Nineteen college students from UA Little Rock’s School of Art and Design spent two immersive weeks this summer time finding out modern Japanese artwork and tradition in Tokyo and Kyoto.
Led by Professors Michele Noiset and Clark Valentine, the Could 19-30 study abroad journey supplied hands-on experiences with calligraphy, tea ceremonies, temple structure, and trendy artwork museums. The journey inspired college students to mirror on the intersections of custom, know-how, and visible storytelling.
“For me, the spotlight was the cultural experiences,” mentioned Clark Valentine, assistant professor of drawing. “Collectively, we visited quite a few temples and shrines, every giving us helpful insights into Japanese historical past. These experiences helped us construct a story of historic Japan whereas additionally seeing how our contemporaries are partaking with that historical past right this moment. We had 19 college students from our program take part, which made it much more significant.”
Funded partly by the Ann Maners and Alex Pappas Research Overseas Fund, this system emphasised sketching, journaling, and cultural commentary. College students have been requested to determine a single facet of Japanese tradition that stood out to them, which they’ll translate into illustrated journals and podcasts of their upcoming coursework. A few of their work is on show on the third flooring of the Windgate Middle of Artwork and Design.
“The chance to journey to Japan was an unbelievable journey,” mentioned Noiset, assistant professor of illustration. “Our college students have been impressed not simply by the artwork and structure, however by how respectful and clear the cities have been. It was an unforgettable expertise for all of us.”
The UA Little Rock college students who went on the journey embrace Jerry Anderson, Jason Bongfeldt, Savannah Brinkley, Scarlett Clements, Jacia Gilbert, Madelyn Corridor, Emma Huey, Courtlyn Jenkins, Leianna King, Ariana Langley, Macey McLaughlin, Rocio Pantoja, Harlowe Phillips, Megan Rouse, Virginia Singleton, Jessie Steppe, Landon Tabor, Stormie Thirion, and Alexandro Vazquez.
The group’s busy itinerary included visits to the Tokyo Nationwide Museum, Mori Artwork Museum, and the Kyoto Worldwide Manga Museum, in addition to historic websites just like the Meiji Shrine and Kiyomizu-dera Temple. College students participated in a calligraphy workshop, practiced the standard tea ceremony, and even attended a Maiko efficiency within the Gion district.
“One exercise that actually stood out for me was the Worldwide Manga Museum we went to in Kyoto,” mentioned Leianna King, a senior illustration main from North Little Rock. “To me, it was simply so good to see how one thing like manga—typically thought-about a ‘decrease artwork type’ within the U.S.—was revered sufficient to be housed in a museum.
King, who hopes to turn out to be a kids’s ebook and graphic novel illustrator, was struck by the mixing of nature with city areas in Tokyo.
“Essentially the most memorable components of this journey for me have been simply the surroundings of Tokyo itself,” King mentioned. “I cherished how flora interacts with the town. Regardless of being in a serious metropolitan space, vegetation have been all over the place: rising on the partitions of buildings and protecting fences. I used to be simply memorized by merely looking of the practice home windows, seeing the whole lot from the cityscape to the mountains and rice fields.”
For graphic design pupil Virginia Singleton, the journey served as each a inventive recharge and a deep lesson in cultural nuance.
“Navigating Tokyo’s rail system sharpened my instincts for intuitive design,” mentioned Singleton, who plans to launch a contract branding studio after commencement. “And issues just like the tea ceremony bolstered the significance of pacing and ritual. My future model work can borrow that very same conscious choreography to create memorable person experiences.”
Singleton additionally discovered worth within the small moments, like getting ramen with classmates late at night time or seeing Hokusai’s “The Nice Wave off Kanagawa” in individual.
“It’s these sensory particulars—the odor of temple incense, the grain of handmade paper—that follow me,” Singleton mentioned. “They’re going to form how I design transferring ahead.”
Regardless of their diverse creative pursuits spanning illustration, design, images, and storytelling, every pupil got here away with a deeper understanding of Japan’s steadiness of high-tech innovation and centuries-old traditions.
“Each exercise taught us one thing about intention and respect,” Noiset mentioned. “Whether or not it was mark-making in calligraphy or bowing at shrines, the experiences gave college students a brand new lens for his or her inventive work.”
