Chirimen-bon, or crêpe-paper books, were a type of Japanese illustrated book produced between the 1880s and the 1950s and made with textured, fabric-like paper. They came into existence alongside textbooks for Japanese learners of Western languages, and often served as souvenirs for Western visitors to Japan. They covered a wide range of Japan-related topics—fairy tales, folklore, cultural traditions, holidays, festivals, performing arts, and scenes from everyday life—in English, French, German, Spanish, Swedish, Russian, and other languages.

 

Despite their unassuming appearance, chirimen books served as a crucial medium for disseminating knowledge during a tumultuous moment, as Japan, after more than two centuries of limited contact with the West, was rushing toward Westernization while also striving to establish a unique national identity. This exhibition introduces the history of chirimen books—their production and distribution, the stories they tell, the novel forms of international collaboration that brought them into being, and their enduring legacy—while also showing how they drew upon long-standing traditions from Japan and East Asia more broadly.

 

Curators: Haruko Nakamura and Yoshitaka Yamamoto

 

Above image: Detail from Miss Dulcie Harmony [Akiyama Aizaburō], Musical Japan. Tokyo: Akiyama Aizaburō, 1895. Gilmore Music Library

 

Unfolding Events: Exploring Past and Present in Artists’ Books

Artists’ books are a creative medium in which the conventional materials and approaches of book production—for instance paper and ink, graphically compelling combinations of illustration and text, and structures that invite exploration—are deployed and sometimes subverted to create tangible, interactive, surprising works of art. Some of the featured works in Unfolding Events: Exploring Past and Present in Artists’ Books invite viewers to imagine the voices of people and communities about whom little or no documentation survives; others share unique personal responses to the world we live in today. From the intricate opening of a locket, to embroidered fabric pages, bold calligraphic swirls, colorful landscape photography, and more, these books communicate documentary evidence and experimental perspectives in visually engaging ways.

 

Some of the artists draw on conventional primary sources—historical documents such as photographs, maps, and letters—as a point of departure to create works that are both richly imagined and deeply researched. Others record their own memories, experiences, and perspectives to create works that, in turn, will become new primary sources, enriching the historical record for future readers and scholars. Exploring past and present, the artists’ books in Unfolding Events reflect the power of the book form to share experiences, challenge assumed truths,and envision new futures.

 

Curators: Jessica Pigza and Bill Landis

 

Above image: Detail from Julie Chen, Panorama. Berkeley: Flying Fish Press, 2008. Special Collections, Robert B. Haas Family Arts Library 

 

Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, 9am – 7pm

Wednesday, 10am – 7pm

Friday, 9am – 5pm

Saturday and Sunday, noon – 5pm

 

Past exhibitions are listed below.