The Brunei Gallery Shows Japanese Fans From the Ishizumi Family Colleciton

Written by James McManus Wednesday, 25 January 2012 22:52

London.- The Brunei Gallery at the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London is proud to present "Traditions Revised - Japanese Fans from the Ishizumi Family Collection " on view through March 24th. People usually perceive folding fans as simple implements to cool one-self. Collectors of antique folding fans see them as decorative art. This exhibition explores the history of the folding fan, its traditions and the culture of fans in Japan, from everyday items to cool one-self to communication tools, writing instruments, symbols of status, fine art and even weapons. During 18th and 19th Century Europe, ladies carried a folding fan in their daily life as a decorative and sometimes practical ornament with a variety of uses and secret meanings. Few art forms combine functional, ceremonial and decorative uses as elegantly as the fan.  Fewer still can match such diversity with a history stretching back at least 3,000 years.

‘Traditions Revised’ includes historical examples which laid the foundations for contemporary fan designs and intends to reintroduce this ancient medium to a new and wider audience and explore and rediscover the fan as a contemporary art form through these traditions. In order to revive fans as a canvas for artistic expression, Mr Kanji Ishizumi invited both English artists and Japanese artists living in London with Japanese artists in Kyoto to produce contemporary works on Japanese fans or a fan shaped canvas. Mr Ishizumi believes that a fan shape canvas or fan itself, as an art form is so unique that it can provide artists with a new way of expressing their thoughts. “In one sense a fan is a unique shape but in another sense it is completely portable so that an artist can bring it easily to anywhere to show their work.” Ishizumi & Co. Japan is a Japanese art fan making company established in Kyoto, in 1881 by Kisaburo Ishizumi I, currently managed by Mr Kanji Ishizumi, a sixth generation Japanese fan maker. In 2001 the Ishizumi family presented The Giant Fan made by the family in 1892 (213cm (radius) x 134cm) to The British Museum.


The School of Oriental and African Studies ( SOAS ) is a college of the University of London and the only Higher Education institution in the UK specialising in the study of Asia, Africa and the Near and Middle East. SOAS is a remarkable institution. Uniquely combining language scholarship, disciplinary expertise and regional focus, it has the largest concentration in Europe of academic staff concerned with Africa, Asia and the Middle East. On the one hand, this means that SOAS remains a guardian of specialised knowledge in languages and periods and regions not available anywhere else in the UK. On the other hand, it means that SOAS scholars grapple with pressing issues - democracy, development, human rights, identity, legal systems, poverty, religion, social change - confronting two-thirds of humankind. This makes SOAS synonymous with intellectual enquiry and achievement. It is a global academic base and a crucial resource for London. We live in a world of shrinking borders and of economic and technological simultaneity. Yet it is also a world in which difference and regionalism present themselves acutely. It is a world that SOAS is distinctively positioned to analyse, understand and explain. Their academic focus on the languages, cultures and societies of Africa, Asia and the Middle East makes the school an indispensable interpreter in a complex world. The Brunei Gallery builds on the work of the school by presenting the visual arts of those parts of the world that the school specialises in studying. It is an exciting venue in central London that hosts a programme of changing contemporary and historical exhibitions from Asia, Africa and the Middle East. The Gallery's aim is to present and promote cultures from these regions and to be a student resource and public facility. Part of Museum Mile, the Brunei Gallery is located on Russell Square opposite the main entrance to the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) and only a three minute walk from the British Museum . With the permanent displays in the Foyle Special Collections Gallery and the Japanese Roof Garden, The Brunei Gallery makes a stimulating haven in the heart of London. Visit the gallery's website at ... http://www.soas.ac.uk/gallery/

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