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One-day symposium offered in conjunction with exhibition Her Brush: Japanese Women Artists from the Fong-Johnstone Collection

Various artists, Turtles on New Year’s Morn, about 1894. Hanging scroll; ink and color on silk. Denver Art Museum: Gift of Drs. John Fong and Colin Johnstone, 2018.202. Photo © Denver Art Museum.

Denver — The Denver Art Museum (DAM) will host a one-day symposium, Gender and Voice in Japanese Art. The symposium will be offered in hybrid format, both virtually and in-person at the DAM Feb. 25, 2023, in conjunction with the exhibition, Her Brush: Japanese Women Artists from the Fong-Johnstone Collection, open through May 13, 2023. Attendance is free and registration is required through the museum’s website.

This international symposium brings together foremost scholars and specialists from various disciplines to reflect on the state of the field—past, present and future—reconsidering the historical cannon through the lenses of gender and agency. In this scholarly event, we aim to advance the discourse on approaches and methodologies in the study, connoisseurship and exhibition of artwork by this group of artists.

Her Brush takes a nuanced approach to questions of artistic voice, gender and agency through more than 100 works of painting, calligraphy, and ceramics from 1600s to 1900s Japan. Tracing the pathways women artists forged for themselves in their pursuit of art, Her Brush explores the universal human drive of artistic expression as self-realization, while navigating cultural barriers during times marked by strict gender roles and societal regulations.

Media are invited to attend and cover this symposium. For all requests, inquiries, registration and other needs, please contact [email protected].

This event is fully supported by the generous gift of The William Sharpless Jackson, Jr. Endowment for the Advancement of Asian Art and Culture.

SPEAKERS

Paul Berry – Independent scholar and former professor at Kansai Gaidai University and University of Washington (Kyoto, Japan)
Patricia Fister – Professor Emeritus, International Research Center for Japanese Studies; Director of Research, Medieval Japanese Studies Institute/Center for the Study of Women, Buddhism, and Cultural History (Tokyo, Japan)
Melissa McCormick – Andrew W. Mellon Professor of Japanese Art and Culture, Harvard University (Cambridge, Mass.)
Alison J. Miller – Associate Professor of Art History and Director of Asian Studies, The University of the South (Sewanee, Tenn.)
Amy Beth Stanley – Wayne V. Jones II Research Professor in History at Northwestern University
Marcia A. Yonemoto – Professor of History, University of Colorado, Boulder

SCHEDULE

9-9:30 a.m.	Welcome & introductions
9:30-10 a.m.	Patricia Fister, Shining Light on Art by Japanese Buddhist Nuns
10-10:30 a.m.	Melissa McCormick, ?tagaki Rengetsu’s Buddhist Poetics: Gender and Materiality
10:30-10:40 a.m.	Break
10:45-11:15 a.m.	Paul Berry, Narratives of Japanese Art History – Where are the Women?
11:15-11:45 a.m.	Q&A
11:45 a.m.-1:30 p.m.	Break
1:30-2 p.m.	Marcia A. Yonemoto, Her Brush, Her Needle: Rethinking the Relationship Between Art and Artisanal Work by Women in Early Modern Japan
2-2:30 p.m.	Amy Beth Stanley, Reading an Archive of Everyday Life
2:30-2:40 p.m.	Break
2:45-3:15 p.m.	Alison J. Miller, Finding Gender in Japanese Literati Painting
3:15-3:45 p.m.	Q&A
3:45-3:50 p.m.	Conclusion & remarks
4-5 p.m.	Exhibition walkthrough of Her Brush: Japanese Women Artists from the Fong-Johnstone Collection

Planning Your Visit

The most up-to-date information on planning a visit to the Denver Art Museum can be found online under the Plan Your Visit tab. Use this page to find details on ticket pricing, public transit options and access information. General admission for museum members is free every day. Youth aged 18 and under, regardless of residency, receive free general admission everyday thanks to the museum’s Free for Kids program. Free for Kids also underwrites free admission for school and youth group visits.

COVID-19 Protocols

The safety of visitors and staff remains a top priority, and the museum is continually updating its COVID-19 safety and security protocols based on advice from the CDC and federal and local guidelines. Current protocols can be found in the “Visit” section of the museum’s website: denverartmuseum.org/visit.

About the Denver Art Museum

The Denver Art Museum is an educational, nonprofit resource that sparks creative thinking and expression through transformative experiences with art. Its mission is to enrich lives by sparking creative thinking and expression. Its holdings reflect the city and region—and provide invaluable ways for the community to learn about cultures from around the world. Metro residents support the Scientific and Cultural Facilities District (SCFD), a unique funding source serving hundreds of metro Denver arts, culture and scientific organizations. For museum information, visit www.denverartmuseum.org or call 720-865-5000.