Giant Robot Store and GR2 News
I'm curating an exhibition titled, Samurai! at Worcester Art Museum in Worcester, Mass. It begins in April and continues through September. I'm including some great folks, some newer to me and some not so new to me. This article lists, ...
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Worcester is pronounced “Woosta” in local dialect, yet everyone I met there seemed to be transplants who jokingly aspire to speak that way. There’s not much here on a short visit except historical buildings, associations with Paul Revere, Boston, and the reason I’m there, the Worcester Museum of Art. Their first contact with me was regarding an exhibition. A fellow named Adam Rozan, who’s been part of art establishments including OMCA (he left before SuperAwesome took place) contacted me with powerful enthusiasm. I wondered what could they possibly want with me, and it turns out they have the second largest collection of armor in the US next to New York’s Metropolitan Museum. A samurai show is looming on their horizon, a date set, but the exact concept? In progress. The Worcester Museum of Art is a grand space that’s a city block long. When you think of a museum in a “small” town of 180,000, which is the second largest city in New England after Boston, you wouldn’t think of something that’s akin to a county museum. Instead of focusing on perhaps the majesty of New England, the museum has a world wide focus. Antiquities, foreign objects, statues, rebuilt and relocated buildings, paintings from all eras and from the greatest masters, and more, this building was built in 1898 and has been remodeled and expanded over the years. It’s a serious museum that’s nearly out of place. Perhaps in 1898, Worcester was a metropolitan in the making and had the need to inform the people of the world’s triumphs. Today, it continues on it’s mission with a staff that feels strongly familiar. It’s a challenge to work on a project almost blind and with a staff you don’t know so well. Yet, I’m not sure how it happens, but for some reason, some of my best work comes in conjunction with larger institutions, born out of creative meetings and being on the spot. Sincere ideas jump out, and they’re backed with actual thoughtfulness and confidence. I don’t know where it comes from. Choosing meal plans are more difficult. The day began with a quick look at the exhibition space, which wasn’t so large, but in reality, is more than three GR2 spaces with a higher ceiling. Then we went into the collections department which are shelves of precious items. I saw weaponry including swords, helmets, guns, and armor. We walked in a group and asked questions, listened to explanations, and ended with a viewing of traditional wood block prints by Yoshitoshi. I hope to own one some day. The colors and iconography were beyond belief. We convened for hours, worked through lunch, and into the late afternoon thinking about the space and thematic concepts. Ideas were pondered and broken down, but overall, we came away with the foundation of the exhibition. I can now say that I’m proudly working on a project about samurai at the Worcester Museum of Art. I’ll try to honor the legacy and we’ll see how...
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The bad or even sometimes good guys who get split open in samurai movies get forgotten, but there’s one who’s been at it for decades and he’s still going. Some might think it’s easy to die with a sword, but evidently it’s not. He’s been killed on screen 50,000 times. Is that even possible? A charming story. (NPR – samurai)
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Lone Wolf and Cub acquired. Yes, is the lead going to be DeNiro? Will it be whitewashed? We hope not, but most likely it’ll end up being a dark haired non Asian. Perhaps it’ll be a half Asian. That said, Kotaku then published something funny. Not all films are whitewashed! They provide some examples. Plenty of it is classic Americana crap, and it’s mostly old. Oh well, we’ll see what happens to this classic manga and movies. Will this be an action packed samurai movie?
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