By Casey Welsch
Japan is known for producing some pretty strange stuff in the realm of the visual arts. Strange at least by our culture’s viewpoint.

However, there is a particular visual arts movement that is taking America by storm; it’s called Pecha Kucha.

Pecha Kucha’s name comes from the Japanese onomatopoeia for “chit chat,” and that’s kind of what the movement is all about. It is not so much a style as it is an event.

Started in 2003 in Tokyo, Pecha Kucha nights are events that bring designers and creative professionals together under a simple premise: Each presenter gets 20 images and 20 seconds to talk about each image to make a point and spark discussion.

From its beginnings in Tokyo, the seasonal events have spread to 280 cities worldwide. Each successive event brings more and more interested presenters and attendees. Now Pecha Kucha is coming to Lincoln.

On Wednesday, The Bourbon Theatre (1415 O St.) will host Lincoln’s first Pecha Kucha night. The event will begin at 8:20 p.m. with free admission to adults.

Lincoln’s Pecha Kucha was organized by local graphic designer Amy Frerichs, who fell in love with the Pecha Kucha concept when she was living in Austin, Texas.

“The conversation is fast: It keeps moving and moving,” Frerichs said. “The outcome was amazing. I vowed that the only way I was moving back to Lincoln was to organize a Pecha Kucha event.”

Lincoln’s first Pecha Kucha night will feature 10 presenters from all areas of Lincoln’s visual arts community. Each will be given their 20 slides and their 6-minute 40-second time limit.

One of the presenters is UNL assistant professor of architecture Peter Hind. He is very excited about what he has to give and what he can take away from the event.

“I’m gonna talk a little about sustainability and making it something that you do every day,” Hind said. “I’m also going to talk about design and how it’s little things and not one big solution.”

Hind is intrigued by the base concept of Pecha Kucha presentations.

“I’m going to have to talk very fast,” he said. “You have words and images to get a point across. Some of mine I’m not going to say anything, I’m just going to let the pictures talk for themselves.”

Another presenter is Christopher Kingsley, the owner of Lincoln-based photographic virtual tour company Roundus. He says he is a little intimidated by the Pecha Kucha concept.

“That’s going to be the whole challenge,” Kingsley said. “To have to make a substantial point in a superfluous amount of time. I’m going to do what I can with my 6 minutes and 40 seconds.”

Kingsley’s presentation will be about the dehumanizing effect of technology.

“I know that’s a little ironic since I run a virtual reality company,” he said. “But I want to talk about this whole concept of people being worse people because of texting rather than calling, or Facebooking instead of even sending an e-mail and virtual worlds and all that. About how we can use technology to improve humanity rather than succumbing to it.”

Each presenter at Pecha Kucha night will have their own take on their own area of expertise, and the fun is in the way they have to present it.

“I hope just to learn something in general,” Kingsley said. “I’d like to get a deeper insight into what some of the people are saying. I look forward to seeing them in a different context.”

That’s the whole concept of Pecha Kucha: to teach and to inspire, and maybe to entertain a little at the same time.

“I think everybody’s going to love it,” Frerichs said. “It will inspire everyone to get out there and do something creative.”

caseywelsch@

dailynebraskan.com

Published: Monday, February 22, 2010

Casey Welsch

Daily Nebraskan