Exhibition review of Katagami in Practice: Japanese Stencils in the Art School, Asia House, London, 10-14 April, 2018

摘要

This article is a review of an exhibition entitled Katagami in Practice: Japanese Stencils in the Art School, organized by the Museum of Domestic Design and Architecture (MoDA), part of Middlesex University. The final exhibition, at Asia House in London in April 2018, featured the work of four researchers and also involved Middlesex University students. The exhibition was the culmination of an 18-month research project which focused on MoDA's collection of Japanese katagami stencils, which date from the nineteenth century. These stencils have long held a fascination for designers, both for the technical brilliance of their cutting and for the stylization of the motifs. The project aimed to investigate the katagami from various angles and consider their role as pedagogical objects within art and design education both historically and in the present. Though short-lived, the project has a lasting legacy since research outputs have been made available online. The review points to the question of cross-cultural influences.