Meiji Modern: Alumni Weekend Gallery Talks
Call for proposals
Submissions due Monday, April 29, 2024
For UChicago’s 2024 Alumni Weekend, the Smart Museum of Art's Feitler Center for Academic Inquiry invites University of Chicago graduate and undergraduate students from all disciplines to offer public gallery talks on artworks of their choosing on view in Meiji Modern: Fifty Years of New Japan. The talks take place on Saturday, May 18.
About Meiji Modern
This landmark exhibition takes a fresh look at the art of Japan’s Meiji era (1868–1912), four remarkable decades that propelled the country into the modern era.
Comprising more than 130 artworks—including paintings, prints, photographs, sculptural works, and objects in various media, such as enamel, lacquer, embroidery, and textiles—the exhibition presents some of the finest examples of Meiji period artworks in American collections, both public and private. Organized around time-honored Japanese motifs, such as the sea and nature, Buddhist deities, and mythical animals, Meiji Modern highlights these themes as they are transformed with the introduction of newly imported techniques, materials, and audiences. The exhibition historically situates the period and transports the public to the latter 19th century—a time of political upheaval, imperial expansion, economic transformation, and social unrest worldwide.
Meiji Modern emphasizes modern Japanese artists’ engagement with both European and Asian trends and the concurrent invention of “classical Japan” as a category. Showcasing Japan as a case of non-Western modernity, the exhibition also addresses issues surrounding art and identity resonant with audiences today.
- Learn more about Meiji Modern
- Download the exhibition checklist (PDF)
- Browse the exhibition catalogue (PDF)
Example Object and Disciplinary Pairings
Below are examples of disciplinary areas that can connect to a particular object in Meiji Modern. We welcome applications from a wide array of disciples that elicit unexpected and fresh understandings of each object.
- Utagawa Kokunimasa, Hell Courtesan, circa 1900 – Religious Studies
- Imao Keinen, Morizumi Yugoyu, Festival Procession, 1890–1893 – Environmental Studies
- Kawanabe Kyōsai, Anatomical Illustrations of Front-Facing Man and Rear Facing Man, 1887 – Biology and Anatomy
- Hashiguchi Goyō, This Beauty (Kono Bijin) poster for Mitsukoshi, 1911 – Gender and Sexuality Studies
- High–Ranking Official Uniform (Chokuninkan), 1868-1912 – Theater and Performance Studies
- Tide Changing Jewel with Dragon, circa 1900 – Visual Arts
- Sanju Saku Co. of Tokyo and Yokohama, the “Brown Sherman” tea and coffee service, circa 1900-1902 – Economics
Eligibility
Open to University of Chicago Graduate students enrolled in Masters and Doctoral Programs and 3rd and 4th year students in the College. Students of all academic backgrounds and fields of study are welcome to apply.
Commitment
Prepare a 7–10-minute gallery talk on one of the artworks on view in Meiji Modern to be given in person during Alumni Weekend on Saturday, May 18 from 2–4 pm.
The gallery talk should be well rehearsed and include time for Q&A discussion with attendees afterward. Speakers are encouraged to interpret the object through their disciplinary perspective and research interests. Each talk will be given multiple times throughout the 2-hour program and students must be present for the full 2 hours.
All participants are required to attend a gallery talk workshop the week of May 6 and an exhibition walkthrough rehearsal on Thursday, May 16 at the Smart Museum of Art.
Compensation
$300 honorarium to be processed upon completion of the program. Please notify us at the time of application if you are currently employed by the University at the maximum allowable hours for students (19.5hrs/wk).
To Apply
- Submit a one-page pitch Word doc with your name, pronouns, major, and graduation year.
- Write a brief pitch of one to two sentences outlining what you would hope to highlight visually and contextually about your first-choice artwork for an alumni visitor to the galleries.
- Provide a second-choice object in the event we need to physically space out the talks.
- Send these materials no later than Monday, April 29th at 5:00 PM to Aneesah Veatch, ettress@uchicago.edu.
Finalists will be notified of selection Tuesday, April 30, 2024.