Lectures by Yun-fei Je, Ryoji Ikeda at CMU School of Art this semester.

A 2009 DATA.TRON exhibition, by Liz Hingley.

The Carnegie Mellon University School of Art announced its Spring 2015 Lecture Series today, with Yun-fei Je and Ryoji Ikeda of most relevance to this site. Je is scheduled for February 24, and Ikeda for April 7. The School of Art profiles the former:

Yun-Fei Ji’s art addresses social change and geological climates using the political forum of the scroll, an ancient art form of ink and mineral pigment on silk and paper. In 2002, he made his first reference to the theme of mass displacement and environmental cataclysm in Three Gorges Dam Migration, a series of woodblock-printed hand scrolls depicting flooding and social upheaval triggered by the creation of the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River.

And the latter, whose installation "DATA.TRON" was in Pittsburgh from July 12 through September 8, 2013:

Ryoji Ikeda focuses on the essential characteristics of sound itself and that of visuals as light by means of both mathematical precision and mathematical aesthetics. He has gained a reputation as one of the few international artists working convincingly across both visual and sonic media. Ikeda elaborately orchestrates sound, visuals, materials, physical phenomena and mathematical notions into immersive live performances and installations. His albums +/- (1996), 0? (1998), and Matrix (2001) have been hailed by critics as the most radical and innovative examples of contemporary electronic music. Currently, Ikeda is working on cyclo, a collaborative project with Carsten Nicolai.

Pitt's Japanese Culture Association New Year's party, January 13.

The Japanese Culture Association at the University of Pittsburgh will host a New Year's party on January 13 from 9:00 pm in room 232 of the Cathedral of Learning.

明けましておめでとう！！Happy New Year!! Come celebrate the new year with us...Japanese style! We will be having red bean soup, mochi, and hot cocoa! Hope to see you there!

Lecture "Korean Art after the Korean War" at Pitt, January 15.

Dr. Joo-eun Lee of Konkuk University in Seoul will present a lecture "Korean Art after the Korean War" at the University of Pittsburgh on January 15. The University Center for International Studies provides a summary:

This lecture aims to investigate the direction of Korean art of the past half century, through observing the trends in modern Korean history. It will briefly cover the social and artistic background of Korea in the 1960s to 2010s. The core issue that is pursued by the art of today is ‘communication.’ The reason behind the popularity of artworks that carry the meaning of breaking barriers between artistic genres, overcoming prejudices among people, and destructing regional boundaries is all for the sake of smoothening out communication. By introducing some influential Korean artists of these days that turned to the everyday culture after experiencing epic changes on a national level, what the present era is trying to express, as well as the situation it is facing, is discussed.

The talk begins at 2:00 pm in 4130 Posvar Hall (campus map).

Tadao Arimoto.

"Alter Table for a Chapel ----- walnut, bent laminated walnut" by Pittsburgh-based woodworking artist Tadao Arimoto. Arimoto, who moved to Pittsburgh in 1976, was honored as a Master Visual Artist in 2013 by the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts.

Rei Chikaoka's "Release" is part of a touring exhibition titled Emerge/Evolve at the Pittsburgh Glass Center in Garfield (map) through January 18. Writes the City Paper today:

With just over a dozen artists and typically one work from each, Emerge/Evolve provides only a quick glimpse into contemporary glass work. But it's a glimpse intriguing enough to lead the viewer to search out more and give a longer, closer look.

The Search for General Tso at Hollywood Theater in Dormont, from January 9.

The Hollywood Theater in Dormont will show the 2014 documentary The Search for General Tso from January 9 through January 12 and on January 14. The Search for General Tso, says the official site,

is a feature-length documentary tracing the origins of Chinese American food through what is arguably America’s most popular takeout meal––General Tso’s Chicken.

Anchoring the film is an upbeat quest, through small towns and big cities across America and beyond, to understand the origins and popularity of Chinese American food and its top-selling dish. Who was General Tso? And why do nearly fifty thousand restaurants serve deep-fried chicken bearing his name?

Using this Americanized dish and its mysterious mastermind as a lens onto a larger story of immigration, adaptation, and innovation, the film follows a lighthearted journey, grounded in cultural and culinary history, through restaurants, Chinatowns, and the American imagination. Visits to present-day Chinese restaurants spark forays into the past, guided by chefs, scholars, and the occasional opinionated customer. The film’s lively soundtrack and shadow-puppet animations contribute both whimsy and momentum, as viewers find they’re on a search to answer a deeper question: how did America’s Chinese food become so… American?

The theater is located at 1449 Potomac Ave. in Dormont (map), and is accessible by Pittsburgh's subway/LRT at a block south of Potomac Station. Showtimes and tickets are available at the theater's website.

Free language courses at Carnegie Library in Oakland resume this week.

As the new year begins, a reminder that the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh has free Korean, Japanese, and Chinese classes at its Oakland branch (map). Depending on the class and the particular volunteer teacher, the sessions range from a period of casual free talking to more rigorous class with workbooks and chalk-and-talk instruction on grammar and usage.

Here's a look at what's coming up, in order of proficiency level:

* Chinese for Beginners (next meeting: January 11). Held the second and fourth Sunday of the month from 3:30 to 4:30 in the Large Print Room.
* Chinese II (next meeting: January 4). Held the first and third Sunday of the month from 3:30 to 4:30 in the Large Print Room.
* Chinese Conversation Club (next meeting: January 8). Held the second and fourth Thursday of each month from 6:00 to 7:00 in the Large Print Room. For intermediate and advanced learners.

* Japanese for Beginners (next meeting: January 12). Second and fourth Monday of the month from 6:30 to 7:30 in Classroom A.
* Japanese II (next meeting: January 13). Second and fourth Tuesday of the month from 6:30 to 7:30 in Classroom A. "Japanese II is geared toward those who already have a basic understanding of Japanese and are interested in increasing proficiency," says the library website. "Ability to read and write hiragana is required to take this class."
* Japanese Conversation Club (next meeting: January 6). Held on the first and third Tuesday of the month from 6:00 to 7:00 in the Large Print Room. For intermediate and advanced learners.

* Korean for Beginners (next meeting: January 3). Every Saturday from 1:00 to 2:30 in the Large Print Room. Focuses on reading Hangeul and producing basic phrases.
* Korean II (next meeting: January 3). Every Saturday from 11:00 to 12:30 in the Large Print Room.

Students may join the class at any time of the year, though registration is now required for many of the classes. This can be done online by clicking on the class and submitting your name and email address. For more information about the courses, and to register for one, visit the Carnegie Library of Pittsburgh homepage, click events, and search for Chinese, Japanese, or Korean.

Unsanitary conditions found at New Yung Wah's McKees Rocks warehouse.

An October inspection by the Food and Drug Administration revealed unsanitary conditions at a local warehouse of a distributor for Asian restaurants, writes DailyFinance.

Among the findings in the inspection of the company's McKees Rocks, Pennsylvania, warehouse:
* A rodent's nest with multiple rodents in a plastic-lined box in a cooler that had thawing rib meat on top of melons.
* Four dead rodents.
* Birds flying throughout the warehouse.
* A pallet of pineapples in boxes gnawed on by rodents, an apparent nest they made and rodent feces.
* Rodent feces in a cooler.
* A path of rodent feces leading to a hole in a bag of flour.
* Rodent feces, urine and nests in and around bags of monosodium glutamate.
* Workers smoking while handling food being prepared for distribution.

The full warning letter sent to the Brooklyn-based New Yung Wah Trading Company is available on the FDA website.

Japanese Sword Dance performance by Tadashi part of First Night Pittsburgh on New Years' Eve.

From Tadashi's website.

A Japanese Sword Dance will be one of many performances in downtown Pittsburgh on New Years' Eve as part of First Night Pittsburgh. The performer, Tadashi Kato, will present "a sword dance based on the mixture of traditional Japanese martial arts and American modern dance." A fuller profile on Tadashi is available at his website. He most recently performed in Pittsburgh at Kennywood's Asian Day last May.

There are two free performances scheduled at Pittsburgh CAPA School: 6:45 to 7:00 pm, and 9:00 to 9:15 pm. The school is located at 111 9th St. (map) in the Cultural District.

Pitt graduate putting Japanese skills to use for Asahi Shimbun.

In December, the Snapshot newsletter of the University of Pittsburgh's School of Arts & Sciences profiled Joelle Metcalfe, a 2011 Pitt graduate using her Japanese skills to cover the UN for the Asahi Shimbun:

A self-proclaimed "foreign policy junkie," Metcalfe is a staff reporter for the major Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun, covering its United Nations beat. This means Metcalfe—who graduated magna cum laude from the Dietrich School of Arts and Sciences in 2011 with a BA in East Asian Languages and Literatures and a minor in political science—has had to become a generalist proficient in a broad array of international issues. Right now, hot topics include Syria, Palestine, the Central African Republic, the Ebola epidemic, Yemen, South Sudan, Iraq, and Ukraine.

"As someone who had been concentrating solely on northeast Asia for the past couple years, I had to learn fast about the recent events in the Middle East and Africa and get on top of the history behind these issues while the crises were still unfolding," says Metcalfe. "It may sound hectic, but I enjoy keeping fresh on different issues at a rapid pace."