In honor of inductee Ichiro Suzuki, the first Japanese ballplayer to be inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame, the Art Garage will host “Samurai Baseball: a fine-arts-look-at-baseball,” through Sept. 13.
The show will present original works by 15 artists, several veterans of the storied fine-arts-look-at-baseball shows on Pioneer and Main Street in the 1990s and even some “inductees” the internationally touring exhibition, “Diamonds are Forever: Artists and Writers on Baseball,” according to a news release.
The preview opening will be from 5 to 7 p.m. Friday July 18, with another reception from 4 to 7 p.m. Friday July 25, to kick off Hall of Fame Induction Weekend. Saturday, July 26 the gallery will be open with extended hours starting at 10 a.m. and concludes with a special event reception 4-6 p.m. Special event to include autographing of various memorabilia, including copies of “Diamonds are Forever.” Copies may be reserved in advance. The exhibit will also be open from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sunday, July 27. The Art Garage will open every day of the week with an appointment.
The exhibition will feature a “quilt” of limited edition Japanese-woodcut and samurai-inspired art posters, complete with on-message Japanese lettering by Robert Seward, who lived in Japan for many years, the release stated. There he taught at Meiji Gakuin University and championed the work of an American authority on Japanese baseball, Robert Whiting, author of “The Samurai Way of Baseball,” whom he frequently invited to lecture at the university. Whiting’s thesis is that Japanese baseball is deeply intertwined with Japanese culture and societal values, making it distinct from the more individualistic and power-oriented style prevalent in the U.S. Per Seward, “In Whiting’s telling, there is a strong connection to the samurai spirit (bushidō) or the way of the warrior and represents the code of conduct and principles followed by the samurai during feudal Japan.”
Other artists/artworks in the show are Marcie Schwartzman, David Wilson, Ada Yonenaka, Steph Marcus, Charlie Bremer, Ashley Norwood Cooper, Carey Clark, Lavern Kelley, James Herman, Chuck Matteson, Marilynn Gelfman Karp, Mary Padgett, Jim Sullivan, Katharine Kreisher and Dennis Stahl.
Wilson’s video clips montage of found, astounding sword-brandishing “samurai baseball” incidents will “further enliven the display,” the release stated. Other than extended hours for Hall of Fame Induction weekend, the exhibition will be open from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays, and every day with an appointment: text/call 315-941-9607 or email leartgarage@gmail.com
A small grab-and-go section will include Ada Yonenaka’s stamped artwork as notecards.
Programs will begin in August and will include artists’ talks and panel discussions to include the samurai perspective, and an overview of the history of Cooperstown’s fine-arts-look-at-baseball exhibition series—Bases Loaded, Line Drives, Umpires of Art and so many others — which started in the 1980s and have been on hiatus since the late 1990s.
For images and info refer to FB/Instagram @ArtGarageCooperstown, email leartgarage@gmail.com, text/call 315-941-9607, or call 607-547-5327 during gallery hours.