It’s homecoming weekend and the campus is all abuzz. Everyone is ready for the big game to see what the team does. With the Ludacris concert and the homecoming game this weekend there are plenty of things to do, but there is also a little culture for everyone too.
Kijuro Yahagi, a noted Japanese artist, will bring his prestigious and very unique pieces of art work to the University. His series is called “Hidden Japan.”
According to Jacqueline Nathan, director of the Fine Arts Center Galleries, he is truly respected. “This exhibition will showcase the work of the respected photographer and designer who has achieved international renown for his graphic design achievements,” she said.
The exhibit will consist of around 85 black and white photographs of Japan that Yahagi has said, “bring the modern face of Japan to life through the photographs.” The exhibit will be a little different than some of the previous exhibits held in the galleries of the University.
Yahagi uses his camera to find the most beautiful yet realistic pictures of nature, structures and people he can find to give the viewer a real sense of what life in Japan is like. Yahagi also traveled his country spanning over 20,000 kilometers to bring a wider spectrum of knowledge into the insight of what he believes Japan really is.
“BGSU is very fortunate to have this opportunity to show the work of this acclaimed artist,” Nathan said. “He won his first international prize for design at a poster competition on the 80th Birthday of Bertolt Brecht in East Germany in 1978, and has continued to win prizes in many design exhibitions throughout the world.”
He is very well acclaimed by critics and has won many awards for his sense of showing his audiences parts of Japan that are not rarely seen, hence the title “Hidden Japan.”
At the 13th edition of the International Biannual of Posters from Warsaw in 1990, he received the gold medal at the International Contest of design in the Tokyo International Forum (1994) he won first prize and for his most recent exhibition, “Hidden Japan” he received the silver medal from the International Exhibition organized by the Art Directors Club of New York.
The Consulate General of Japan in Detroit and the University Asian Studies Program sponsors the “Hidden Japan” exhibit. With the help of these organizations the exhibition will take place in the Willard Wankelman Gallery in the Fine Arts Center.
The opening reception will take place today at 5p.m. The exhibit can be seen every Tuesday through Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sundays from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. until October 20. The exhibit will also be closed on all University holidays.
“We affirm and support the Bowling Green State University goals of excellence, collaboration, diversity and outreach with exhibitions and programming designed to stimulate and educate artists and art audiences, communicate ideas, and promote the vitality and significance of the arts,” Nathan said. “The Galleries Program serves BGSU students and staff, and the individuals and families of Northwest Ohio area community.”
