Margan Pitelka Tue afternoon 8/5

[Anonymous]

To: vchiu

RE: "Why they turn their tea bowls 3 times at the tea ceremony?"

Reply:
It is your view and feeling to express that "It's nerdy."
But there is the reason for this refined style. I would like to explain this.
When the tea bowl is served, you see the front side of the tea bowl. Some tea bowls have a beautiful picture in front, and some do not. Some tea bowls have special glazes, patterns, and colors. You should not put your lip on the front side. Instead you should turn the front to the back. Then drink the tea from the undecorated back side. After you drank all of your tea, you should turn back the tea bowl to the original position where you see the front side, and compliment the tea. Then you are supposed to be attentive to the tea bowl, admire the beauty of the tea bowl. A gentle compliment by the guest regarding the tea bowl is normal part of the tea ceremony.

[Edit by="kirion on Aug 10, 10:25:07 PM"][/Edit]

[Anonymous]

I enjoyed everything we learned about the tea ceremonies as well. There were a lot of comments, maybe a little biased, about how the Japanese “ritualize” everything. I enjoyed learning that there is great meaning behind all of the “rituals” or details in the tea ceremony. Nothing is done for “nothing.” I appreciate the explanation for the details involved in “turning the bowl three times.” It just goes to show that in order to truly understand those who are different, who believe different things, who do different things, one must first dispel their own ideas of what is “acceptable” or “normal.” This is something that I want my students to understand and accept and appreciate. I am not sure yet how I can introduce the tea ceremonies to them, but I am working on it. We do read about the Boston

[Anonymous]

Pucone,

Funny you bring this up. I knew that tea ceremonies were important and that every step in the process is done with such exact precision and thoughtfulness. I was thinking of how to integrate this to my lessons on Asia and I remembered you mentioned reading Farewell to Manzanar in your class; I did too and I think it would be cool to maybe have our version of a Japanese Tea ceremony after the students read the book. We can make the connection of the importance that customs bring to who we are; sometimes students need to trace back to their roots and discover what their ancestors considered important. I think that putting together a questionnaire that focuses on customs and traditions will be a great link to introduce the students to the Tea Ceremony.

My grandma used to make "Xocolatl" hot chocolate and that is what I can use to tap into my student's prior knowledge on a subject.

What do you think?
Maria

[Anonymous]

Handmade Culture: Art in Daily Life

Prof. Pitelka first compared handmade Culture in China, Europe, and Japan. Then he went on to specialize the lecture on "Art in Daily Life in Japanese Culture". He lectured about the historical background of tea ceremony, related places, and historical figures. He used many photos of "Raku" ware on the screen, and showed us the important sections of the film: "Rikyu", and tea ceremony.

The characteristic of Raku tea bowls are their exclusive use of monochrome black or red galze-in marked contrast to the brightness on the san cai wares from which they evolved- and a unique aesthentic which aims at the elimination of movement, decoration, and variation of form.

"Ichi-go ichi-e" (一 期 一会) literally "one time, one meeting", a Japanese term that describes a cultural concept, and often translated as "for this time only" "one time, one encounter" "once in a life time". It is linked with famed tea master Sen no Rikyu. In the context of tea ceremony, "Ichi-go ichi-e" reminds us that tea meeting is uniqe. Although all the intricate movements or tea ceremony can be repeated, they are never the same. For the Japanese, each moment is unrepeatable and special in its own right. When you go to a tea ceremony or in the "tokonoma" at someone's house, you will see the calligraphy hunging: Ichi-go ichi-e.

I liked the film Prof. Pitelka showed us. I would like to purchase "Rikyu" for my class, and use it for teaching Japanese culture. The students will be able to compare Japanese culture with their own culture.

Suggested film: "Living Treasures of Japan" by National Geographic Society

[Anonymous]

Professor Pitelka based his lecture on the following key question: what is the connection between art and ritual? I find this idea fascinating to look at in terms of East Asian cultures, American cultures and on an even smaller level in terms of individual family cultures. You can generalize as to why people preserve old things but sometimes (including in the case of the Raku family) the answer lies in the family. People tend to want to look at the big picture when sometimes something as small as a family can tell us a lot about a culture.

I love the idea that Raku captures how culture/tradition both changes and stays the same at the same time. I see this same concept in different cultures and families throughout the world. Maybe this is an idea that ties all people together - connection to the past and simultaneous connection to the present and future.

[Anonymous]

Tuesday August 5th 7b afternoon session

Morgan Pitelka on Handmade Culture was quite interesting. I would love to get a copy of his book I think the name is as follows but if I have it wrong someone please correct me. What’s the use of art? or “art store” Handmade Culture.

Raku vessels and tea are important to study to know the culture of Japan (raku is globally accepted and tea masters are stinking rich). By the way there is a gallery in Carefree Arizonia that specializes in Raku, it is called Andora Gallery. Sorry I don't know the web address. I goggled it many years back. Check it out for a view of modern Raku.

I made notes on the slide show that he presented so that when I showed the kids I would have bit more knowledge.

So here are some notes cut and pasted for my interests:

[Anonymous]

Hi mstark

I liked your notes.
I found the answers for you:

(1) You wrote, "In the movie he is teaching Hereoshe to drink and make tea." The name of this historical figure is: Toyotomi Hideyoshi.

(2) You wrote, "Ito???"
The answer is: "Raku tea bowl named "Ito", attributed Raku Sonyu (1644-1716)

[Anonymous]

I found the lesson on Raku ( Japanese style) very interesting and was able to learn about the American style of Raku from conversation with one of the students in our class. The reading selection was also very informative and enjoyable.Being able to truly make something by hand that can be thought of as a valualbe work of art,is almost a lost art to today's students. The fact that the bowls are not precision made with symmetry in the glaze was amazing to me, as I would normally intrepret it as a "flaw". I also enjoyed learning the "less is more" Wabi style. I have very limited knowledge of art appreciation, so it was good to learn about the (intentional) empty spaces and to realize that the thinking that goes into a piece before it is even started is important. I saw some of this in the Chinese painted wall hangings on display at the Bowers Museum in Santa Ana recently. I have a feeling that there are many little things we have each internalized and we will reflect on the learning from our sessions in many more ways. We are apart from the classes, but the classes are a part of us now.

[Anonymous]

Knowing as much or as little as I do of the Japanese culture; Professor Pitelka's session was very informative. I have always found the very specific requirements for the tea ceremony somehow calming. It's as though, in the face of mind-bending speed-of-light changes in our lives and societal values, there is one thing we can count on, the unchanging beauty of a tea ceremony that our ancestors practiced. We can stop, sit down, and just watch something that was played out years and years ago, in the exact same fashion.

That, in itself, carries so much meaning. How many things in our U.S. lives do we have, about which we can make that statement?

So, that will be my writing prompt - and hopefully, I can arrange with the art teacher, who just moved into the classroom next to mine, to help the kids make some sort of Raku, maybe just representative papier mache, maybe even real red clay, who knows? After reading about it and hopefully watching a film about it, I'll ask the students to think about something in their lives that brings them peace of mind, that they would pass on as a ritual for generations to come. Really, I mean, think about it. The only thing I can come up with right now is maybe horseback riding. And only if we don't kill off all the horses. Actually, gardening, too. Mary, Susan, Kumiko, enjoyed your comments and agree with you. Thanks!

[Anonymous]

Kelly, I really have to agree with you about the lack of anticipation on my part prior to Prof. Pitelka's lecture. It seems quite intriguing, the whole tea ceremony tradition. The visuals he provided, as well as the film and his insight helped me understand how the ceremony was/is? completed. I am stil, however, trying to figure out the purpose for it? To drink tea? To contemplate beauty, life, existence? Why the ritual and how did it shape the Japanese culture?

[Anonymous]

Professor Pitelka's lecture (and accompanying powerpoint) was a highlight of the seminar in regards to the enhancement of my own curriculum. I had always found tea ceremony as somewhat inaccessible to high school students; while they were able to grasp the general concepts, and a few had even had some experience with the ceremony either in San Diego or abroad, how many students were actually engaged by a discussion of the ritual? The failing there was my own as an instructor. Now, with the history of raku, tea ceremony, and even Japanese cultural landmarks, I am able to add a new dimension to my students' understanding of the role of art and ritual in Japan.
Ginkakuji, the "Silver Temple," was a landmark that I've overlooked many times in my travels around Kyoto. I had no idea that the muted aesthetic, designed by Ashikaga Yoshimasa, was the point of the thing! I had always compared it unfavorably to the Golden Pavilion. But the emphasis on natural wood (rather than the predictable silver foil) and the masterful arrangement of rocks, ponds, and plants gives me cause to pursue a more in-depth look at the structure and surrounding grounds.
One of the best stories of the two weeks: Rikyu and his denial of the hospitality offered to him. Classic affront to the wabi! Something to recall as autumn is just around the corner-

[Anonymous]

Art in daily life is rarely recognized as "art" until it's gone. Then we stick it with the moniker "folk art" and try to save what renowned practitioners are left and preserve their skills. I was working in Appalachia and Bluegrass Kentucky documenting examples of the production and use of wooden articles, rakes, shovels, mallets, ladles, scoops, looms, baskets, etc., what the antique collectors usually call "treen," when the Foxfire movement came along providing new impetus for the preservation of these ways. It couldn't have come at a better time for that part of America was fast disappearing except for a few folk art museums and some local festivals.

Morgan Pitelka's presentation, "Handmade Culture: Art in Daily Life," dredged up those old memories and reminded me of the fragility of the everyday. His discussion of Raku pottery immediately reminded me of National Geographic's documentary The Living Treasures of Japan which I screen in class every year. The Japanese government has tried to preserve or revive many of the ancient everyday or not-so-everyday arts and encourage artists whom they call "juuyou-mukei-bankazui"-living national treasure.

One of the documentary's sequences concerned Arakawa Toyozo, since deceased, but, at the time, one of the greatest living ceramic artists in Japan. While hiking in the hills, he found a ruined kiln with pottery sherds the likes of which had not been seen for over three centuries. He rebuilt the small kiln and set out to rediscover the means of making "Setoguro" or black Seto ware. I literally cringed when I saw Arakawa pull a brightly, incandescent cup from the kiln and plunge it into a bucket of water; I thought surely the quenching would explosively shatter it into tiny shards, but the lustrous coal black glaze that emerged was a thing of wonder and beauty.

Arakawa's kiln was built into a hillside taking advantage of the natural draft as it climbed the hill. I remembered another kiln somewhat like it that also took advantage of a small vertical rise. In a momemt of pure serendipity, I stumbled across it checking the transfer of a film from VHS to DVD. Ugetsu Monogatari has a great sequence of the protagonist, Gerjuro, a potter, producing his ware from the wheel to the firing.

Check both of these out. The Living Treasures of Japan is packed with unbeleivable artistry and workmanship, while Ugetsu send shivers down my spine every time I see it. By the way, of tea that is, the tea ceremony is done well in the mini-series Shogun, and there is also a special section on the DVD. All three can be found at Amazon.com and I believe Treasures is still available from National Geographic.

[Anonymous]

After reading many of your posts, I think I understand tea ceremonies a bit better. Thanks Connie for your insight.

I'm really thrilled by the idea of having students create their own Tokonoma. Simplicity is the goal and to have students identify what defines them, at that moment, would really make them stop and "drink the tea." I would want to make sure and show them several scrolls to they would understand that a simple thought can say a million words. At the core of my curriculum is the Essential Question: Who Am I? What Makes Me Who I Am? This activity will absolutely incorporate this thought. I wonder if I could get kids to sip tea in silence as we observe all the projects that were turned in? Simulating the tea ceremony, to the best of my ability, will help me and my students better understand the purpose of it.

[Anonymous]

I teach geography and it is basically Introduction to Social Studies. I think teaching about the tea ceremonies can be a great way to teach about the significance of ritual in culture. I know the tea ceremony is in Japan but highlighting the importance of tradition and ritual in tea ceremonies is a great way to lead into why the "Cultural Revolution" in China was so devastating. The break down of a culture is devastating.

[Anonymous]

Tuesday afternoon and tea, how wonderful. I've got some great new terms to throw around and incorpoate into my own life, like: raku, wabi, and tokonoma. I love that concept of the tokonoma also the staggered sheleve with some scholarly works artistically placed; my only problem is I love them too much and have something like that ever 3 feet in my classroom and my house. The idea of simplicity and restraint in decore is a hard on for me to incorporate into my life, although I love to view it.

The tea ceremony, I love it, I'am going to try it in my classroom, I'll let you know what happens. More than that I really like the concept of tea master. I now like to think of myself as a mataphoric tea master instead of teacher as in invite my students into my room and serve them knowledge of course they are quiet and introspective as they take in what I serve. It's a goal to strive for anyway. 😛 [Edit by="lgates on Sep 25, 1:11:22 PM"][/Edit]

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