gives us a taste of many art forms, from visual art exhibits and theater, to Manga reading rooms and collections of robot toys. Except for a few ticketed performances, the exhibit is otherwise free, running daily from 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. through Feb. 17.
Japan! eases you in with a couple of interesting but tame exhibits on the Foyer Main Level. The Hall of States holds a few lacquer sculptures by Nobuyuki Tanaka. These orange bowl shapes, which shine so brilliantly they seem nearly to glow in the dark, are made by layering linen and lacquer over a wood form, which is later removed. Over in the Hall of Nations, the intricate textile work of Motoko Maio is showcased with her byobu, or folding screens. Although the strange lighting on this exhibit is likely on purpose — the screens are canvases for nature scenes that incorporate the highlights and shadows of the natural fibers — it’s done a bit too harshly, leaving much of her work in the dark. But what you can see is dramatic, with gorgeous pieces of lacquered paper, crushed shells, and even antique kimonos woven together on these screens that fold in both directions, changing the scope of the landscape.
The Hall of States also features part of Robotica Rising, with a beautiful Japanese “woman” (actually named Actroid DER2) in a kimono that answers questions posed by visitors with its “cutting-edge” voice recognition technology. Don’t linger, as the best of the robots are upstairs, and this one seems to be a favorite with the kids — during a visit over the weekend, a group of them dominated the microphone with ungrammatical questions the robot struggled to answer.
