The author analyzes representations of Javanese music and dance by North Americans, namely opera singer Eva Gauthier, dancer/painter Hubert Stowitts, ethnomusicologist Mantle Hood, and composer Lou Harrison. He begins with a description of the first large-scale North American encounter with the cultures of Java through the Sundanese gamelan music performed at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago in 1893, then explores episodes in the lives of each individual that were most affected by images of Java and their significance for their self-fashioning, including the difference between their actual experiences and their representations. He describes how Gauthier used her limited experience with Javanese music to create a persona and act in America after a lukewarm reception in Europe; the role of Stowitts' homosexuality in the construction of aesthetics and masculinity in his dance and paintings; how Hood used Javanese music and culture to connect his dual interests in spirituality and scientific objectivity; and how Harrison utilized gamelan music in conjunction with his lyrical melodies, rational tunings, and emphasis on the autonomous composer as part of his stance against the conventions of mainstream music. Annotation ©2015 Ringgold, Inc., Portland, OR (protoview.com)