Edo Avant-Garde reveals the untold story of the vital role Japanese artists of the Edo era (1603 – 1868) played in developing “modern art.” During the Edo era, Japan prospered in peaceful isolation from Western powers, while audacious artists innovated abstraction, minimalism, surrealism and the illusion of 3-D. Their originality is most striking in images of the natural world depicted with gold leaf on large-scale folding screens that anticipate 20th century installation art. In groundbreaking interviews with scholars and priests, the film traces the artists' original visions to their reverence for nature, inspired by Buddhism and Shinto animism.

Please register here, and then a link to the Vimeo livestream will be sent to the registrant's email account.

SCHEDULE: 7:00 Introduction by Linda Hoaglund, 7:15 Edo Avant Garde livestream begins, 8:45 Discussion with director Linda Hoaglund.

If you have any questions, please contact asia@pitt.edu