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June 10, 2014
Japanese Artisans to Sell Traditional Handicrafts on Lincoln Center's Josie Robertson Plaza, July 1-13
Lincoln Center Festival
PRESS CONTACT
Eileen McMahon, 212-875-5391
JAPANESE ARTISANS TO MAKE AND SELL TRADITIONAL HANDICRAFTS ON
LINCOLN CENTER’S JOSIE ROBERTSON PLAZA
JULY 1-13
June 10, 2014—To open a door onto Japanese culture with the return of Heisei Nakamura-za, Japan’s leading Kabuki troupe, to Lincoln Center Festival, Japanese artisans will create and sell their crafts in a Japanese Artisan Village on Lincoln Center’s Josie Robertson Plaza, July 1-13.
The Artisan Village which will offer handicrafts including wood-fired pottery and textiles, delicately fashioned dolls in kimonos cut from antique fabrics, fine cotton towels (tenugui), intricately painted hand fans (sensu), calligraphy, and hair ornaments (kanzashi), will be open daily from 12 noon until 8 pm Sunday through Thursday, and until 9 pm Friday and Saturday. Sales will be by credit card only.
The acclaimed Heisei Nakamura-za Kabuki troupe comes to Lincoln Center for its third appearance, with eight performances of a rarely-performed 19th century ghost story, Kaidan Chibusa no Enoki (The Ghost Tale of the Wet Nurse Tree), July 7-12, at the Rose Theater (Broadway and 60th Street). For more information and to buy tickets, visit LincolnCenterFestival.org or go to the Avery Fisher or Alice Tully Hall box offices, or call CenterCharge, 212-721-6500.
More about the Japanese Artisan Village
Each of the types of objects on sale at the Japanese Artisan Village holds a special place in Japanese cultural history. For example, dolls have a long tradition dating back more than 1,000 years of serving as a symbol for a newborn child, protecting him or her from illness. Even today dolls are conspicuously displayed twice a year, on March 3 (for girls) and on May 5 (for boys). When old dolls are discarded, memorial services for them are held at temples and shrines. The dolls sold by the artisans at Lincoln Center will be intricately constructed, using 74 separate steps, involving a body made of wood sawdust strengthened by rice glue, a head shaped by chisels, eyes made of glass, and many coatings to produce just the right sheen. Each doll is dressed in a tiny kimono made from antique kimono fabric.
Tenugui, or thin hand towels made of cotton, are especially relevant in conjunction with the Kabuki performances. In the past, Kabuki actors wore them as head coverings before wigs became popular and they are still employed as a prop to express sadness. Producing these towels involves three steps: a design is brought to a paper pattern artisan who transfers it onto special handmade carved paper; dyeing artisans then print the pattern onto rolls of bleached cotton cloth folded like an accordion, using a technique called “oritsuke chusen,” finally, the printed cotton is cut to become the length of the finished towel. Today, tenugui are popular gifts in Japan, displayed decoratively in picture frames, and used as napkins, placemats and scarves.
Japanese hair ornaments, or kanzashi, are another powerful symbol of Japanese culture. Finely crafted, sanded, engraved, embossed and brazed, some are sophisticated, some are simple, but every ornament tells a story. In addition to serving as fashion statements, they were also used as a defensive weapon by women, and were thought of as ideal gifts from men. Popular wisdom says that the more a kanzashi is worn, the more its patina is improved. Kanzashi are handed down in families as treasured heirlooms.
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Support for the Lincoln Center Festival 2014 presentation of Heisei Nakamura-za provided by:
Mitsubishi Corporation (Americas)
Mitsui & Co. (U.S.A.), Inc.
Sumitomo Corporation of Americas
Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ
Brother International Corporation
ITOCHU International Inc.
The J.C.C. Fund of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of New York, Inc.
Asian Cultural Council
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America, Inc.
Nippon Steel & Sumitomo Metal U.S.A., Inc.
Japan Steel Works America, Inc.
Programs and artists subject to change.
Lincoln Center Festival is sponsored by American Express.
Major support provided by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation.
Lincoln Center Festival 2014 is also made possible by the Polska Music program of the Adam Mickiewicz Institute, The Shubert Foundation, Robert and Helen Appel, Nancy A. Marks, LuEsther T. Mertz Charitable Trust, Mitsubishi Corporation (Americas), Mitsui & Co. (U.S.A.), Inc., Sumitomo Corporation of Americas, The Skirball Foundation, Larry A. and Klara Silverstein, The Harold & Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, Judy & Michael Steinhardt, The Katzenberger Foundation, Inc., Jennie and Richard DeScherer, The Grand Marnier Foundation, Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Brother International Corporation, ITOCHU International Inc., The J.C.C. Fund of the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of New York, Inc., The Joelson Foundation, Nancy & Morris W. Offit, Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater, The Peter Jay Sharp Foundation, Great Performers Circle, Producers Circle, Chairman’s Council, Friends of Lincoln Center, and One Anonymous.
Public support for Festival 2014 is provided by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the New York State Council on the Arts, and the National Endowment for the Arts.
Endowment support for Festival 2014 is provided by Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and Nancy Abeles Marks
Artist Catering provided by Zabar’s and Zabars.com
MetLife is the National Sponsor of Lincoln Center
Bloomberg is the Official Sponsor of Lincoln Center Summer Programs
Movado is an Official Sponsor of Lincoln Center
United Airlines is the Official Airline of Lincoln Center
WABC-TV is the Official Broadcast Partner of Lincoln Center
William Hill Estate Winery is the Official Wine of Lincoln Center
“Summer at Lincoln Center” is sponsored by Diet Pepsi
Time Out New York is Media Partner of Summer at Lincoln Center
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Since its inaugural season in 1996, Lincoln Center Festival has received worldwide attention for presenting some of the broadest and most original performing arts programs in Lincoln Center’s history. The 2014 Festival will have 49 performances. Entering its 19th year, the Festival will have presented nearly 1,322 performances of opera, music, dance, theater, and interdisciplinary forms by internationally acclaimed artists from more than 50 countries. To date, the Festival has commissioned more than 42 new works and offered some 139 world, U.S., and New York premieres. It places particular emphasis on showcasing contemporary artistic viewpoints and multidisciplinary works that challenge the boundaries of traditional performance.
Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (LCPA) serves three primary roles: presenter of artistic programming, national leader in arts and education and community relations, and manager of the Lincoln Center campus. A presenter of more than 3,000 free and ticketed events, performances, tours, and educational activities annually, LCPA offers 15 series, festivals, and programs including American Songbook, Avery Fisher Artist Program, Great Performers, Lincoln Center Books, Lincoln Center Festival, Lincoln Center Out of Doors, Lincoln Center Vera List Art Project, Midsummer Night Swing, Martin E. Segal Awards, Meet the Artist, Mostly Mozart Festival, Target Free Thursdays, and the White Light Festival, as well as the Emmy Award-winning Live From Lincoln Center, which airs nationally on PBS. As manager of the Lincoln Center campus, LCPA provides support and services for the Lincoln Center complex and the 11 resident organizations. In addition, LCPA led a $1.2 billion campus renovation, completed in October 2012.
Lincoln Center is committed to providing and improving accessibility for people with disabilities. For information, call the Department of Programs and Services for People with Disabilities at (212) 875-5375
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Lincoln Center general website: LincolnCenter.org
Lincoln Center Festival page: LincolnCenterFestival.org
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Lincoln Center Information Line: 212-875-5766
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