Artist Minako Ota discusses and answers questions about “Spirits Among Us,” her exhibit of 25 yōkai paintings on view in the Reading Room, Thursday, May 14, at 6 p.m., at Princeton Public Library.
The talk will take place in the Community Room and light refreshments will be served.
Yokai are a diverse class of supernatural entities, spirits, monsters and ghosts in Japanese folklore. The exhibit is on view through June 26.
Yōkai painting is an important genre in Japanese art with a long history. From Heian-period tales and medieval picture scrolls to Edo-period ukiyo-e, people have visualized, depicted and passed down stories of unseen beings. In this body of work, she reinterprets yōkai through her own contemporary sensibility while drawing on traditional styles.
The accompanying texts for each piece introduce the background and origins of the individual yōkai.
On Sunday, May 17, the artist will conduct workshops where youth will learn the history of yōkai and create their own. The workshop for grades 3-6 will be at 1 p.m.; grades 7-12 will be at 3 p.m.
Registration is required through the library’s events calendar at princetonlibrary.org.
Teens age 13-19 are also invited to create an original piece of art inspired by yōkai for a fan art competition. All entries must be hand drawn on special paper supplied by the library and submitted by June 15.
An award ceremony will be held June 23. Participants may visit the third floor desk to pick up an entry form and contest paper.
