Japanese Artists Association of New York Special Exhibition

"Contemporary and Traditional: Two Aspects of jaa"

'jaa' is short for Japanese Artists Association. To avoid the confusion with another pre-existing organization, small letters are used for this acronym. jaa was established in the early 1970s by a group of Japanese artists residing in the New York area and has continued its activities with exhibitions and seminars for over three decades. Its goal is to encourage studio work through cooperation and exchange of information among its members, and to develop a mutual understanding between itself and the New York society at-large to promote world peace. Its membership of approximately 75 range from recent arrivals to the older generation one of whom is a Japanese American nisei veteran of the highly decorated 442 Regimental Combat Team which fought on the Italian Front during the World War II. Also included are Koreans with Japanese art school background and American artists working in traditional manner. This diversity brings vital energy to the group. jaa is most democratic with its policy that any member can participate in a show without being rejected.

This group exhibition consists of two parts; the first segment deals with contemporary vocabulary and issues, and the second with the traditional process and aesthetic criterion. The works in the show are varied: abstraction vs. realism, ANIME image vs. SUMIE, conceptual / minimalism vs. GANSAI pigment on rice paper. This diversity is in fact the character of the jaa. Today, Modernism that critiqued works based on narrower points of view are long gone and it has been a while since Post-modernism that embraced wider criterion became the norm .�It is now time that this diversity within jaa should be looked at positively and constructively. Both parts of the exhibition include works by non-members as the evidence of the organization's open policy.

The common denominator for the Two Aspects is the attitudes held by each of the participants' studio practice, the desire to experience what is yet unexperienced, and to find and express oneself�within American society. The works are a testimony to as to why the members choose to be in New York and how their lives and expressions evolved.�In other words, works are travelogues of the trip each artist has taken in the visual art practice. So by closely following the path of the travelogue, works will certainly tell the detail of many aspects.

The seriousness of the goals of these artists place high expectations on this group exhibition, "Contemporary and Traditional: Two Aspects of jaa.".

Gallery writer : Hitoshi Nakazato
Translation : Sumiko Takeda

Artists