An art exhibit has come to town to display the artwork and craftsmanship of Japan during the 1920s through the 1940s called Deco Japan. It features works from ornaments and pottery to paintings and postcards. This exhibit is sponsored by the Chrisholm Foundation, E. Rhodes, and the Leona B. Carpenter Foundation. Many events will be held and present in partnership with the New Mexico Japanese Citizen League and the Japan America Society of New Mexico. 

The exhibit displays not only the artwork for the Deco time period, but the social tensions as well. The subject of many artworks in the exhibit are on the independence, liberalism, and what can be considered similar to a Japanese flapper period. It shows the lifestyle of Japan changing from influence from New York and Paris. Many artworks display women smoking out of odalisques. Others display the materialistic culture of Japan through household items and ornaments. 

Sunday, February 8th, the museum had a community celebration that featured a taiko drum performance, traditional Japanese dance, and an ikebana demonstration. On Thursday, February 21, the museum held another culture exhibition which allowed people to experience the Jazz age and get up and dance. Upcoming events in March and April include a discussion with the curator, Opera music from 19th century Japan, folk tale performances and a scavenger hunt, traditional Japanese music and Jazz, and a tour of the Japanese Botanical Garden.

For more Information and exact dates check out this PDF of events.

Check out our photos at the museum and videos of Japanese performances from the opening on February 8th!

PHOTOS          VIDEOS

All photos and videos by Melanie E Magdalena are licensed under Creative Commons-NonCommercial-Sharealike 3.0 (CC BY-NC-SA 3.0)

Outside of air to breathe, what is the one commodity that all human beings need to survive? What is the one thing necessary for growing the crops that feed us? What is essential for both food and beverage? The answer, of course, is water. And because it is so vital to our health and wellbeing, it makes sense that water has been the impetus for war on many occasions throughout history. Here are several noteworthy conflicts that arose due to concerns over water.

America’s Dust Bowl of the Great Depression

In the 1930s, the United States experienced not only a drastic drop in the economy, but a weather phenomenon that caused a massive drought across the country’s heartland. As dust storms instead of rain storms swept across the plains where the majority of grains were grown, it caused both soil erosion for the land and extreme poverty for the farmers who lost their crops. In desperation, many of these Okies (farmers from Oklahoma and the Midwest) pulled up stakes and moved to California, where they were not warmly received. In fact, they were called “inferior” and “Communists” while being subject to beatings and the burning of their shanties. The Los Angeles police department was ordered to stop more Okies from coming into the state in 1936 in order to prevent further crimes against the farmers who were merely seeking water.

Japan and China, 1938

Not long thereafter, the Japanese invaded the neighbouring country of China. Resourceful Chinese used water to fend off their attackers by destroying dikes. The compromised dikes flooded the lands, preventing Japanese troops from advancing. Although this was an effective defence tactic, it also ended up killing tens of thousands of Chinese civilians who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. The Japanese, not to be outdone, used water in war, as well. They poisoned Chinese wells with typhoid and other types of dangerous bacterium as retaliation.

The Ganges and Indus Rivers, 1975

Bangladesh, India and Pakistan have long been in disputes over the waters of the Ganges and Indus Rivers along the borders of those countries. In the mid-1970s, Bangladesh, which had a growing population but few resources, was particularly vulnerable to geographic catastrophes such as soil erosion and flooding. India and Pakistan built a barrier in order to divert the flow of the rivers away from Bangladesh. This caused salt water to take the place of the fresh water and devastate a good deal of the small country’s natural resources while leaving its people to suffer. It is estimated that some 35 million residents of Bangladesh were adversely affected by the lack of fresh water, causing many of them to migrate to India. That in itself resulted in numerous deaths due to conflicts based on differences of religion, culture, ethnicity, and more. Even today, there are many conflicts brewing over the control of, or lack of, water throughout the world. Water is a precious commodity and one that many people will do anything to obtain. There is no doubt we will continue to experience water wars in the future.

About the Author

Damien Higgins writes for the UK's No.1 bottled water cooler supplier, Eden Springs. Try an Eden Springs water dispenser in your home or office for fresh, cool water all day long.