Shows highlight kimonos, bronzes, student art

• From Shanghai, a stellar collection of ancient bronzes
• Students' exhibition-winning art will travel to New York

By Victoria Gail-White
Advertiser Art Critic

Kimono collection exquisite feast of theatrical style, taste

•	Chic and Dandy: Contemporary Japanese Kimonos Through April 6 Textile Gallery 10 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesdays through Saturdays 1 to 5 p.m. Sundays Honolulu Academy of Arts 532-8700

The evolution of the kimono into an art form is worthy of note. During the Heian period (794-1192 A.D.), a new kimono-making technique known as the straight-line-cut method was developed. This method did not concern itself with the shape of the wearer's body, was easy to fold, could be layered for warmth and utilized fabric without any waste. The standard measurement for a kimono requires cutting a piece of fabric (usually silk, but cotton is used for summer wear) 39 to 43 feet long and 14 to 15 inches wide into eight pieces.

The need for distinguishing the domains of samurai during the Edo period (1603-1868) elevated kimono-making into an art form. Identifying colors and patterns emerged, and it was at this time that the kimono became more valuable and much admired as family heirlooms.

In Japan today, kimono are still worn for special occasions — weddings, funerals, tea ceremonies and other events and festivals.

The theatrical range of this collection of textiles is not without foundation. Ninobe was trained in the traditional Japanese arts — buyo (dance); on the koto, tsuzumi, shamisen (musical instruments) and in the arts of tea ceremony and flower arrangement. Yonezawa was also trained in traditional dance and tea ceremony.

The dark, subtle quiet of the "Tsumugi Kasuri" kimono (circa 1983) of silk, plain weave, double kasuri (ikat), exhibited beside the luscious, passionate,scarlet to shades of maroon "Roketsu" kimono (circa 1980) of silk, plain weave with wax-resist and hand-painted dyes, is dramatic. It is difficult to avoid the temptation to either eat or try on the "Roketsu" kimono, as it is such a show-stopper. It is the robe of seduction itself with an appraised worth of $20,000, according to Yonezawa. "I chose it, but I never wore it," she said.

The subject of the value of these garments is as educational as the photographs of the artisans scattered throughout the exhibit. The tsumugi, or woven-color kimono, although seemingly plain, are highly prized and collected in Japan, appraised at values of $5,000 and higher. The woven fabric of this particular type of kimono is said to last for 300 years. I mention the prices of some of these pieces because it helps to appreciate their value, whether they appear understated or spectacular.

Curator of textiles Rieko Brandon's brilliant installation includes a few photographs of Ninobe and Yonezawa's life together, as well as of the artisans at work on the kimono, giving the exhibit a more familial atmosphere.

"We are very excited to have this collection," says Brandon. "It is a visual feast, but it is also educational in the techniques used and the regional styles. The Kyoto artist Itaro Yamaguchi, who created the 'Celebratory Obi,' is 100 years old and still active as a weaver and designer."

This hunting-scene obi is extremely rare (appraised at $35,000) and woven with lacquer-impregnated paper threads that give it a shiny leather quality.

There are also examples of shibori (tie-dyeing), sasara (batik) and sumi-e techniques, and an unusually beautiful cross-cultural obi incorporating Chinese "suwato lace" and embroidery work on woven Japanese fabric, appraised at $4,000. Two pairs of woven leather and beaded zoris complete the banquet.

Most of the kimono were purchased at kimono salon showings. "The black 'Montsuki' kimono was made especially for my mother in Kyoto," says Yonezawa. "She wore it to the noh theater." It is silk, damask weave with yuzen (rice-paste resist) and hand-painted noh dancers. Ninobe's family crest, the tangerine, is visible on the upper back of the garment.

If your life is lacking the inspiration that comes from fine craftsmen's work, this exhibit will certainly deliver a jolt.

Yonezawa has donated 90 textiles to the art museum as promised gifts. If this is the appetizer, how will we wait for the rest of the feast?

From Shanghai, a stellar collection of ancient bronzes

•	Ancient Chinese Bronzes: Inscriptions and the Birth of the Written Word Through March 7 Maurice J. Sullivan Family Gallery of Chinese Art Honolulu Academy of Arts

This exhibition of world-renowned bronzes dating as far back as the 18th to 16th centuries B.C. illustrates the birth of the written word in China through inscriptions carved onto the vessels that are on display. The maker, clan, owner and dedication were inscribed onto these ritualistic containers that often included ceremonies involving food, wine, water and music.

The rubbings made from these inscriptions placed beside the bronze vessels show the development of the design complexity that existed in China from the simple and earliest "Ding" food vessel (18th to 16th century B.C.) to "Pan" (water vessel) (770 B.C. to early 7th century B.C.). This magical shallow vessel, my favorite, was intended to hold waste water poured from another vessel over guests' hands before ceremonies and feasts. The outside is decorated with dragons and simple-motif stylized animals while the interior has a more elaborate decoration of 92 relief-cast water animals including frogs, tadpoles, fish and turtles. Evidently, when this vessel is filled with water, these creatures appear to come alive. We can certainly imagine how delightful that would be. The patina on these vessels is marvelous.

Also included in the exhibit are four ink-on-paper scrolls by four famous calligraphers in four different styles — cursive, regular script, archaic seal script and clerical script.

The new director of the art museum, Stephen Little, translated the poetry on these scrolls. "Morning Audience at the Palace of Great Brightness," by Jia Zhi (Tang dynasty, 618-907) was written during the Ming dynasty by Zhu Yun Ming in cursive script. It is the story of a journey, complete with "a thousand willow branches (hung) like green jade," and "a hundred swooping orioles' calls" reminding us of a time when life was slower and consisted of calligraphers, rather than computer operators, inking their brushes every day to serve their sovereign.

Students' exhibition-winning art will travel to New York

•	Hawaii Regional Scholastic Art and Photography Exhibition Through Wednesday Neiman Marcus, Ala Moana Normal store hours

The state Department of Education, teachers, tutors and parents work with the students intensively. Seventy-five pieces from this show will be traveling to New York City for national judging.

The regional awards were juried by 10 accomplished Hawai'i-based artists and involved many hours of coordination.

The catalog for the exhibit lists the students, their schools and their teachers (who deserve an enormous amount of credit as well).

Hanae Uechi Mills, who has been involved in the competition for 12 years, says, "These kids work really hard and deserve recognition. If they excel in the visual arts, it helps them to get into better schools. It isn't just the SAT scores alone anymore. Kids need to have an edge and for some, this is their ticket. The kids who did not get in this year should try again." Mills, who is passionate about teaching art and also the winner of the recent Schaefer Portrait Challenge, just happens to be the teacher of 13-year-old Landon Kaneshiro, who won an American Visions Award in the intermediate school division for "Dusk," a piece using soft pastels on paper.

This impressive exhibit takes up the first and second floors of Neiman Marcus. For more information about this scholastic competition (which includes a multitude of visual art forms and writing categories) visit www.artandwriting.org or phone (212) 343-6493.

Big mahalos to everyone involved (and there were many) for providing chances for these talented children to celebrate their creativity. Many of them will surely be inspiration for future generations. We can only hope the exhibit will be on display longer next year.