On Tuesday December 5, 2017, Joseph Gallivan interviews Jeannie Kenmotsu, the Assistant Curator for Japanese Art at the Portland Art Museum, about a show called Modern Japanese Prints from the Carol and Seymour Haber Collection.
Kenmotsu discusses techniques such as wood block and mezzotint, how traditional printmaking changed under global influence in the 20th century and names some key artists from the collection.
From the press release:
Craftsmanship and Wit
Modern Japanese Prints from the Carol and Seymour Haber Collection
NOV 4, 2017 – APR 1, 2018
This fall, the Museum will celebrate the legacy of Carol (1932–2015) and Seymour Haber (1929–2012), longtime friends of and donors to the Portland Art Museum. Drawn exclusively from gifts and promised gifts from the Habers, this exhibition explores their personal vision and brilliant, insightful taste for Japanese modern art.
The Habers were astute connoisseurs of fine craftsmanship, which led them to assemble an impressively diverse collection of prints, books, and ceramics by contemporary Japanese artists. They loved to host visiting artists from Japan, and often had wonderful anecdotes about how they acquired their works. The selection presented here includes the work of internationally renowned masters, such as Munakata Shikō, whose bold monochrome woodblock prints redefined the possibilities of that time-honored process, and Hamaguchi Yōzō, whose meticulous mezzotints inspired an entire generation to take up that demanding technique. Other artists, less well known in the West but equally fascinating, include Ida Shōichi, a conceptual artist known for his innovative printmaking processes, and Kurosaki Akira, whose vividly colored abstractions often disguise a naughty sense of humor. The collection reveals an abiding attraction to rich color and textures, and to works with a sense of humor, charm, and whimsy.
Organized by the Portland Art Museum and curated by Jeannie Kenmotsu, Ph.D., Japan Foundation Assistant Curator for Japanese Art.
More about the guest:
New curator to focus on Japanese prints
November 17, 2017
The Museum’s Japanese print collection has long been a source of pride. In 1932 the Museum acquired the Mary Andrews Ladd collection of 750 Japanese prints—an impressive collection and one of the earliest of its kind in the country. During this anniversary year as the Museum reflects on the past and considers the future, it is gratifying to report that the Asian art collection, and in particular the Japanese print collection is thriving thanks to a long history of support and forward-thinking curatorial management.
Earlier this year Dr. Jeannie Kenmotsu joined the Museum as the Japan Foundation Assistant Curator of Japanese Art. This new position is funded by a special five-year grant from the Japan Foundation. Dr. Kenmotsu recently completed her Ph.D. in Art History at the University of Pennsylvania.
Kenmotsu’s primary responsibility is to research, interpret, and organize biannual exhibitions of the Museum’s outstanding collection of more than 2,700 traditional and contemporary Japanese prints. Her first exhibition, Craftsmanship and Wit: Modern Japanese Prints from the Collection of Carol and Seymour Haber is now open. The Habers were long-time supporters of the Museum, and the print study room bears their name.
A native of Austin, Texas, who graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Pomona College with a major in English, Kenmotsu’s interest in art history was kindled during an undergraduate internship at the Getty Museum in illuminated manuscripts and a year working at a New York gallery specializing in contemporary Chinese art. In her graduate work at the University of Pennsylvania, she quickly gravitated to 18th-century Japanese prints and illustrated books.
“She is an ideal fit for the strengths of our collections, and will carry on the legacy of print expert Donald Jenkins, the Museum’s longtime curator of Asian art,” says Maribeth Graybill, The Arlene and Harold Schnitzer Curator of Asian Art. Donald Jenkins oversaw the development of the Asian art collection and had an international reputation for his scholarship on Japanese prints. His 45-year tenure at the Museum was transformational.
The Museum is deeply grateful to the Japan Foundation for its support for the Assistant Curator position, in the form of a Museum Infrastructure Grant of just over $485,000. The grant will also underwrite Japanese exhibition and gallery renovation costs over a five-year period.
Joseph Gallivan has been a reporter since 1990. He has covered music for the London Independent, Technology for the New York Post, and arts and culture for the Portland Tribune, where he is currently a Business Reporter. He is the author of two novels, "Oi, Ref!" and "England All Over" which are available on Amazon.com
This show was recorded at KBOO Studio 1 on December 2, 2017. It was edited by KBOO’s Sam Parrish.
- KBOO