The Art of Tokyo - film screening and discussion with Marianna Lázár Japanologist

With our invited guest this time, Dr. Marianna Lázár, assistant professor of the Department of Japanese Studies at the Károli Gáspár Reformed University, we will gain insight into the world of Japanese art. We will talk about the flourishing periods, the ukiyo-e style, tradition and modernity, and the starting point of all this, Tokyo.

Invited expert: Dr Marianna Lázár, historian, Japanologist

Moderator: Ágnes Harsányi-Kovács, art historian

Professional discussion: 30 minutes

After the discussion, the documentary film The Art of Tokyo will be screened.

The idea behind the remarkable temporary exhibition at the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, was to showcase the incredibly rich culture of 400-year-old Tokyo in an episode of Exhibition on Screen, entitled Art of Tokyo: From the fine woodcuts of Hokusai and Hiroshige, to pop art posters, contemporary photography, manga, film art and art made on the street today.

The documentary used the exhibition as a springboard to take us to Tokyo, where we can discover the city's vibrant art scene for ourselves. The hauntingly illustrated, richly data-driven film is a metropolis that has been constantly destroyed and rebuilt over its 400-year history, making it one of the most vibrant and exciting cities on Earth.

"My experience tells me that Japan has a different way of thinking about art, a different interpretation of art, than we typically have in Western Europe. They have a sense of art and a need for it in all the little aspects of life: the way they prepare their food, the way they garden, the way they dress... They have a much broader interpretation, they have a much broader definition of 'art'." /DAVID BICKERSTAFF/

English documentary, 90 min, 2023

director: david bickerstaff

Distributed by Pannonia Entertainment

Age limit: Not recommended for children under 12