Asian Art

[Rob_Hugo@PortNW]

I am taking courses with Vanguard University. The fall and winter quarters were emphasizing American painters. Tonight, our instructor, Dr. Foster, began the spring series: Asian Art. He first told us that copies of art in Asian cultures are considered an honor. If you copied American art, we’d call it fraud. Asian art originated in China. It was transferred from one Asian culture to another by Buddhist monks. They took ideas like building designs, horticulture, medicines, not just religion from one culture to another. They spread these ideas from China to Korea, Japan, Cambodia, Laos and even India. In the pictures that were on display the monks in the pictures were depicted by the symbols of peacocks and roosters. The pictures were vertical and could be cut in pieces. Each piece could stand alone as a separate picture. Wood ducks and geese in the Asian cultures stand for the Chinese Buddha. These birds are monogamous, they mate for life. If one is shot or dies, the spouse will also die. This stands for happiness ~ together for life. Chinese paintings are often scenes of creation that can go on endlessly. Borders are used to end the picture. At the border, there might be people or objects cut in half symbolizing an end that would otherwise go on and on. DeGaugh used this idea of Asian art in his Ballet Dancers on a Stage, cutting figures in half as they came to the border and used vacant spaces, eliminating all but the essentials. The backgrounds of the paintings are all tea stained looking because they literally used tea or gold to stain the background. If gold is used, one ounce could be pounded out to cover one hundred square feet and be as light as a feather. There were four prints on display dealing with one major idea: the four seasons: Summer, Spring, Winter and Fall. The paintings are from the point of view of the worm on the ground or a bird in the air overhead. These are the only two perspectives. Learning this information was so helpful as well interesting. I can now have more appreciation of Asian art than say that is pretty or even just admire the skill. This takes Asian art to a whole new dimension of beauty and appreciation.

[Anonymous]

I enjoyed my first visit to the Huntington Library, so I went back and saw the "Treasures Through Six Generation" exhibit. It was a small percentage of the Weng Collection of Chinese painting and calligraphy. Weng Xincun who started the collection in the late 18th century was a tutor to two Qing emperors and so had the means and access to collect some very early works. The collection was kept safely by the Weng family for about 200 years and exemplifies the respect, responsibility, and loyalty to one's forebears that lies at the heart of Confucian values. The exhibit began with a handscroll from the early 13th century, and included a work by Wang Hui which shows 3,915 miles of the Yangzi River in 53 feet of scroll painted in the mid 17th century. The river is dotted with pagodas and palaces (which often look like fortresses) and begins in a beautifully depicted range of mountains. Many boats, farms, and markets are shown on the river which make this scroll an interesting perspective into life at the time. Additionally there are many examples of paintings with elegant calligraphy and poetry. All together an excellent teaching opportunity. I had a substantially deeper understanding and appreciation of what I saw thanks to our seminar. [Edit by="mseeger on Jun 13, 10:14:37 PM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the insight and the information. Since school is out soon, I am planning to hit the museums, and this will be the perfect opportunity. I really look forward to this exhibit, Huntington library rarely disappoints!

[Anonymous]

Now that school is out!!! I was able to make it down to the Huntington Library to check out their current exhibit. It showcased the art collection from the Weng family. This art collection has been in their family since the late 1700's when Weng Xincun (the family patriarch) started it. Some of the family members were artist themselves and contributed to it. It was a GREAT show. There was an amazing painting by Wang Hui where he depicts the Yangzi river in a scroll that is 53 feet long. I just stood in awe of this piece of art...it really depicted the Chinese style in a beautiful way. This exhibit was full of the poetry we learned so much about and had many pieces of calligraphy as well. There was a hanging scroll with the single character hu or tiger, this reminded me of the scroll in the movie Hero. There was even a "studio" part where you could create a piece of Chinese artwork. They had step by step instructions on how to create the Chinese characters. It was worth seeing and as usual the Huntington Library did not disappoint, they really do a wonderful job with their exhibts.

[Anonymous]

This afternoon I went to the Pacific Asia Museum in Pasadena. It was a wonderful opportunity to see so many aspects of East Asian culture and history that we had talked about in the seminar.
One of the first exhibits was a collection of Jade artwork from ancient China; this reminded me of our first lecture from Clay, but I have to admit that the pieces are much more impressive in person! I was surprised to learn that because jade is very hard, it cannot be sculpted; artists must wear it down using leather, bamboo, or other tools-- and in ancient China they were able to do this beautifully thousands of years ago!
Another aspect of the visit that stands out is an exhibit called "The Samurai Re-Imagined." This exhibit made connections between woodblock prints of Samurai during the Edo period and Manga and Anime today because both are based on subjects from earlier eras, and include exaggerations and novel experiences. It was really interesting to see some woodblock prints in real life after we had talked about them so much in the seminar, especially with Professor Pitelka.
Overall, this was a really interesting trip, and a great way to tie together so much of the knowledge I gained from this seminar!
-Karen

[Author]

Posts