Was the Boston Museum of Fine Arts guilty of Orientalism?
Over the summer of 2015, a controversy broke out at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts (MFA). The MFA is one of America’s premier art museums and it holds one of our finest collections of Japanese art. 
The controversy centered on “La Japonaise,” a famous portrait painting by the French impressionist Claude Monet that is held in the museum’s permanent collection.
Monet completed this in 1876, depicting his wife Camille dressed in a luxurious Japanese kimono. The MFA used an exact copy of this kimono that was commissioned by the Japanese state television, NHK, and invited visitors to the museum to put on the kimono and pose in front of the painting, which hangs in its French Impressionist gallery. This quickly drew protests from Asian-American and other activists, who charged that the MFA was encouraging a demeaning racial/cultural stereotyping (“Orientalism”). In an unusual move, the MFA backed down and removed the dress-up invitation.
The dispute was reported in the Boston Globe on July 7, 2015. Here is the article by Malcolm Gay.
For your first writing exercise, I want you to read this Boston Globe article about the controversy and compose a brief response to the following question:
Was the MFA guilty of Orientalist stereotyping in creating the “Kimono Wednesdays” dress-up in front of Monet’s “La Japonaise” painting?
Your response should be about 250 words. I presume that you did not see the original MFA exhibit itself nor do you need to do further research beyond this Boston Globe article. Your response should state what you see to be at stake in the dispute, which side you support, and the reasons for your choice.
This exercise is due in class on Thursday, September 10, and we will debate the question then.
This is a brief initial exercise to get you thinking and writing about some of the questions that underlie this course, and as I say above, you do not need to read more than the above article to compose your response. However, if you are intrigued by the controversy, a useful (and thoughtful) blog that provides much background is HERE. This blog refers to Katy Perry’s controversial “Unconditionally” performance at the 2013 American Music Awards ceremony. You can view a clip of her performance HERE.
The full statement by the original protest group, “Stand Against Yellow Face” is HERE. The Boston Globe published an Op-Ed essay by Mia Nakaji Monnier on July 10, 2015 HERE
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