Exhibit chronicles Perry's voyage to Japan
"Black Ships and Samurai: Facing East, Facing West," an exhibition by Pulitzer Prize-winning author John Dower, the Ford International Professor of History and Shigeru Miyagawa, professor of foreign languages and literatures, is on view at Boston's Prudential Center.
The exhibition, commemorating the 150th anniversary of Commodore Matthew Perry's journey to Japan, includes scenic drawings and graphics created during Perry's 1853 visit that resulted in governmental relations between Japan and the United States. The works by both Western and Japanese artists represent three aspects of Perry's mission: the arrival of Perry's black steamships, encounters between sailors and citizens, and portraits of leaders, including Perry. Sponsored by MIT, the Japan Society of Boston and the Consulate General of Japan in Boston, the show is at the Huntington Arcade Winter Garden in the Prudential Center through May 15.
Interactive projection examines build-up to war
"Mechanism no.1:War," an interactive video projection by media arts and sciences graduate students Saoirse Higgins and Simon Schiessl, is part of a multidisciplinary arts project titled "Terrorvision," on view through July 31 at Exit Art (475 10th Ave. in New York). "Mechanism no.1:War" examines the critical moments leading to war. The visitor winds up a mechanical toy drummer boy with brass key, which releases "bombs" that drop to the beat of the drum. For more information, see http://www.exitart.org.
A version of this article appeared in MIT Tech Talk on May 5, 2004.
