Art History II Ch' 25

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Art History II Ch. 25

• Japanese Art after 1392

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• How is a screen painting (Japan) different from a
  hanging scroll (China)?

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Fig. 25-2 Bunsei, Landscape, Muromachi Period,
mid-15th Century, hanging scroll, ink and light
colors on paper, 29 high

• Muromachi ink painting monochrome black/gray
  reigned supreme
• Zen-like subtlety in the Muromachi period
• Zen Buddhism enlightenment is sought through
  introspection and intuition
• Chinese-inspired landscape
• Bunsei was a student of the first great master of
  the ink landscape, Shubun.
• A poet sits in a hermitage a secluded retreat.
• two land masses separated by a void
• The empty paper reads as water.
• The two land masses echo one another as nature
  echos the human spirit in Japanese art.
• serenity, Zen, poetic

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Fig. 25-3 Sesshu, Winter Landscape, Muromachi
period, c. 1470s, ink on paper, 18 high

• Zen-like subtlety in the Muromachi period
• In the early 1500s, monks concentrated on art
  instead of religion or teaching (big demand for
  art). A monk named Sesshu travels to China and
  is influenced by nature and Chinese professional
  (court) painters. It appears he had no access to
  Chinese literati artworks while there. He later
  claimed he learned nothing from Chinese artists,
  but only from the mountains and rivers he had
  seen.
• one lone figure in a large war-torn landscape
• Muromachi period (1392-1568) ceremonial shogun
  power, northern and southern Japan reunited. See
  p.852
• The Onin wars devastate Kyoto during the
  Muromachi period. F. 25-3 reflects this.
• The empty paper reads as snow.

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Fig. 25-4 Ikkyu, Calligraphy Pair, from
Daitoku-ji, Kyoto, Muromachi period, c. mid-15th
century, ink on paper, each 103 high

• Muromachi calligraphy
• Zen-like subtlety
• Ikkyu was a monk and a genuine eccentric. He was
  a famous Zen master during its established
  period.
• traditional forms treated freely
• spontaneity, each stroke is distinct at the top
  (beginning) then it becomes frenzied at the
  bottom (end)
• The couplet says Abjure (reject) evil, practice
  only the good.

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Fig. 25-5 (Sub.) stone and gravel garden,
Ryoan-ji, Kyoto, Muromachi period, c. 1480

• (Muromachi Zen dry garden) This period was the
  only time an entire culture was strongly
  influenced by Zen.
• a Zen creation, known for empty space and
  meditation (serenity). 15 asymmetrically placed
  rocks in a long rectangle of white gravel. This
  idea will influence "modern" western art. Land
  and sea? animal forms? or just rocks and gravel?
• asymmetrical balance, meditative, serene space of
  emptiness
• Zen Buddhism appealed to the samurai. It is the
  dominant force of the Muromachi Period
  (1392-1568). Zen enlightenment through
  meditation (Buddhism).
• John Cages quote from caption

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Stone and gravel garden, Ryoan-ji, Kyoto,
Muromachi period, c. 1480
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Momoyama period (1568-1603) stability and
creativity! It must have been a good time to be
an artist. See p.856
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Fig. 25-9 Honami Koetsu, Teabowl, called Mount
Fuji, Edo period, early 1600s, Raku ware,
3.375 high

• Edo Period The Tea Ceremony allowed people of
  different economic classes to have a common
  activity to discuss the rebuilding of the
  temples.
• Every utensil is appreciated for aesthetic
  qualities.
• The Japanese admiration for the natural and
  asymmetrical is seen here in Mt. Fuji.
• Korean-style farmers rice bowl a sign of a
  heterogeneous (diverse) culture became the
  epitome of refined taste.
• The imperfect shape, tactile qualities,
  ergonomics, shape, texture, and previous owners
  all add to a teabowls beauty.
• Raku hand-built, low-fired ceramic
• Cha no yu or "tea ceremony" promotes manners and
  cooperation among classes. Humble character is
  sought and taught! See p. 858 - 860.

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How do you think our contemporary U.S. culture
could/would benefit from the Japanese Tea
Ceremony?
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• Explain raku pottery as if to someone who knows
  nothing about it.

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• Explain raku pottery as if to someone who knows
  nothing about it.
• A type of ceramic pottery made by hand, coated
  with a thick, dark glaze, and fired at a low
  heat. The resulting vessels are irregularly
  shaped and glazed, and are highly prized for for
  use in the Japanese Tea Ceremony.
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vj5gpu5ynCxg

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• How can a ceramic artwork be functional? In
  your opinion, does functional pottery equal
  lesser art? Why or why not?

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• How can a ceramic artwork be functional? In
  your opinion, does functional pottery equal
  lesser art? Why or why not?

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Kano Eitoku, Fusuma depicting pine and cranes
(left) and plum trees (right), from the central
room of the Juko-in, Daitoku-ji, Kyoto, Momoyama
period, c. 1563 - 73
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During which period was Japan closed off from the
rest of the world by its suspicious government?
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During which period was Japan closed off from the
rest of the world by its suspicious government?

• Muromachi, 1392-1573
• Momoyama, 1568-1615
• Edo, 1615-1868
• Meiji, 1868-1911
• Taisho, 1911-1926
• Showa, 1926-1989
• Occupation, 1945-1952
• Heisei, 1989- present

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During which period was Japan closed off from the
rest of the world by its suspicious government?

• Muromachi, 1392-1573
• Momoyama, 1568-1615
• Edo, 1615-1868
• Meiji, 1868-1911
• Taisho, 1911-1926
• Showa, 1926-1989
• Occupation, 1945-1952
• Heisei, 1989- present

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• Fig. 25-10 Tawaraya Sotatsu. Pair of six-panel
  screens, known as the Matsushima screens. Edo
  period, 17th century. Ink, mineral colors, and
  gold leaf on paper each screen _at_410 high
• The first great painter of the Rimpa school
  (decorative, expressive and diverse media)
• Wealthy Edo (1603-1868) merchants bought screens
  (like this), scrolls and prints. (patronage)
• depicts islands of Matsushima
• asymmetrical, stylized (gold clouds) and abstract
• The mottled island below is a Rimpa Specialty

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Fig. 25-12 Uragami Gyokudo, Geese Aslant in the
High Wind, Edo period, 1817, ink and light colors
on paper, 12 high

• Edo period, Nanga School
• Edo is now known as Tokyo
• Edo society four social classes samurai,
  farmers, artisans and merchants. The merchants
  eventually control wealth and power ( talks).
  Mercantile (trading) economy. See p.859.
• Edo Japan was closed off from the rest of the
  world by its suspicious shogunate government.
• New Confucian atmosphere led some to aspire to
  Chinese literati ideas.
• Individualist Confusionists
• Gyokudo, a musician, was interested in musical
  meditation to commune with nature and his own
  inner spirit.
• He resigned from his hereditary samurai post to
  wander Japan for 17 years.
• His work was not appreciated during his lifetime.
  (Themes too strong?)
• The spirit of Rimpa artist of the Nanga school
  (Edo) is "nature in uncontrollable by man." It
  is perhaps better understood now than in its own
  time.
• layers of calligraphic brushwork

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Fig. 25-15 Suzuki Harunobu, Geisha as Daruma
Crossing the Sea, Edo period, mid-18th century,
color woodcut, 11 high

• Collaborative Ukiyo-e prints made in black ink
  then later colored by hand (women and kabuki
  actors are subjects). See p. 866
• Ukiyo-e prints sold by peddlers or stores to all
  economic classes. Ukiyo-e "images of the
  floating world," transitory, peaceful, enjoyable
  life.
• Ukiyo-e prints immortalized Edo Geishas or
  courtesans. These images of women are compared
  to Buddhist deities because they gave men a
  feeling of ecstasy (enlightenment).
• Kabuki actors (no women allowed) were another
  favored Ukiyo-e subject.
• Ukiyo-e prints influenced Europeans in the late
  1800s, Hokusai and Hiroshige especially. Prints
  are cheaper than paintings (commoners). See f.
  25-1
• Secondary meaning in Ukiyo-e prints
  Geishas/courtesans Buddhist deities/teachers.

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25-1 Katsushika Hokusai, The Great Wave, from 36
Views of mt. Fuji. Edo Period, c. 1831.
polychrome woodblock print on paper 10 high

• Briefly summarize the Japanese woodcut process as
  if to someone who knows nothing about it.

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25-1 Katsushika Hokusai, The Great Wave, from 36
Views of mt. Fuji. Edo Period, c. 1831.
polychrome woodblock print on paper 10 high

• Briefly summarize the Japanese woodcut process as
  if to someone who knows nothing about it.
• Three people, at least, produce these.
• The artist, the carver and the printer

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Ogata Korin, Laquer box for writing implements,
Edo period, late 17th-early 18th century, laquer,
lead, silver, and mother-of-pearl

• What is lacquer?

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Ogata Korin, Laquer box for writing implements,
Edo period, late 17th-early 18th century, laquer,
lead, silver, and mother-of-pearl

• What is lacquer?
• A type of hard, glossy, surface varnish used on
  objects in east Asian cultures, made from the sap
  of the Asian Sumac or from shellac, a resinous
  secretion from the lac insect. Laquers can be
  layered and manipulated or combined with pigments
  and other materials for various decorative
  effects.

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Shoin architecture influenced upper-class living
spaces (great refinement in the Momoyama period)
. Proportional room areas (bay modules of floor
and ceiling) expressed in terms of numbers of
tatami mats (3' x 6' each). Shoin residences
(upper economic class), asymmetrical. See p.860

• Tokonama display niche, Shoji translucent
  rice paper on wood frames, Fusuma sliding doors
  (painted or textured)

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Japanese appreciation for ceramics is evident
today. See f. 25-17
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25-17 Miyashita Zenji, Wind, 1989. Stoneware 22
high

• Flower vase, could be used in the tea ceremony
• Many potters make a comfortable living by making
  art ceramics, an opportunity not available in
  other countries.
• The artist uses a cardboard (armature) and torn
  paper to create irregular shapes.
• modern form, yet traditional subject nature

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• Which artist from this chapter lives and works in
  New York and Japan and fuses anime, manga and
  ukiyo-e?

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Takashi Murakami, Magic Ball (Positive), 1999,
94 high

• Which artist from this chapter lives and works in
  New York and Japan fuses anime, manga and ukiyo-e?

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The End