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Persons of artistic accomplishment
Geisha in Salem, politics at the Middle East, and Felver at the MFA
BY RANDI HOPKINS

The iconic big, stiff hair, white face, and sashed kimono of the Japanese geisha conjure mysterious teahouses and heaven knows what sorts of exotic activities in this Western mind — and, hey, I read Brookline resident Arthur Golden’s weighty Memoirs of a Geisha a few years ago. It’s clear that misconceptions and stereotypes surround our understanding of the role of the geisha in Japanese culture, but much of that could be put right by "Geisha: Beyond the Painted Smile," which, opening at the Peabody Essex Museum in Salem this Saturday, attempts to put these icons of lacquered femininity into historical and cultural perspective. The word "geisha" means "persons of artistic accomplishment," and this exhibition reveals them to be highly trained in traditional dance, song, and music; performers who embody refinement, artistic excellence, and "iki," a Japanese æsthetic concept related to the French word "chic." Featuring paintings, woodblock prints, photography, and video alongside kimonos, musical instruments, and accessories worn and used by geisha, the Peabody Essex’s exhibition promises to reveal the roots of geisha culture, and also to offer a view into the present-day teahouses and restaurants where these kimono’d figures still perform.

Images of geisha from traditional woodblock prints to 19th-century oil paintings to mid-20th-century photographs often portray aloof, idealized figures. As a fascinating counterpoint, "Geisha" includes work by contemporary artist Yoko Yamamoto, who has been photographing geisha in her Tokyo neighborhood since 1983. Yamamoto not only captures their styles and gestures but also makes emotional connections with the women, observing them hard at work practicing their arts and also just walking down modern-day streets, their porcelain perfection and serenity incongruous with their bustling urban surroundings. Yamamoto herself will be at the Peabody Essex Museum on Sunday to speak about her captivating work.

A different brand of "renegade" artist is on the marquee at the Museum of Fine Arts’ fine film program this month as the MFA offers 10 films by artist and independent filmmaker Christopher Felver, friend, photographer, and collaborator to poets, artists, and musicians from Lawrence Ferlinghetti to Sonic Youth to Cecil Taylor. Three of the 10 Felver films being screened at the MFA offer rare opportunities to view influential contemporary artists at work: "Donald Judd’s Marfa Texas," from 1998, looks at the southern Texas site of ur-Minimalist and all-around-crotchety sculptor Donald Judd’s amazing art production, which, now run by the Dia Art Foundation, is a destination for art lovers from around the world; "Tony Cragg: In Celebration of Sculpture" shows Cragg, British master of many materials, doing his thing; and "John Cage Talks about Cows" gets up close to the sage and eclectic Cage.

"Geisha: Beyond the Painted Smile" is at the Peabody Essex Museum, East India Square in Salem, February 14 through May 9, with a talk by photographer Yoko Yamamoto on February 15 at 3 p.m. Tickets to the talk are $12; call (978) 745-9500. "Donald Judd’s Marfa Texas," "Tony Cragg: In Celebration of Sculpture," and "John Cage Talks about Cows" will be shown at the Museum of Fine Arts, 465 Huntington Avenue in Boston, February 21 at 1:15 p.m. Tickets for non-members are $9; call (617) 369-3306.


Issue Date: February 13 - 19, 2004
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