“JAPAN 15” is curated by Matt Jarosz, Senior Lecturer and Director, Historic Preservation Institute, School of Architecture and Urban Planning.
This exhibition is cosponsored with the Historic Preservation Institute and the Milwaukee Preservation Alliance. For more information about this exhibition, contact AUP Gallery Curator Kyle Reynolds.
“Japan is a sort of accordion of history, a long compressed concertina where the past is very close to the present”
Philip Theil
JAPAN 15 is a collection of drawings, photographs, and essays created by students of the Japan foreign study program at SARUP. The material exhibited represents a cross section of the many techniques used to uncover and understand the essence of this 1000 year old culture. The Historic Preservation Institute at SARUP works with several Japanese Universities to create a curriculum of activities centered on traditional materials and techniques. The challenge presented to the students is to determine what that essence is and how it appears in contemporary Japanese building construction and city planning.
Our approach to learning is simple – engage in ‘hands-on’ workshops focused on traditional construction technologies at different heritage sites. Understanding these basics, even if in a cursory way, provides us with the fundamental metrics for evaluating their presence and effect on contemporary Japanese fabric. As we understand the role of tradition in Japanese construction, we become more sensitized to the impact and potential of heritage as an architectural tool in our own culture.
