Join Meiji Modern co-curator Chelsea Foxwell and librarian Ayako Yoshimura for an exploration of the intricacies of dress and identity during Meiji-era Japan.

Participants are invited to look closely at key artworks in the exhibition to understand the political, economic, and social significations of kimono, hair style, and the influences of Western dress.

FREE, open to all. Advanced registration requested, as space is limited. 

PANELISTS

• Chelsea Foxwell is Associate Professor of Art History, East Asian Languages and Civilizations, and the College, and Director of the Center for East Asian Studies at the University of Chicago 
• Ayako Yoshimura is Japanese Studies Librarian at the University of Chicago

ABOUT SMART SALONS

Smart Salons is an interdisciplinary conversation series that fosters dialogue between UChicago students, faculty, staff, and the South Side community at the intersections of art and culture. From close-looking in the galleries to panel discussions, artists, researchers, scholars, and practitioners are invited to help us think and reflect expansively about art, ideas, and stories that matter today.

For Meiji Modern, the Smart Salon series will feature experts in East Asian and Pacific art history, architecture, religion, and identity, transporting the public to the latter 19th century in Japan through intentional dialogue and a closer look at key artworks in the exhibition.

Image: Mitsutani Kunishirō (1874–1936), Flowers (detail), ca. 1910. Oil on canvas, 31 3⁄4 × 23 3⁄4 in. (80.6 × 60.3 cm). Private collection. Image Courtesy Sebastian Izzard Asian Art.