The public is invited to the following lecture. A 1,000 yen donation from non-members would be appreciated, but is not required.
Place: Seisen University (3-16-21 Higashi Gotanda, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo 141-8642, TEL: (03)3447-5551) (map in Japanese), which is about a ten-minute walk from Gotanda station. Turn left coming out of the barrier at Gotanda JR station. Take the road forking right, accessible via the footbridge. Keep going until you eventually pass a pizza and pasta restaurant, "To the Herbs." Take the next turning to the left and continue up the hill until you come to the university gateway on the left. The lecture theatre is approached from No. 1 Building behind the Conder House and is on a lower level; the route will be clearly marked. If you take a taxi from the station, insist on "SeiSEN Joshi Daigaku", not "SeiSHIN".
Information: ASJ Office
In his illustrated lecture Mr. Falconbridge will seek to draw attention to ways in which Asian thought and culture, especially Japanese visual and literary culture, have influenced, or have given licence to, visual culture within the European/Western context. He will refer to the work of a number of Western artists, both living and historical, as well as including more autobiographical elements to both illustrate and personalize his own interest and continuing involvement.
The title of his talk, which is deliberately ambiguous, implies a quality of contact which has a lightness of touch, and which may leave widely differing qualities and evidences of its action, dependent upon the receptivity and inclinations of the 'support'. It also implies an inevitable independence or separateness between the cultures, while seeking to explore shared ground and mutuality. In his talk he will seek to explore and comment on ways in which aspects of Asian culture have influenced Western artists, as well as referring to cultural reciprocity. He also says that he proposes the artist as "a cultural scavenger".
Mr. Falconbridge graduated from Goldsmiths College, University of London, in 1973, with an honours diploma in Fine Art. He then proceeded to the Slade School of Fine Art, UCL, receiving his diploma in 1975. In 1978 he started teaching at Goldsmiths College and was appointed Senior Lecturer in Fine Art in 1992; since 1997 he has been Head of Visual Arts. He also taught concurrently for a time at Eton College and at the Slade School. In 1994 he was elected an Associate Member of the Royal Society of British Sculptors, and was on the Council of the Society from 1995 to 1998; in 1997 he was elected a Fellow of the Society. He has had solo exhibitions of his work for over 20 years, and his works have been exhibited at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibitions every year since 1990. Other works of his are to be found in public collections in the UK and in private collections in the UK, USA, Canada, Japan and Taiwan.
Adapted from "The Asiatic Society of Japan Bulletin No. 5", May 2001, compiled by Prof. Hugh E. Wilkinson and Mrs. Doreen Simmons.
Return to the ASJ 2001 lecture schedule