Jun Kaneko's self-titled exhibit brings big art to Crisp Museum

The Crisp Museum on Southeast Missouri State University's River Campus has hosted many unusual exhibits, and its latest will certainly make the list.

"Jun Kaneko" is a self-titled exhibition of the artist's work, showcasing a retrospective of his work in multiple media, including ceramic, glass, textile, bronze paper and canvas.

The exhibit opens today and has proven to be a challenge for the museum staff.

Kaneko's exhibit features a wide array of his work, and Peter Nguyen, Crisp Museum director, said some items are be more difficult to display than others.

"The difficulty has to do with some of the larger sculptures that we have," Nguyen said. "Because of their size, they tend to be a little heavy. There is one piece that is around 1,200 pounds, and the surfaces are pretty smooth, so there's really no place for people to put their hands around."

Nguyen said the piece "Untitled Head" is a head that sits on a table and is at least 5 feet tall. The sculpture is a ceramic piece that requires a special A-frame rig to move and place it.

Kaneko's exhibit has some canvases and other typical art mediums, but there are three pieces that will require special accommodations to display, like the special rig required by the "Untitled Head."

The exhibit also gives visitors a chance to see behind the scenes, with photos of Kaneko in the studio with some of his work. There are also text panels that explain the photos and art, giving the viewers more information.

There will be an Art Slam at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 21 at the museum to give viewers even more to talk about. The museum has previously held Art Slams, where two people with or without artistic backgrounds come together to discuss and debate the works, for the "Guild Hall: An Adventure In the Arts" and the "Ansel Adams: Masterworks" exhibits. The Art Slam is open to the public and attendees are encouraged to participate.

"This will be the first time we will have a three-person panel, and they will be discussing and debating [Kaneko[']s] work," Nguyen said.

The panelists for will be Benjie Heu, a sculptor and associate professor of art at Southeast; Stephanie Lynch, director of public relations and marketing with the Cape Girardeau Convention and Visitors Bureau; and Dr. Melissa Odegard, assistant professor of educational leadership and counseling at Southeast.

"It makes it interesting to have one person with an art perspective and then the others with an outsider perspective," Nguyen said.

Heu might be able to explain Kaneko's Dangos, free-standing sculptures that are rounded, vertical rectangular sculptures that resemble vases.

"'Dango' is a Japanese term for rounded form," Nguyen said.

Kaneko's work is on display in many museum collections, including the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Honolulu Academy of Arts and the Museum of Nebraska Art. Born in Nagoya, Japan, in 1942, Kaneko came to the United States in 1963 to study art at Chouinard Institute of Art in Los Angeles.

Kaneko has received honors from national, state and organization fellowships as well as an honorary doctorate from the Royal College of Art in London. The work will be on display at the Crisp Museum from today through Dec. 5. There will be a public reception from 4 to 8 p.m. Oct. 1.

CQ

Pertinent address: Crisp Museum, Southeast River Campus