The Floating World at The Blanton

Print by Utagawa Hiroshige, courtesy of The Blanton

B scene - Exquisite Visions of Japan
Friday, July 11
The Blanton Museum of Art (The University of Texas at Austin, MLK at Congress Ave.)
$5 members, $10 non-members
[info] | [tickets]

This applies to Japanese woodblock prints, with their clean, sure lines and supersaturated palettes. Called ukiyo-e, which translates literally to "floating world pictures," these unique prints originated in Japan in the 17th century, back when the nation was an isolated kingdom.

Tonight, you can catch a few at The Blanton Museum's B scene, and overstimulate your brainbody with music from DJ Avatar, a performance by Austin Taiko, Japanese-inspired appetizers, a cash bar, and gallery tours...

...all because the UT stronghold has curated a fifty piece show of ukiyo-e works, up through August 17th, 2008. Exquisite Visions of Japan features hand-picked goodies from James Michener's collection at the Honolulu Academy of Arts; expect views of Mount Fuji, castles veiled by cherry blossoms, a few happy little brothel portraits and, of course, a rendering of Michener, himself.

In each of these, you'll recognize the "floating" world -- just next to ours, but more perfect and still, where the imagination can retreat.

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