Exposições realizadas

Exposições itinerantes realizadas

As soon as I arrived in Tokyo, in 2001, I became interested in some dolls that were sold at the city's antique fairs, sometimes outdoors. Ningyo means "human form": nin (human, people) and gyo (form). In Japan, these dolls have a wider function than just toys. They are a celebration of childhood and the crucible of parents' hope for a harmonious, successful life for their children.

They are not suitable for playing and are not part of the children's playful universe. They are, rather, fetishes loaded with symbolism. They are displayed for around 15 days, on specific dates – Girls' Day and Boys' Day – and then collected, carefully stored in boxes, and passed from generation to generation. Sometimes they are discarded forever, especially those that did not achieve what was desired, as it is believed that they have accumulated negative energy.

Some are offered when a newborn is visited and represent emperors and empresses, beautiful young women, samurai Noh characters, benevolent entities, healthy babies, in other words, a whole range of individualities that reveal the deepest ideals of the Japanese collective (un)conscious.

The objects presented here have spanned the last 200 years of Japan and show a little explored, but extremely rich, aspect of the Japanese soul and culture.

Fausto Godoy – Donor of the Asian Collection

 Paper has always been one of the preferred supports for Asian civilizations. There are a few older works on another type of support – silk, in China, is one of them. Several types of vegetables are used to manufacture paper. In Japan, most pastes are made from washi, composed of fibers from shrubs native to the region – kozo (Broussonetia papyrifera), gampi, and mitsumata (Edgeworthia chrysantha) –, whose production continues to this day, using ancient techniques.

Washi was considered an intangible cultural heritage by UNESCO. Paper is a natural support for the ukyo-e, in literal translation, "portraits of the floating world". This is a genre of wood engraving that prospered in Japan between the 17th and 19th centuries. Initially, it was intended for consumption by the merchant class of the Edo period (1603-1867), who sought entertainment in kabuki theaters and in the Yoshiwara region, in Tokyo, where the geishas and courtesans lived. The term ukiyo ("floating world") described the hedonistic lifestyle of that era. But wood engraving was also intended to portray heroes and their deeds, in addition to the wars in which the Japanese empire was involved at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th.

Fausto Godoy – Donor of the Asian Collection 

The traveling exhibition “Japanese Art in the MON Collection” held by the Oscar Niemeyer Museum takes a section of the Asian collection that belongs to the institution to the Japanese Immigration Memorial of Assaí, in the north of the state. This place has a large Japanese community directly linked to the colonization and history of this city.

The exhibition presents a part of the collection of traditional Japanese Ningyos dolls, as well as masks, wood engravings, and utensils, such as trays and vessels. The exhibition has 63 works of art that are part of the Asian art collection comprising more than three thousand pieces donated to MON in 2018 by Ambassador Fausto Godoy. 

Once again, the Oscar Niemeyer Museum (MON) exceeds the limits of its walls, democratizing access to its collection and reaching even larger audiences. With the exhibition “Japanese Art in the MON Collection”, an excerpt from the Asian collection, MON pays homage to the immense Japanese community of Assaí, which is directly linked to the colonization of the city and which builds its history. 

It is important to highlight that this would not be possible without the special focus that the State of Paraná, especially through the Secretariat of Culture, has dedicated to this important sector, always prioritizing the decentralization of the arts so that it reaches all audiences. This is attentive and sensitive management, which believes in the transformative role of culture. 

The moment is especially important for MON, which today is part of the list of great international museums. The size and relevance of its collection, which increased fivefold in recent years and became more comprehensive, were fundamental in this trajectory, in which the importance of the Asian art collection is immense, with almost 3 thousand works, donated to MON by diplomat Fausto Godoy. 

The exhibition presented here is part of this collection that, due to its size and grandeur, constantly surprises us with works that have never been exhibited before. Disputed by other institutions in Brazil and by collectors abroad, the Asian collection that belongs to MON and the people of Paraná – allows for countless readings and approaches. 

MON's main proposal with roaming is to facilitate dialogues between cultures and territories through art. The exhibition instigates and demonstrates that multiple and transversal knowledge crosses cultures, territories, and eras.   

Director-president of the Oscar Niemeyer Museum

Cena da guerra sino-japonesa, 1894-1895
Japão
Xilogravura
50,5 x 90 x 2 cm
Acervo Museu Oscar Niemeyer - Coleção Asiática

Sem título (Shi Shi - Ningyo), Era Meiji (1867-1812)
Madeira, metal, algodão, casca de ovo, cabelo e policromia
14 x 17 x 15,5 cm
Acervo Museu Oscar Niemeyer - Coleção Asiática

Japanese Immigration Memorial
Av. Rio de Janeiro, 720 — Assaí/PR
Monday to Friday from 8:00 am to 11:30 am - 1:00 pm to 5:00 pm

MON takes Asian collection to the north of Paraná

The Oscar Niemeyer Museum (MON) promotes the traveling exhibition “Japanese Art in the MON Collection”, with part of the Asian collection belonging to the institution. The opening will be on May 16th, at the Japanese Immigration Memorial of Assaí, in the north of the state. This place has a large Japanese community directly linked to the colonization and history of this city.

The exhibition presents a part of the collection of traditional Japanese Ningyos dolls, as well as masks, wood engravings, and utensils, such as trays and vessels. The exhibition has 63 works of art that are part of the Asian art collection comprising more than three thousand pieces donated to MON in 2018 by Ambassador Fausto Godoy.

“The Oscar Niemeyer Museum remains firm in its mission to promote broad access to culture and decentralization of art by the State, a fundamental guideline of our management at the State Secretariat for Culture and Government of Paraná”, states Luciana Casagrande Pereira, Secretary of State for Culture. “It is a great joy to see the touring project of MON's beautiful Asian collection arrive in Assaí, a city that has a massive presence of Japanese descendants, connecting art, history, and cultural identity", she says.

Juliana Vosnika, the Director-president of the Museum, comments that the magnificent Asian collection, which today belongs to the MON and the people of Paraná, was competed for by other institutions in Brazil and by collectors from abroad.

“With this exhibition, the Oscar Niemeyer Museum goes beyond the limits of its walls, democratizing access to its collection and reaching even larger audiences”, she says. “It is important to highlight that this would not be possible without the special attention that the State of Paraná, especially through the Secretariat of Culture, has dedicated to this important sector, always prioritizing the decentralization of the arts so that it reaches all audiences”, declares Juliana.

She also comments that MON's main proposal for itinerancy is to facilitate dialogues between cultures and territories through art. “The exhibition instigates and demonstrates that multiple and transversal knowledge crosses cultures, territories, and eras”. 

Traditionally, Ningyos are auspicious gifts to wish longevity, health, and fertility to newborn babies. Families also display them on special dates, and they are assigned the mission of protecting and purifying the homes that receive them.

The meaning of the word Ningyo is “human form”: nin (human, people) and gyo (form). “These objects presented here have spanned the last 200 years of Japan and show a little explored, but extremely rich, aspect of the Japanese soul and culture”, comments Fausto Godoy, donor of the collection to MON and curator of the exhibition.

The traveling exhibition “Japanese Art in the MON Collection” held by the Oscar Niemeyer Museum takes a section of the Asian collection that belongs to the institution to the Japanese Immigration Memorial of Assaí, in the north of the state. This place has a large Japanese community directly linked to the colonization and history of this city.

The exhibition presents a part of the collection of traditional Japanese Ningyos dolls, as well as masks, wood engravings, and utensils, such as trays and vessels. The exhibition has 63 works of art that are part of the Asian art collection comprising more than three thousand pieces donated to MON in 2018 by Ambassador Fausto Godoy.

Exposições itinerantes realizadas

Japanese Art in the MON Collection

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