LPDB TALKS
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A. COLIN RAYMOND
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The false dichotomy between art and craft has been widely criticized, as postmodern and contemporary artists plumb the indeterminacy of these categories while simultaneously expanding fields of influence, drawing on yet further distinctive visual media. Contemporary artists increasingly reference game design, films, advertising, and graffiti. Commercial and counter-cultural aesthetics collapse, occasionally even abutting referents to more long-standing artistic traditions. This talk examines the proliferation of such aesthetic categories alongside unique instantiations within the world of contemporary Japanese art.
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CARL GABRIELSON
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In 2014, pop idol Shimazaki Haruka was hired to be the face of the Japan Self Defense Forces (JSDF) recruitment campaign. Her successor, Dan Mitsu, was an actress famous for erotic thrillers. By examining why these civilian women—both coming from hyperfeminized media that mainly targets heterosexual men—were chosen to represent the Japanese military, we can explore what kind of public image the JSDF hopes to construct and, by extension, how it imagines its role in Japanese society.
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SABINE FRÜHSTÜCK
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In November 2016, a contingent of Japanese peacekeepers arrived in South Sudan. This mission constitutes Japan’s first deployment of troops with a mandate allowing them to use deadly force for anything other than strict self-defense. Many critics see a dramatic shift away from a 70-year commitment to Japan’s anti-militarism and pacifism. In her contribution, Frühstück will examine the sociopolitical context of new legislation that is designed to enable Japan’s armed forces to engage in war.
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TRAVIS SEIFMAN
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Though today a prefecture of Japan, the Ryukyu Islands (Okinawa) were an independent kingdom, with their own distinctive culture, until their annexation less than 150 years ago. Devastated in 1945, the islands came under US occupation for nearly 30 years, and a significant US military presence continues today. Contemporary Okinawan art is deeply colored by this historical experience, and artists infuse their works with the traditional, even as they address the hopes and struggles of the contemporary. In this presentation, I provide a glimpse into Okinawan art today.
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NAOYA MATSUSHIMA
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The collaborative project’s interviews were edited not only to be introductions of the project, but also to show the art and scholarship as activism by asking the speakers to share their opinions and critiques with their own voices. All of my work asks people to directly explain their own projects and research in a way that is accessible to a wider audience. I only use simple video editing because I want others to feel that they could make similar videos themselves.
© 2017 Love, Peace, Dreams, and Bombs.