Local Interest: Japan Fest at NOMA

On Sunday, November 8 from 10am-4pm, the New Orleans Museum of Art will host a Japan Fest featuring Japanese traditional music, folk dancing and martial arts demonstrations, plus food, games, crafts and more at the Museum and the surrounding City Park grounds. The event is billed as "the largest annual celebration of Japanese culture in the Gulf South."

Japan Fest is free for Louisiana residents, and outdoor activities are free for everyone. Museum admission for out-of-state visitors is $8 for adults, $7 for seniors and $4 for children. For more information, please visit: http://www.noma.org/special.html.

Newsworthy: Cultural Diplomacy and Censorship

The Frankfurt Book Fair, the largest book trade event in the world, recently became the focus of controversy on account of a public tug of war between cultural diplomacy and censorship, and between China's status as the "honored guest" at the Book Fair and the simultaneous presence of Chinese dissident writers. The planning between the fair's organizers and Chinese publication officials had been in the works since 2006 and covered delicate topics such as whether or not political dissidents, government critics, or other controversial figures such as the Dalai Lama or Rebiya Kadeer could be present. The controversy began at a conference preceding the Book Fair, titled "China and the World — Perceptions and Realities," over the participation of two Chinese dissident writers. Despite the fact that the Chinese government relented on the issue of whether or not to allow dissidents and government critics to attend the Book Fair, German newspaper headlines proclaiming "China, the Unwelcome Guest" left members of the Chinese delegation feeling unfairly criticized and unwelcome.

An article about the Frankfurt Book Fair can be found here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/19/world/asia/19books.html?hp=&pagewanted=all

The official website for "China - Tradition and Innovation, Guest of Honor 2009 Frankfurt Book Fair" can be viewed here:

http://www.fbf2009china.com/frankfurteren/Index.html

Pop Culture: Over the Moon

In belated recognition of the Mid-Autumn Festival, traditionally celebrated on the 15th day of the eighth month of the Chinese lunar calender (celebrated this year on October 3), here are photographs of luscious mooncakes, the delicacies associated with the festival, from Flickr:

http://www.flickr.com/search/?q=mooncake&w=all#page=0

The Mid-Autumn Festival commemorates the autumnal equinox, when the moon is roundest and brightest, and was historically celebrated as a harvest festival. A legend associated with the festival is that of the valorous Hou Yi and his beautiful wife Chang'e. One variation of the tale posits that Hou Yi was an archer who shot down nine of the ten suns in the sky, thereby saving the earth's crops from being scorched by the extra suns. As a reward, Hou Yi was subsequently gifted with an elixir for immortality. However, unbeknownst to him, his wife Chang'e swallowed the elixir, which promptly caused her to float up to the heavens and onto the moon. Only on the days when the moon is fullest is Hou Yi able to visit his wife.

Therefore, eating the round delicacies known as mooncakes commemorates the reunion between Hou Yi and Chang'e. Mooncakes measure between 3-4 inches in diameter and are about 2 inches thick. They consist of a thin, dense crust filled with sweet fillings such as red bean paste or lotus seed paste. The skin is then imprinted with characters or decorative motifs. New-fangled mooncakes may be filled with green tea or coffee-flavored fillings, and even ice cream. Their popularity and ubiquity in China is such that they can even be ordered at Starbuck's alongside a cup of joe.

Arts Focus: Setting "Semele"

This is hardly new news, but the Chinese artist Zhang Huan has designed and directed a production of George Frideric Handel's (1685-1759) opera "Semele" in a project co-organized by Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie in Brussels and the KT Wong Foundation in London that commemorates the 250th anniversary of the composer's death. Zhang worked with an international team of choreographers, designers, and performers in order to realize the production that opened on September 8. It will then travel to China in 2010.

In the following interview, Zhang discusses the experience of working on the opera in addition to providing a behind-the-scenes view:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuGSHjVyXM8

An article about the opera can be found here:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/17/arts/17iht-LOOMIS.html?_r=1&ref=arts

Zhang's set designs for the opera touch upon universal themes of the encounters between gods and humans by using a Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) ancestral temple built of wood for the primary backdrop, which can be seen prominently in an image from the following article:

http://www.artdaily.org/index.asp?int_sec=2&int_new=32034

Moreover, his work on this project ties together his early excursions into performance art when he lived in the "East Village" of Beijing during the mid-1990s, and introduces yet another layer of interpretation, from ancient Greek myth to Baroque opera to the 21st century international stage.