JQ Magazine: Book Review – ‘From Postwar to Postmodern, Art in Japan 1945-1989: Primary Documents’
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“What emerges from the multitude of ideas here is that art in Japan from this period is a visual record of repercussions that are still being felt today.” (Duke University Press)
By Jessica Sattell (Fukuoka-ken, 2007-08) for JQ magazine. Jessica is a freelance writer and a graduate student in arts journalism. She was previously the publicist for Japan-focused publishers Stone Bridge Press and Chin Music Press.
The abstract and avant-garde sculptor, painter and all-around revolutionary Japanese artist Tarō Okamoto famously said, “Art is an explostion” (geijutsu wa bakuhatsu da).
“Explosive” barely describes the energy and innovation in Japanese art in the latter half of the twentieth century. As From Postwar to Postmodern, Art in Japan 1945-1989: Primary Documents discusses, the decades between the end of World War II and the end of the Cold War marked an intensely fruitful period of groundbreaking creativity in Japan. The excitement, anxiety, and electricity that surged against the rigidity of old structures propelled Japanese art and artists into a much greater international conversation.
Published earlier this year by the Museum of Modern Art in New York and distributed by Duke University Press, this hefty tome accompanied the fall 2012-winter 2013 MoMA exhibition Tokyo 1955-1970: A New Avant Garde. There’s been a huge wave of both popular and scholarly interest in Japanese modern and contemporary art and dozens of high-profile shows at major North American museums and galleries, but the MoMA exhibit was the first to examine the “postwar” period that had been previously underrepresented. Part of this may be that the term “postwar” is tricky to define; the effects of WWII are undoubtedly still felt today and many argue that Japan is still “postwar.”
This book provides a solid foundation for an exploration of the issues and precedents leading up to the transformation of “postwar” art into the “postmodern” time. But, rather than simply rehash existing scholarship about Japanese history from 1945-1989, the book’s co-editors allow the artists, philosophers, critics and curators of this historical time to speak for themselves. The bulk of From Postwar to Postmodern includes a huge and multifaceted collection of primary source materials—personal essays, artist statements, interviews, magazine articles, interviews, critiques and manifestos—many of which have been translated into English for the very first time.
Job: Admin Asst for Japanese Co. (D.C.)
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Via JETAA DC. Posted by Kim ‘Kay’ Monroe (Miyazaki-shi, 1995 -97). Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.
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Position: Administrative Assistant
Posted by: N/A
Type: N/A
Location: Washington, DC
Salary: N/A
Start Date: N/A
Overview:
A major, multinational Japanese company is seeking an administrative assistant in their 10-person Washington, D.C. office. Job responsibilities include, but are not limited to: accounts payable clerical work, coordinating the logistics for receiving guests to the office, and maintaining the schedule of the General Manager. Minimum requirements include a Bachelor’s degree, attention to detail, and experience with the Microsoft Office suite of products. Although Japanese is not required, it is preferred. Participation in the JET Program also a plus.
JET Alumni are being given preference in the recruitment process.
Interested candidates should send their resume and cover letter to:
JETAADC
Outreach Chair, Joy Young, at
outreach@jetaadc.org
Job: ESL Assistant lecturer position at Texas A&M
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Via Hinter College tesol list serve. Posted by Kim ‘Kay’ Monroe (Miyazaki-shi, 1995 -97). Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.
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Position: Assistant lecturer
Posted by: Columbia University East Asian Language and Culture
Type: Part-time
Location: Texas A&M
Salary: N/A
Start Date: N/A
Overview:
The English Language Institute (ELIN) at Texas A&M University is seeking applications for one part-time non-tenure track Assistant Lecturer benefits-eligible position beginning fall 2013.
A Master’s degree in Teaching English as a Second Language or a Master’s degree with relevant teaching experience is required. The fall semester begins August 27, 2013.
Responsibilities: include teaching courses if requested by the Director; performing any faculty functions with the guidance and supervision of veteran Lecturer(s); substitute teaching, as necessary; tutoring students whom Lecturers identify as having English skills below program’s typical entry level or consulting with students on writing and developing English skills; assisting in the administration of standardized and diagnostic examinations; participating in faculty and committee meetings, student assessments, program events, maintaining office hours, meeting with students and colleagues as needed, working in a cross-cultural environment.
ELIN at Texas A&M University, established in 1974, and administratively housed in the College of Liberal Arts, is on the main campus in College Station, Texas. Accredited by CEA and holding memberships in UCIEP, and AAIEP, ELIN serves approximately 600 students annually. Read More
Job: Asst Director – Columbia University East Asian Language and Culture
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Thanks to Fernando Rojas for sharing this listing. Posted by Kim ‘Kay’ Monroe (Miyazaki-shi, 1995 -97). Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.
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Position: Assistant Director
Posted by: Columbia University East Asian Language and Culture
Type: N/A
Location: New York, NY
Salary: N/A
Start Date: N/A
Overview:
Directly reports to the Director of the Institute for Medieval Japanese Studies (lMJS), and the EALAC Chair with oversight from the Academic Department Administrator, the Assistant Director manages all existing and new programs of the lMJS and supervises the day-to-day administration of the Institute and its staff. The Assistant Director oversees the Institute’s budget and grants; manages reconciliation in ARC and prevention of overdrafts; monitors all expenditures and ensures compliance with the policies of Columbia University and grant-making organizations; and has signature approval of all financial transactions and paperwork to the Office of the Controller and the Purchasing Department. The Assistant Director is in charge of purchasing all supplies, materials, and services, with signature approval of payments processed to Purchasing and the Office of the Controller. He/she is responsible for the maintenance of the Institute’s office in Kent Hall (Room 509), ensuring that security and upkeep are maintained. The Assistant Director is responsible for the recruitment, selection, and hiring of the institute’s part-time student staff throughout the year and for compliance with immigration laws when relevant. Read More
Job: Middle School Japanese Language Instructor (Milton, GA)
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Thanks to Nico Moorman, Kawasaki (1990–1993), a Fulton County Japanese teacher, for sharing this listing. Posted by Kim ‘Kay’ Monroe (Miyazaki-shi, 1995 -97). Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.
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Position: Middle School Japanese Language Instructor
Posted by: Fulton County Schools
Type: Part Time (60%)
Location: Milton, GA
Salary: $23,400-$30,000 (health insurance, pension, and other benefits)
Start Date: August 1, 2013
Overview:
Excellent North Fulton Middle school is seeking an enthusiastic Japanese teacher for 3 classes. This is an opportunity to grow a new Japanese Language program in one of the best middle schools in Georgia. Teaching experience required. Certification preferred. Send resume to himoormansensei@gmail.com.
USJBF selects JET alum Laurel Lukaszewski for new “Strengthening the JETAA USA Network” initiative
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Laurel Lukaszewski (Kagoshima-ken, 1990-1992)
Remember the job listing for the Part-time Project Director with the US-Japan Bridging Foundation (USJBF) to support JETAA USA growth? The USJBF has announced that it has selected Laurel Lukaszewski (ALT Kagoshima-ken, 1990-92) for the position for its new initiative “Strengthening the JETAA Network and Connecting Next Generation Leaders.”
Shojiki ni itte, it’s hard to imagine anyone better suited for the role. Laurel has maintained a strong connection with Japan and the Japan-US community since here time on the JET Program by previously serving on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Japan-America Societies (NAJAS), as the Executive Director for the Japan-America Society of Washington, D.C, and as a Program Director of the Japan-America Society in Seattle. She currently lives in Washington, D.C. where she actively participates on the Board of the National Cherry Blossom Festival and JETAADC. You can see her in this panel discussion with fellow JET alums Jim Gannon (Ehime-ken, 1992-94) and Anthony Bianchi (Aichi-ken, Inuyama-shi, 1988-89) from the 2011 JETAA National Conference in D.C.
Laurel (who is also a sculptor–see her work here) officially started working Tuesday, July 9. Here is the official announcement from the USJBF:
July 11, 2013
The U.S.-Japan Bridging Foundation (USJBF), is pleased to announce that Laurel Lukaszewski has been hired as Project Director for its new initiative “Strengthening the JETAA Network and Connecting Next Generation Leaders.” Funded by the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership (CGP), the purpose of the project is to build infrastructure in support of the Japan-Exchange and Teaching Program Alumni Association, United States of America (JETAA USA) and enhance its impact promoting U.S.-Japan relations.
Laurel is an alumna of the JET Programme (Kagoshima-ken, 1990-1992) and has a solid understanding of U.S.-Japan relations, the U.S.-Japan community and how nonprofit and membership organizations are governed and run. After completing the JET Programme and receiving an M.A. in Asian Studies, Laurel embarked on a nine-year career with the Japan-America Societies in Seattle and Washington, D.C.. In 2005, Laurel left her position as ED of the JASW to pursue a career as an artist. She has maintained her ties to the JET Programme and U.S.-Japan community by serving as an active member of the JET Application Review and Interview committees for over thirteen years. Laurel served on the Board of Directors of the National Association of Japan America Societies (NAJAS), and has been on the National Cherry Blossom Festival Board of Directors since 2002. Paige Cottingham-Streater, Executive Director of the U.S.-Japan Bridging Foundation said, “Laurel is a valuable addition to our team and will bring a unique understanding about the JET community and its potential to promote a strong U.S.-Japan relationship.”
The U.S.-Japan Bridging Foundation, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization, awards scholarships to U.S. undergraduate students to study for one semester or academic year in Japan. The Foundation grows global leaders to help prepare America’s young people to assume future leadership roles in business, education, international and public affairs and other professions.
URL: http://www.bridgingfoundation.org/news/new-project-director-to-facilitate-jetaa-capacity-building
Justin’s Japan: Nippon in New York — JAPAN CUTS, Lincoln Center and Aerosmith Rock the Rising Sun
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Live Your Dream: The Taylor Anderson Story premieres at Japan Society in New York July 16 as part of their annual JAPAN CUTS summer film festival. (© 2012 Global Film Network. All rights reserved.)
By JQ magazine editor Justin Tedaldi (CIR Kobe-shi, 2001-02) for Examiner.com. Visit his Japanese culture page here for related stories.
After you’ve seen the outdoor fireworks, enjoy some summer events in the cool indoors, whether it’s catching one of 20 films in Japan Society‘s annual festival or firing up the newest home video release from Aerosmith that documents the band’s triumphant return to Japan following the 2011 Tohoku earthquake and tsunami.
This month’s highlights include:
July 11-21
Japan Society, 333 East 47th Street
$12 general/$9 Japan Society members, seniors and students. I’M FLASH! prices $15 general/$12 Japan Society members
Now in its seventh season, with 10 days of screenings and over 20 titles, JAPAN CUTS 2013 presents the roughest, sharpest, and smoothest of today’s cutting-edge Japanese film scene, encompassing bigger-than-life blockbusters, high-concept art house titles, moving and provoking documentaries, delirious rom-coms, refined melodramas and a handful of UFOs—unidentified film objects. Dovetailing with the New York Asian Film Festival, this year’s highlights include the smash-hit samurai blockbuster Rurouni Kenshin; Eiki Takahashi’s absorbing glimpse into the glitzy world of Japanese pop music, DOCUMENTARY OF AKB48: Show Must Go On; the winner of the 36th Japan Academy Prize for Best Picture and Best Director, The Kirishima Thing; plus the new film from the wildly prolific auteur Takashi Miike, the psycho killer-teacher horror film Lesson of the Evil, a return to the director’s signature gonzo schlockmeister approach.
July 18-20
Lincoln Center Festival presents Matsukaze
Gerald W. Lynch Theater, 524 West 59th Street
$35-$75
Harmonious sounds and haunting songs converge in this exquisite production of Matsukaze (Japanese for “wind in the pines”). Inspired by a popular 15th-century play crafted in part by Noh master Zeami, the opera features a spare, ethereal score by Toshio Hosokawa, one of Japan’s most prominent living composers of contemporary classical music. Matsukaze tells the story of two sisters, two lingering spirits, who wander the porous boundary of the living and the dead in hopes of being freed from a former mortal lover. John Kennedy conducts the Talea Ensemble and a cast of soloists and chorus in this arresting, dreamlike performance set in the shadowy place where the wall between the ephemeral and the corporeal disappears. Sung in German with English supertitles.
For the complete story, click here.
Around Japan in 47 Curries: Toyama water
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Tom Baker (Chiba, 1989-91) is writing a 47-part weekly series of posts on his Tokyo Tom Baker blog, in which he samples and comments on a curry from a different prefecture each week. Here’s an excerpt from his eighth installment, about Toyama Prefecture.
Tom Baker samples water from a spring above Kurobe Dam in Toyama Prefecture.
The Kurobe River is short but steep. It runs only 85 kilometers from Mt. Washiba in Toyama Prefecture, but it falls nearly 3 kilometers over that distance. Where it empties into the Sea of Japan, it has created an alluvial fan where the town of Kurobe stands. Because of its steep fall, the river was a good candidate for a hydroelectric project. The Kurobe Dam, Japan’s tallest at 186 meters, was built across it in a major postwar construction project from 1956 to 1963.
Although most famous as the site of an engineering feat, the Kurobe River is also known for the quality of its water, especially the cold springs that bubble up in the coastal town of Kurobe after filtering through the alluvial fan. It’s called Kurobe Meisui—literally, Kurobe’s famous water.
Today, I tasted one of several varieties of Kurobe Meisui curry – a black “soup curry” made with the famous water…
Job:Travel Sales Specialist – Japan / Asia (Encinitas, CA)
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Thanks to Xander Peterson, JET Program Coordinator at the Consulate in SF, for passing on this interesting jet relevant job listing. Posted by Kim ‘Kay’ Monroe (Miyazaki-shi, 1995 -97). Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.
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Position: Travel Sales Specialist Japan / Asia
Posted by: Global Basecamps
Type: Full-time
Location: Encinitas, CA
Salary: 40K – 65K annually
Start Date: N/A
Overview:
A small travel company is looking for a highly motivated pro-active individual to join our team as a Asia Travel Specialist. The ideal candidate will work directly with customers in sales capacity, building, booking, and selling international trips. This is a full time position with competitive performance based compensation and benefits. Located North of San Diego in Encinitas but is open to the right candidate working remotely. Read More
Job: Education Content and Communications Manager (NY)
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Via The Foundation Center. Posted by Kim ‘Kay’ Monroe (Miyazaki-shi, 1995 -97). Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.
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Position: Education Content and Communications Manager
Posted by: AFS Intercultural Programs
Type: N/A
Location: New York, New York
Salary: N/A
Start Date: N/A
Overview:
Working with a large number of internal and external stakeholders around the world, your job is to help foster a network of learners and educators, focusing on content development and communications/visibility for the AFS Education; Intercultural Learning (ICL) Services Department. You will be a key representative of AFS helping to build our educational efforts and enhance our value proposition; preparing people to live, work and lead in an increasingly interconnected world; in service of the AFS mission and within the context of the larger global education marketplace. You have a strong background in intercultural relations theory and practice, as well as strategic communications (including marketing/public relations/advocacy), and are an excellent communicator; both verbally and visually; who sees both the big picture as well as fine details. Read More
JQ Magazine: Film Review – JAPAN CUTS 2013 at Japan Society
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Dreams for Sale premieres July 13 at Japan Society in New York as part of their annual JAPAN CUTS film festival. (© 2012 Dreams for Sale Film Partners)
By Lyle Sylvander (Yokohama-shi, 2001-02) for JQ magazine. Lyle is entering a master’s program at the School of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University (MIA 2013) and has been writing for the JET Alumni Association since 2004. He is also the goalkeeper for FC Japan, a New York City-based soccer team.
Now in its seventh season, the JAPAN CUTS 2013 film festival runs from July 11-21 at Japan Society in New York and features less mainstream and more art house fare than in festivals past. JQ was able to screen three films from this year’s festival: Dreams for Sale (Yume Uru Futari), Helter Skelter (Heruta Sukeruta) and A Story of Yonosuke (Yokomichi Yonosuke).
Dreams for Sale, the most affecting of the three, tells the story of a young couple, Kanya (Sadao Abe) and Satoko (Takako Matsu), who find themselves in dire straits when their restaurant burns down to the ground. They soon realize, however, that the situation allows them to seek sympathy and romance money out of lonely singles that they encounter. This morality tale is directed in a naturalistic style by Miwa Nishiwaka. Within the director’s moving frame, the two main protagonists are allowed to express themselves both fully and in nuance as they work in tandem to bilk yen out of the unsuspecting victims.
What makes the film work so well is Nishikawa’s matter-of-fact stylistic depiction; she simply allows events to unfold naturally as the camera unobtrusively records them. At first, Kanya and Satoko’s cynical schemes have a darkly comic undertone, but gradually we, as the audience, begin to see the subtle changes that the couple undergoes as they begin to first doubt the morality of what they are doing and then doubt the strength of their own marriage and relationship. As in many great tragedies, this inner turmoil spills out into the external world as their actions have unpredictable repercussions beyond their control and affect unintended innocent victims.
Justin’s Japan: Cheap Trick Brings Budokan to the Bowery
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Click image to read story
By JQ magazine editor Justin Tedaldi (CIR Kobe-shi, 2001-02) for Shukan NY Seikatsu. Visit his Examiner.com Japanese culture page here for related stories.
On April 28, legendary American rockers Cheap Trick played an invitation only, packed to the gills performance at the John Varvatos boutique in Manhattan’s Lower East Side. The occasion: a tuneful recreation of the band’s debut concert at Tokyo’s Nippon Budokan arena, 35 years to the day of that historic gig.
Originally recorded for a Japan-only live album (where the band enjoyed a Beatles-like following at the time), Cheap Trick at Budokan was released in the U.S. the following year, igniting the band’s popularity at home. It remains their best-selling album at over three million copies sold, and hits like “I Want You to Want Me” and “Surrender” remain classic rock staples.
Held at the former site of another storied rock venue, CBGB, and hosted by Varvatos himself, Cheap Trick was in fine form throughout the 90-minute set. Sponsored by Sony, the entire show was professionally filmed and posted on Livestream.com. Original members Rick Nielsen, Robin Zander and Tom Petersson (with Nielsen’s son Daxx providing the beat) still continue to radiate the energy, chemistry and charisma that make them one of the best live acts among their ’70s peers.
New Yorkers can enjoy Cheap Trick’s next area performance for free on July 12 as part of the Seaside Summer Concert Series at Coney Island. For more information, visit www.cheaptrick.com.
Posted by Ashley Thompson (Shizuoka-ken, 2008-10), Community Manager for Nihongo Master and editor of Surviving in Japan.
Japan is home–the place I got engaged, married, and gave birth to my daughter. It’s the birthplace of my husband. I never expected Japan to become so special to me six years ago, let alone that the most important events of my life would happen there. It isn’t a perfect county–no country is–but I love many of its quirks, traits and customs.
We didn’t know what the future held and we had set up a life there.
A sudden turn of events and circumstances forced us to move back to the US in January of this year. We made the decision to move only two months before, as financially and emotionally we weren’t in a place to stay.
I’ve been struggling with reverse culture shock since coming back. I’m not sure I’ve ever felt like I “fit in” here in the States, but I feel it even less so now. I’m trying to adjust while pining for Japan, despite the fact we had plenty of reasons to move back. Read More
Job: Administrative Coordinator, Japan Studies
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Via JETAA Chicago. Posted by Kim ‘Kay’ Monroe (Miyazaki-shi, 1995 -97). Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.
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Position: Admin – Secretary and Administrative Assistants
Posted by: Johns Hopkins University – Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS)
Type: Full Time
Location: Washington, DC
Salary: Commensurate with experience
Start Date: N/A
Overview Position:
The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) is a leading graduate school of international relations, educating students for professional careers in government, business, journalism, international organizations, academia and nonprofits. SAIS enrolls about 600 full-time students in Washington, D.C., primarily in the school’s two-year Master of Arts program. Approximately 30 percent of the students are non-U.S. citizens coming from more than 70 countries. About 190 students study at the Bologna Center in Italy while about 200 students attend the Hopkins-Nanjing Center in China. To learn more about SAIS, visit www.sais-jhu.edu. Read More
Job: Manager of Overseas Admissions Counseling (Student Recruiting) based in Tokyo
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Via JETAA Chicago. Posted by Kim ‘Kay’ Monroe (Miyazaki-shi, 1995 -97). Click here to join the JETwit Jobs Google Group and receive job listings even sooner by email.
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Position: Manager of Overseas Admissions Counseling (Student Recruiting) based in Tokyo
Posted by: Temple University, Japan Camps
Type: Full Time
Location: Tokyo, Japan
Salary: Commensurate with experience
Start Date: August 1, 2013
Overview Position:
Lead and manage the Overseas Admissions Counseling Office which is responsible for all aspects of recruiting students from overseas for TUJ’s Undergraduate Program and assist in achieving the university’s targets and goals
Primary Responsibilities:
•Develop and execute overseas recruiting strategies.
•Increase the number of inquiries and applications for the Undergraduate Program while improving the overall quality of new students.
•Supervise and coach other members of the Overseas Admissions Counseling team.
•Manage the budget for Overseas Admissions Counseling.
•Provide information about TUJ programs to prospective students, parents, teachers, administrators at high schools and community colleges, and others.
•Plan, organize, and complete recruiting trips overseas throughout the year visiting high schools, community colleges, and international schools, and attending conferences and fairs. Read More
