Japanese fashion: It’s more than meets the eye.

Conceived by acclaimed artist Hiroshi Sugimoto, this special exhibition spotlights the sculptural essence of contemporary Japanese fashion through the works of Rei Kawakubo, Issey Miyake, Yohji Yamamoto, and others. Debuting alongside the 21 innovative creations of these celebrated designers are four never-before-seen black-and-white photographs by Sugimoto that capture the garments’ shadows, lines, and fullness of form. 

On view exclusively at the Asian Art Museum, this is the first major exhibition to combine the collective talents of such leading Japanese fashion luminaries with new work by Hiroshi Sugimoto, one of today's most compelling artists.

The garments—borrowed from the Kyoto Costume Institute, one of the world's leading repositories of haute couture—date from 1983 to 2007, and include a range of materials and methods from various seasons...all "with textures, colors, and shapes worthy of definition as sculpture."

Win FREE tickets!

Click here to win a pair of FREE admission tickets to the museum.

Don't miss the concurrent special exhibition, Hiroshi Sugimoto: History of History, which juxtaposes Sugimoto's exquisitely minimalist works—selected from the photographer's past and most recent series—with fossils, artworks and religious artifacts ranging from prehistoric to the 15th century from his own collection.

Click below to listen to an interview of Hiroshi Sugimoto conducted at the Asian Art Museum on October 11, 2007

Sugimoto Podcast (audio only), 26.67 MB file | Listen | Help

All dates and times are subject to change; please call (415) 581-3500 for the latest updates.

BROCHURE

In an effort to respect and not distract from the sculptural aesthetic of the garments on view, the Asian Art Museum's installation will be sleek and minimal, with careful lighting to heighten the effect of the shadows, as in Sugimoto's photograhs. The garments will be presented on mannequins alongside the photographs in galleries uncluttered by wall text or labels. Therefore, a complimentary brochure will provide didactic information about the exhibition, the garments, and the designers, and will feature further examples of Sugimoto's new photography not included in the exhibition.

Public Tours

exhibition-related programs

tours
Public and Private Tours
Starting Friday, October 12 through Sunday, January 6, FREE public tours of Stylized Sculpture and History of History are available Tuesday–Sunday* at 10:30 am and 1:30 pm.

Private tours of the exhibition for groups of ten or more are also available for a fee. Click here for details and to download the reservation form.

*No public tours on Target Tuesdays (the first Tuesday of every month). Tour schedules are subject to change.    

The Face of Another, 1966

Tokyo Drifter, 1966

Film Series

Hiroshi Sugimoto Film Series: The Moving Image of Modern Art

Thursdays, October 18, 25, & November 8

6:00 pm

Samsung Hall

FREE with museum admission

Limited seating available on a first-come, first-served basis

Not long after photography was invented in the early 19th century, portrait painters, who proudly belonged to a long historical tradition, lost their market and their profession to photographers. By the end of same century, movies, which sequentially projected photographic images, were invented, but neither stage actors nor playwrights lost their jobs. Given the overwhelming realism of cinema, the obvious artifice of the stage only enhanced its artistic merit. People like what is obviously contrived. The Japanese films I have chosen are less cinema verite, more theatrical. The synergy of the artifice of photography and of the theater generate a three dimensional fiction. The more outrageous the fiction the more credible it becomes. No doubt this is how ancient myths were born.

–Hiroshi Sugimoto

Artist and photographer Hiroshi Sugimoto selected a series of films that influence and/or are influenced by contemporary Japanese visual art movements as part of Hiroshi Sugimoto Film Series: The Moving Image of Modern Art, originally organized and presented by Japan Society New York . All movies are projected digital video discs.

October 18: The World of Geisha (Yojohan fusuma no urabari)

Note: Due to sexual content this film is recommended for adults only.

(DVD, 1973, 72 minutes, color. Directed by Tasumi Kumashiro. Based on the story by Kafu Nagai. Written by Tatsumi Kumashiro. With Junko Miyashita and Hideaki Esumi.)

This film boldly attempts to transpose the eroticism and expressiveness of shunga (Japanese erotic art) to film. Based on an original tale by Kafu Nagai, banned for its sexual explicitness, Tatsumi Kumashiro, the leading director of the "Nikkatsu Roman-porno" genre, brilliantly succeeds in bringing shunga images to life.

October 25: The Face of Another (Tanin no kao)

(DVD, 1966, 124 minutes, black and white. Directed by Hiroshi Teshigahara. Written by Kobo Abe. Music by Toru Takemetsu. With Tatsuya Nakadai and Machiko Kyo.)

A man who has lost his face in an accident acquires another man’s face and a double life, through the ministrations of a plastic surgeon who is also a psychiatrist. Based on the novel by Kobo Abe, the film is scored by Toru Takemitsu and designed with the help of Arata Isozaki. The sculptor Tomio Miki created a mysterious interior mood, hinting at the plastic surgeon’s own instabilities. The artists who collaborated on this film all pioneered Japanese literature, music, art and architecture in the 1960s.

November 8: Tokyo Drifter (Tokyo nagaremono)

(DVD, 1966, 82 minutes, color. Directed by Seijun Suzuki. Written by Kohan Kawauchi. With Tetsuya Watari and Chieko Matsubara.)

In this visionary experimental film that explodes the yakuza film genre, Director Seijun Suzuki, working with his production designer, Takeo Kimura, devised the kind of overtly colorful sets, costumes, and dramatic lighting that ultimately led to his firing from the Nikkatsu Studio. The setting is Tokyo, 1966. The freeways, bullet train and Olympic Stadium are still brand new, reveling in the glory of 1960s Tokyo Modernism. Featuring a bloody gunfight between yakuza and the white-suited drifter Tetsu against an all-white minimalist background, this bracing film uses Modernism to explore the feudalistic loyalties of the yakuza world.

AsiaAlive - Suiseki

Asiaalive
The Japanese Art of Suiseki - Miniature Contemplative Stones
November 9–25, daily except Mondays
12 noon–4:00 pm

In celebration of History of History, in which contemporary artist Hiroshi Sugimoto juxtaposes his photographs with his personal collection of art and religious artifacts, the California Suiseki Society —with invited Japanese artists—presents an informal display of their suiseki (the Japanese art of collecting and displaying miniature landscape stones). Consider the shared concerns of collecting and display present in Sugimoto's work and the practice of suiseki. Explore and compare Sugimoto's approach to nature with that of the suiseki artists. Come and view the remarkable stones collected by the members and talk with them about this collecting passion. Create your own suiseki- or Sugimoto-inspired artwork using found objects collected by the staff.

AsiaAlive is a free, interactive, drop-in program for all ages, featuring live artist demonstrations, hands on activities, and videos and books on rotating themes.

Photograph by Hiroshi Sugimoto, 2007. Dress by Yohji Yamamoto, Autumn/Winter 1996. Wool felt, wool knit. Collection of the Kyoto Costume Institute.

LectureS & booksigning

A Historical Continuum: A Conversation on Japanese Art & Fashion with Hiroshi Sugimoto, Akiko Fukai, & Emily Sano

Thursday, October 11

7:00 pm

Samsung Hall

$10 with museum admission

Limited general seating. Tickets available online beginning September 11

Asian Art Museum Director Emily Sano leads a discussion with artist Hiroshi Sugimoto and Akiko Fukai, Chief Curator of the Kyoto Costume Institute. Sugimoto will be signing copies of the History of History catalogue prior to the talk, starting at 4:00-4:30 pm (exclusively for members). The booksigning will then open to the public at 4:30 pm.

Click below to listen to an interview of Hiroshi Sugimoto conducted at the Asian Art Museum on October 11, 2007

Sugimoto Podcast (audio only), 26.67 MB file | Listen | Help

Talk by Hiroshi Sugimoto on Hiroshi Sugimoto: History of History

Saturday, October 13

1:00 pm

Samsung Hall

FREE with museum admission

Limited general seating available

Sugimoto discusses the ideas and processes that went into organizing the concurrent special exhibition History of History.

Storytelling

Family Festival

family eventS
Storytelling
Every Sunday, 1:00 pm

First Saturday of the month, 11:45 am

FREE with museum admission

The Asian Art Museum Storytellers bring the galleries to life with the myths and folktales of Asia. Click here for more info.

Fall Family Festival: Art You Can Wear

Sunday, November 4

11:00 am-4:00 pm

FREE with museum admission

Kids 12 and under get in free!

Families throughout the Bay Area are invited to a fun-filled day of engaging activities at the Asian Art Museum’s Fall Family Festival. A museum-wide event that promises to delight and excite the imagination, the day will be chockful of activities that celebrate the clothing and textile traditions of Asia. Make a hanbok ( a traditional Korean dress), a Japanese samurai breastplate, and jewelry inspired by the statues in the Southeast Asian galleries. Try on clothing and have your face painted like actors in a kabuki play, and much more. There's something for everyone at the Asian Art Museum's family festival.

Click here for the day's schedule.

MATCHA, photograph by Jack Huynh/Orange Photography

MATCHA

SPECIAL EVENT
MATCHA: Photography, Fashion, & Film
Thursday, November 1

7:00 pm

Samsung Hall

FREE with museum admission (only $5 after 5:00 pm on Thursdays)

On first Thursday nights, head on over to the Asian Art Museum for MATCHA — the perfect way to unwind and get your monthly arts and culture fix. In November, dive into the heart of the vibrant Asian American film scene with interactive screenings, special filmmaker guests, and a sneak preview of the 26th San Francisco International Asian American Film Festival. See the creations of Issey Miyake and other renowned Japanese fashion designers in Stylized Sculpture: Contemporary Japanese Fashion from the Kyoto Costume Institute, or explore Hiroshi Sugimoto: History of History–featuring one of the most internationally-acclaimed Japanese artists living today.

Try your hand at a hands-on activity, join a conversation on the special exhibitions with assistant curator of Japanese art Melissa Rinne, and jump on a special guided tour of fashion in the permanent collection.

Click here for information on MATCHA.

Presented with the Center for Asian American Media.

Museum store

Members events

Members' Preview
Hiroshi Sugimoto: History of History
Stylized Sculpture: Contemporary Japanese Fashion from the Kyoto Institute
Thursday, October 11

3:30 pm–7:30 pm

Members can get a sneek peek at these special fall exhibitions before they open to the public.

Member Appreciation Day & Double Discount in the Museum Store

Saturday, November 3

10:00 am–5:00 pm

Members receive a special 20% discount in the museum store. The day also includes members-only docent-led tours, AsiaAlive, and more.

Group visits

Groups of 10 or more enjoy discounted admission to the museum, and can reserve private tours with our knowledgeable docents for a fee. Click here for more information.

Stylized Sculpture: Contemporary Japanese Fashion from the Kyoto Costume Institute was organized by the Asian Art Museum and the Kyoto Costume Institute; and curated by Kyoto Costume Institute chief curator Akiko Fukai, artist Hiroshi Sugimoto, and the Asian Art Museum, with the cooperation of Gallery Koyanagi and others. This exhibition is made possible by support from United Airlines, the Henri and Tomoye Takahashi Charitable Foundation, and the Phyllis C. Wattis Foundation. Media sponsor: 7x7 Magazine.