Lee Love on wed 9 jul 03
Clay? / Japanese market position (long)
----- Original Message -----
From: "Longtin, Jeff"
>
> Question: Why don't we recognize that the political/social climate in Japan
> may have contributed to the status of the arts there? The arts that
> flourish/ed there are not the arts of individualism/democracy but more the
> product of a repressed social atmosphere. In other words, if you, as a
> citizen, do not have the right to speak your mind, let alone raise your
> voice, maybe you would appreciate artifacts that are similar in style, i.e.
> artifacts that don't obviously state their opinions, but rather, do so
> quitely, much like a pot.
Actually Jeff, "fine art" is appreciated at a higher level here
too. This appreciation is not limited to crafts. The aesthetic fostered by
tea is easily applied to fine art. One reason being, that there was never the
artificial division between art and craft in Japan. It is just that the
appreciation of crafts here is so great, that it really stands out in the face
of modern Western culture's turning its back on it.
Also, you should understand, that Japanese culture does not exactly fit
the "non-individual" stereotype. People do state their opinion. And if
you examine Zen, it is primarily an individualistic approach to spirituality.
Within it, there is no dependence on someone outside of yourself for spiritual
salvation. It is accomplished by jiriki, "self power." The tea aesthetic
is based on Zen and the creative perspective in Japan is based upon tea.
Part of the Western "in your face" approach to modern art, I believe, is
related to its roots in propaganda and colonialism. The binding religious
tradition handed down to us from the Roman Empire is one that proselytizes the
dominant culture's values and inflicts them upon the culture that is being
assimilated into the empire. We do this unconsciously and this is why people
around the world have difficulty with the society we promote. The founders of
Mingei were very aware of Western cultural imperialism.
Did you know that the founders of the Mingei movement were first
attracted to western Art before starting the folkcraft movement? Yanagi's
Shirakaba group was initially drawn to the works of William Blake and also the
work of Whitman and the Post-Impressionist. They once send the sculptor
Auguste Rodin Japanese prints and Rodin was so please with the gift, that he
sent the group three of his sculptures as a thank you. The Shirakaba group
held an exhibition of Rodin's sculpture and the show included the prints and
pottery of Bernard Leach. This occurred before Hamada began studying pottery.
They did not have difficulty moving back and forth between art and craft.
Their choice to focus on craft was primarily to preserve traditional indigenous
culture, that was quickly being replaced by Western culture following the
opening of Japan after the Meiji era.
It must be recognized that the Mingei movement was not limited to
preserving traditional Japanese art and craft, but was applied to the broader
vision of preserving all traditional art and craft in all cultures. It was a
movement in response to cultural imperialism.
> To state that the arts are better appreciated in Japan maybe true, to a
> degree, but I do think the type of art being appreciated needs to be taken
> into account.
Not "to a degree", but absolutely. It is difficult to miss the
higher level of appreciation here. Many types of "art" are appreciated in
Japan.
>
> Perhaps the reason why art appreciation in Japan differs from art
> appreciation in the western world may also involve not so much the art
> literacy of the viewer, but rather, the willingness of the viewer to allow
> others to make artistic judgments on their behalf. In democratic societies
> individuals are taught to repect their own voice, respect their own
> judgments. With such an attitude one might be less inclined to "follow" the
> judgement set forth in a work of art,i.e. the viewer might be more willing
> to say "that's crap" and less willing to allow an artist the opportunity to
> say "consider this as art".
Last time I checked, Japan _IS_ a democratic society. But if you are
talking about the roots of creative appreciation, it might be more accurate to
view the rise of the merchant classes, and the creation of "leisure" both in
Japan and Europe. The Renaissance was supported by the merchant class in the
16th century and in the culmination of the way of tea occurred during the 17th
century, with the rise of the merchant class in Japan. This was also a time
in both cultures, where education and literacy was expanding. Of course,
originally, in both cultures, the church/temples, the Emperor/Shogun,
Kings/Daiyamo and wealthy merchants were the first to promote the work of
artists. This happens in all societies in the world and is not dependent upon
democracy.
If anything, what is a little strange in the history of art,
and unique to our time, is craftless, narcissistic expression. It is not a
product of democracy, but of self indulgence.
If there is a problem in Japan, it is that the young people might
not be able to continue in the appreciation of art and craft as has been done in
the past. They are being won over to our Western style perspective and don't
value their history and tradition. But the whole world is becoming homogeneous
in this way. If we are not careful, every place in the world will be just like
every other place. We will only be able to see our rich cultural diversity in
museums and in the historic record.
Viva la difference!
--
Lee Love
Mashiko JAPAN Ikiru@hachiko.com
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