This lecture was so incredibly detailed and informative. I already knew most of the historical information about Japan including the Edo Period and the Shogun, the Tale of Genji, the Japanese Tea Ceremony, and the opening of Japan from my global studies, English, and art classes from sophomore year. Some new concepts revealed to me during the lecture were the third understanding of Japanese aesthetics: Yugen, and the writings of Jun'ichiro Tanizaki. Yugen is a concept related to Buddhist teachings and is a type of depth and mystery associated with beauty. Yugen is a graceful beauty seen in the sadness of human life and is often connected to otherworldly beings. Tanizaki was writing essays during the unrest in Japan in the 1930s that called for a rejection of Western culture and a return to old Japanese customs. His writing was very nostalgic, looking with melancholy, or Sabi (the second understanding of Japanese aesthetics), upon traditional Japanese architecture, materials, fashion, and practices. I find the idea of Wabi, Sabi, and Yugen to be so compelling and actually prefer these to the western ideas of beauty. I wonder how many times I have felt Yugen or Sabi and not associated my melancholy feeling with these ideas. If Tanizaki was looking nostalgically towards the past and felt like Japanese aesthetic was lost, I feel like he was only referring to Sabi and Yugen. If Wabi is an everyday, regular beauty, then shouldn't Wabi always exist even as ideas of "everyday" objects change? I am so excited to apply these parts of the three understandings of Japanese aesthetics to my paintings and I feel like I already have been including them to a certain extent. I certainly do not include the simplicity or melancholy emotion in my art, but I use the concept of imperfection a lot as a paint roughly textured repeated dollops of vibrant oil paint.
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Emma LindleyHi! I am an art student at Maggie Walker and I am so excited to share with you my thoughts, my art ideas, and my finished works. I hope you enjoy! Archives
June 2021
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