Vietnam-based The Propeller Group at Carnegie Museum of Art, October 23 through March 21, 2016; Reception and Artist Talk on October 22.

The Carnegie Museum of Art will host The Propeller Group Reception and Artist Talk on Thursday, October 22, the day before the collective's exhibition at the museum begins.

Join Matt Lucero, Tuan Andrew Nguyen, and Phunam Tuc of The Propeller Group for a theatrical screening of their entrancing video The Living Need Light, the Dead Need Music (2014; 21 min.) in the CMOA theater. Following the screening, the artists will discuss their work-and connections between the Vietnamese brass band processionals portrayed in the video and New Orleans jazz funerals-with special guest Dr. Matt Sakakeeny of Tulane University.

The museum's website summarizes The Living Need Light, The Dead Need Music, which runs from October 23 through March 21, 2016.

The Living Need Light, The Dead Need Music is a spectacular visual and musical journey through the fantastical funerary traditions of South Vietnam.

Created by artist collective The Propeller Group, the video follows brass band musicians, spiritual mediums, professional criers, and street performers through the mournful and euphoric public ceremonies of a multi-day wake: a set of colorful rituals that resonate with funeral traditions in New Orleans and other parts of the “global south.”

Part documentary and part visionary reenactment, the video is a poetic rumination on life, death, and the stages in between. Ultimately, the work speaks across languages and cultures, amplifying a sense of cultural interconnection, and appealing to universal foundations of myth, storytelling, and mourning. Shot in ultra-high definition video, and produced with the technical sophistication of a Hollywood film, it immerses viewers in a lush and captivating dreamlike atmosphere.

The Carnegie Museum of Art is located at 4400 Forbes Ave. in Oakland (map).

1964 Japanese horror anthology Kwaidan (怪談) at Maridon Museum, October 23.

The Maridon Museum wll show the 1964 horror film Kwaidan (怪談) on October 23 as the third installment in this fall's Japanese film series. A 1965 New York Times review said of it:

"Kwaidan" is a symphony of color and sound that is truly past compare. It is also well acted in a technique of Japanese gestures by a large and orderly cast, the most conspicuous and memorable of whom is Katsuo Nakamura as the blind ballad singer. It is a film that commends itself mainly to those viewers who can appreciate rare subtlety and grace.

The movie starts at 6:00 pm, runs 183 minutes, and is presented by Dr. William Covey of Slippery Rock University. The movies in the series are free and open to the public, though reservations are required and can be made by calling 724-282-0123.

The Maridon, an Asian art museum, is located at 322 North McKean St. in downtown Butler (map), roughly 40 miles north of Pittsburgh.

"Mystical Arts of Tibet" at IUP, October 19 to 26.

Video from a 2011 event at IUP.

Indiana University of Pennsylvania will host "Mystical Arts of Tibet" from October 19 through 26.

From October 19 to October 26, 10 Tibetan monks will be in residence at IUP to construct a sand mandala (representation of the universe), carve a butter sculpture, put on three short performances of Tibetan chanting and dance, and give four lectures.

Visitors may also participate in the community sand art (using the same implements as the monks do when they construct a mandala) make a peace flag, color in mandalas, and help put together mandala puzzles. Unless otherwise noted, all events and activities take place in the HUB Ohio Room. All events are free.

A full schedule is available at the IUP Department of Religious Studies page.

"Storytime: Japanese and English" at Carnegie Library in East Liberty, October 20.

The next installment of the monthly program "Storytime: Japanese and English" will take place on October 20 at the Carnegie Library in East Liberty.

Celebrate our city's diverse culture as we explore new words through songs, action rhymes and stories in both English and Japanese. For children ages 2-5 and their parents or caregivers.

It runs from 11:00 to 11:30 am. The library is located at 130 S. Whitfield St. (map).

Kiku-no-hana (chrysanthemum) display at Phipps Conservatory Fall Flower Show, from October 17.

Phipps Conservatory will highlight the chrysanthemum and its significance in Japanese culture during this year's Fall Flower Show from October 17 through November 8.

[T]his year’s Fall Flower Show brings a new perspective to the season's famed chrysanthemums through the lens of Japanese horticulture. Join us for a spirited introduction to Kiku-no-hana, or Kiku, the Japanese name for chrysanthemum, as we showcase the unique ways the blooms are traditionally grown in Japan and their importance in Japanese culture.

The wonder begins in the Palm Court, which represents China, the chrysanthemum’s country of origin, with vibrant plants in shades of red and orange, massive origami cranes, metal ornate lanterns and flickering candles. The Serpentine Room winds through a gradation of white, yellow, golden yellow, orange and deep red mums, while the Sunken Garden overflows with cascade towers of chrysanthemums and undulating waves of wagasas, or Japanese umbrellas. More beauty awaits in the Victoria Room, where the Japanese royal crest floats in the tranquil pond, and the East Room, where orange and coral blooms surround an ornate bridge and lanterns.

Phipps is located on the west edge of Oakland in Schenley Park (map), is open from 9:30 am to 5:00 pm six days a week, and from 9:30 am to 10:00 pm on Fridays.

Jung-ho Kang on the cover of Korea's first The Red Bulletin.

via TVDaily.

The Red Bulletin, a "global men's active lifestyle magazine" started in 2009, launched in South Korea this month, and features Pittsburgh Pirates infielder Jung-ho Kang on its first cover. The cover story and interview is here, in Korean.

Chinese movie Goodbye Mr. Loser (夏洛特烦恼) at AMC Loews Waterfront, from October 16.

The 2015 Chinese comedy Goodbye Mr. Loser (夏洛特烦恼) will play at AMC Loews Waterfront from October 16. A summary, from the distributor:

Comedians Shen Teng and Mai Li star in this film adaptation of the very popular Mainland theater play following the story of a middle-aged loser who finds himself magically transported back to his high school years, enabling him to fix all his life’s mistakes.

The movie was released on September 30 in China. Tickets and showtimes are available at the AMC Loews Waterfront website. It will be the third straight week that new Chinese movies have had a timely release in Pittsburgh; Saving Mr. Wu (解救吾先生) and Lost in Hong Kong (港囧) opened on October 2, with the latter playing into next week. The theater is located at 300 West Waterfront Dr. in the Waterfront shopping complex in Homestead (map), across the Monongahela River from Greenfield, Squirrel Hill, and the rest of Pittsburgh.

2014 Zhang Yimou film Coming Home (归来) at Regent Square Theater from October 16.

The 2014 Chinese film Coming Home (归来), directed by Zhang Yimou and starring Gong Li, will play at the Regent Square Theater from October 16. A New York Times review from September 8 summarizes a bit:

“Coming Home,” only [Zhang and Li's] second collaboration in the past 20 years, reunites them in an intimate, politically resonant story set in the final years and the immediate aftermath of the Cultural Revolution. Ms. Gong plays Feng Wanyu, a teacher in a provincial city whose husband, Lu Yanshi (Chen Daoming), a professor, has been sent to a labor camp in a purge of “rightists.” Feng Wanyu lives with their teenage daughter, Dan Dan (Zhang Huiwen), a dancer who dreams of playing the lead in the ballet “The Red Detachment of Women.” Her father’s pariah status threatens her ambition, and she is eager to denounce him when local officials demand it.

Early in the film, Lu Yanshi has escaped and made his way home in a doomed and desperate effort to see his family again. He receives a mixed welcome. Feng Wanyu is both terrified and eager to be with him, while Dan Dan, who barely remembers her father, is worried about the disruptive effect his presence will have on her life. Her selfishness and shortsightedness, and her inability to sympathize with her parents or put aside her own needs are all perfectly normal. She’s an adolescent, after all. But in a time of political extremity, ordinary feelings and actions can have terrible consequences. Innocent people do not only suffer under a ruthless system; they become agents of its cruelty.

Zhang and Li partnered on several of the most acclaimed Chinese movies of the 1990s, including Ju Dou (菊豆), Raise the Red Lantern (大红灯笼高高挂), The Story of Qiu Ju (秋菊打官司), and To Live (活著).

The movie will be in Mandarin with English subtitles. Showtimes and ticket information are now available at the Pittsburgh Filmmakers website, with the first showing scheduled for Friday at 8 pm. The theater is located at 1035 S. Braddock Ave. (map) in the Regent Square neighborhood, east of Squirrel Hill and Oakland.

Attack on Titan: End of the World (進撃の巨人 エンド オブ ザ ワールド) at Hollywood Theater from October 20.

The second of two recently-released Attack on Titan live action films, Attack on Titan: End of the World (進撃の巨人 エンド オブ ザ ワールド) and will play at the Hollywood Theater on October 20, 22, and 27. A brief summary of the two movies, from Tech Times:

The movies are based on a popular manga and anime series of the same name, where humanity lives behind massive walls to protect themselves against the threat of massive man-eating giants known as Titans. The story revolves around a young group of men and women who enlist in their city's armed forces to drive back the Titans after a never before seen "Colossal Titan" breaches the walls.

Attack on Titan: End of the World was released in the US on September 19. Showtimes and tickets are available on the theater's website. 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.

"Musical Fusions: Chinese, Japanese, and American Intersections" concerts and symposia at Pitt, October 16 - 18.

The University of Pittsburgh's Department of Music will host two "Musical Fusions: Chinese, Japanese, and American Intersections" concerts and two symposia from October 16 through 18 as part of this year's "Music on the Edge" series.

The first concert, on October 16 at 8:00 pm in the Bellefield Hall auditorium (map),

features Ensemble N_JP performing works by Amy Williams and Toshi Hosokawa, traditional pieces for sho and koto, and the premiere of Systole, a music and video collaboration by Gene Coleman and Adam Vidiksis.

Composer Gene Coleman formed Ensemble N_JP in 2001 as a vehicle for his ongoing work with musicians from Japan. Through concert programs, multimedia works and educational projects, the group explores connections between contemporary and traditional forms of art.

The second concert, on October 17 at 8:00 pm in the Bellefield Hall auditorium,

features Music from China performing recently commissioned works by Chen Yi, Eric Moe, Huang Ruo and Wang Guowei. The program features new music for Chinese instruments alone—erhu, pipa, zheng, dizi—or together with cello and percussion.

Well-versed in the classical and folk repertoire, the Music from China ensemble is equally accomplished at interpreting the music of today using traditional instruments. Throughout its history MFC has featured both ancient and contemporary music in its concert seasons.

There are two symposia as well in 132 Music Building (map). The first, on the 17th from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm,

will include Naomi Sato (sho) and Naoko Kikuchi (koto) demonstrating their instruments’ uses in traditional and contemporary music, and composer Gene Coleman and video artist Adam Vidiksis discussing the Systole project.

And the second, on the 18th at the same time and place,

includes presentations by Music from China, and Huang Ruo and Eric Moe discussing their compositions.

Advance tickets for the concerts are available online and are $15 each for general admission and $10 for students. At the door, general admission tickets are $20. Pitt students with valid University of Pittsburgh student ID cards are free.