Final Examination Question

Please identify and explain two or three of the greatest difficulties American students face when they study non-Western art. Then explain how a serious and dedicated student can attempt to overcome these difficulties. 


Please base your answer on discussion of at least two specific works (or types of works) from the course.


Open book, open note.  No web access, however.  

Indigenous Australian Art 2

Elizabeth Nyumi Nungurrayi.  =Parwalla= (2003)

=Parwalla= detail

"Contemporary Indigenous Australian Art" at Wikipedia

"Icons of the Desert"
Exhibition Site from the Johnson Museum (Cornell)

"Lands of Enchantment"
Exhibition Site from the National Museum of Women in the Arts (Washington DC)

"Contemporary Aboriginal Painting from Australia" 
Exhibition Site from the Metropolitan Museum of Art (NY)

Indigenous Australian Art 1

To begin, we'll look at Ancient Rock Art Sites & Styles in Arnhem Land (Northern Territory)

Helpful Links & Articles include:

• "Indigenous Australian art" at Wikipedia
• "X-Ray Style in Arnhem Land Rock Art" at the Timeline of Art History

and these sites about Kakadu National Park:

• Kakadu National Park Visitor Guide
• Rock Art Sites in Kakadu National Park
• Seasons of Kakadu
• Kakadu National Park at Wikipedia

Japan: Contemporary Art

Photo of Takashi Murakami by ~FacelessRebel at deviantart

Naturally there are many, many contemporary Japanese artists worthy of attention.  Here are some links to a few of them.

To start with, there was a famous exhibition at the Asia Society in NYC called "Little Boy" in 2005; a 2007 exhibition at the same place called "Making a Home" was also very interesting.

Probably the most famous contemporary Japanese artist is Takashi Murakami. There's a Wikipedia entry with some useful links.  His page at Kaikai Kiki, the art company he founded is also useful, as is this page from an exhibition at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA) in Los Angeles.  (There are tons of YouTube videos featuring Murakami as well.  Here's one where he's interviewed by fashion designer Mark Jacobs about, among other things, Murakami's collaboration with Louis Vuitton.)  And he shows in galleries and other museums too.

Besides Murakami, Kaikai Kiki handles a number of artists
Yamamoto Gendai is a Japanese gallery handling many contemporary artists.

Other artists to look at:

• Tsuchiya Kimio
• Yoshitomo Nara
• Kohei Nawa  
• Motohiko Odani
• Chiharu Shiota
• Markio Mori
• Chinatsu Ban
• Yayoi Kusuma 

Japan: Hokusai's "The Great Wave"

Article on “The Great Wave” at the Met’s “Timeline of Art History”

Hokusai article at Wikipedia

Article on the Thirty-Six Views of Mount Fuji at Wikipedia

More of Hokusai’s work at Wikimedia Commons

"Hokusai:  Mad About Painting" at the Freer/Sackler (Smithsonian) 

Ukiyo-e article at Wikipedia 

Hiroshige.  ”Two Men on a Sloping Bridge in the Rain.”

“Art of the Edo Period” at the Timeline of Art History (Met)

“Woodblock Prints in the Ukiyo-e Style” (Met)
”Art of the Pleasure Quarters at the Ukiyo-e Style” (Met)

The Production of Japanese Woodcut Blocks (J. Noel Chiappa) explains and shows the whole process 

Lots of other examples by lots of artists:

Japanese prints at the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Japanese prints at the Minneapolis Institute of Art 

(On Wednesday, we’ll proceed to Hokusai and “The Great Wave”)

You could spend your whole life attempting to understand the Tea Ceremony.  Here's a start.  

Chashitsu (at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts)
Wikipedia article on the Japanese Tea ceremony 
Wikipedia article on the Chashitsu
Website on everything related to the Tea Ceremony 

“Japanese Aesthetics, Wabi-Sabi, and the Tea Ceremony” (.pdf)

Although we could look at many web pages, we can do the job very well with just this one: The Japanese Garden — created by Clifton C. Olds, Professor of Art History Emeritus at Bowdoin College in Maine.  

I encourage you to look through the whole thing, but in class we will focus on two gardens:

Daisen-in

and 

Ryoan-ji 

(OK, I lied, for Ryoan-ji also see this and this and this.)

Japan: Zen Painting

Metropolitan Museum of Art article on Muromachi Period

Sesshu Toyo example & article at the British Museum 

Sesshu Toyo entry at Wikipedia 

More Sesshu 

Entry on Zen at Wikipedia

Metropolitan Museum of Art article on Zen  

"Zen Buddhism’s emphasis on simplicity and the importance of the natural world generated a distinctive aesthetic, which is expressed by the terms wabi and sabi. These two amorphous concepts are used to express a sense of rusticity, melancholy, loneliness, naturalness, and age, so that a misshapen, worn peasant’s jar is considered more beautiful than a pristine, carefully crafted dish. While the latter pleases the senses, the former stimulates the mind and emotions to contemplate the essence of reality. This artistic sensibility has had an enormous impact on Japanese culture up to modern times."

yamato-e

• yamato-e (Timeline of Art History) LINK
• yamato-e (British Museum) LINK
• Japanese narrative scrolls (University of Pittsburgh) LINK

One of the most important works of Japanese literature is The Tale of Genji.  In looking at yamato-e painting from Japan, we’ll be looking at illustrations of this novel.  So you can read more about it, here are some links.  

A complete edition with woodcut illustrations by Harumasa Yamamoto is HERE.

A Japan Times article:  1,000 Years of Genji

Of course Wikipedia has an entry with lots of helpful links.

And there is a 1987 anime of Genji monogatari on YouTube.  (Part 1 of 14 videos linked below)  

Ameratsu Shrine at Ise (Ise-Jingu)

Official Website LINK

"The basis of Shinto faith is the consciousness that nature and human beings are united firmly through the kami. This consciousness is expressed in the ritual forms of worshiping the kami. 

Among the many Shinto sanctuaries in Japan, Ise Jingu is the supreme. For the establishment of the state, the key unifying factors were the Imperial Household, for society, and the production of rice for its livelihood. Ise Jingu links the two factors and offers spiritual support for the Japanese in times of confusion. The kami of Ise Jingu is Amaterasu Omikmai, the supreme deity, who is not only the ancestor of the Imperial Family, but also the kami that gave rice to the people, as described in Japanese mythology."

Official Site “anime” (^_^) LINK (be patient)

Of course Wikipedia has a PAGE too
Fodors Guidebook page

Another good site by Chris Witcombe of Sweetbriar College.

promo video for upcoming 2013 sengu ceremony

Schedule: Weeks 11 to 15

Week 11: Japan I
m: the Ameratsu Shrine at Ise : Shinto
w: Heian period painting : yamato-e
f: Muromachi period painting & Zen painting
Week 12: Japan II
m: Zen-style gardens
w: chaihatsu (tea house) * EXERCISE 3 DUE *
f: wabi-sabi
Week 13: Japan III
m: Japanese woodcuts : ukiyo-e
w: ukiyo-e : Hokusai's "Great Wave"
f: contemporary Japanese art -- one or two examples
Week 14: Aboriginal Australian art
m: Aboriginal Australian art : petroglyphs
w: Aboriginal Australian paintings
f: Aboriginal Australian paintings
Week 15:
m: course review
w: EXAM (10.15-12.15)

The Taj Mahal

• Taj Mahal article at Wikipedia
• Taj Mahal article at Asian Historical Architecture
• Taj Mahal article at Islamic Architecture 
• Taj Mahal article at MANAS (UCLA)
• Taj Mahal at 1001 Wonders (Quicktime)
• Photosynth view of Taj Mahal (reguires Microsoft Silverlight) 
• "Seven Wonders: Taj Mahal" video at History.com  

Pattern in Islamic Decorative Art

Mihrab from the Madrasa Imami, Isfahan, Iran
Metropolitan Museum of Art (7-25)

“Pattern in Islamic Art” is a website with thousands of examples of Islamic visual design and explanations of the principles behind these designs.  


also check out the essay on "Vegetal Patterns in Islamic Art" at the Timeline of Art History, as well as the essay on "Calligraphy in Islamic Art."

Mosque Lamp of Sayf al-Din (7-29) British Museum
http://www.britishmuseum.org/explore/highlights/highlight_objects/me/m/mamluk_mosque_lamp.aspx

Islamic Architecture: Mosque

This site offers links to a lot of information about Islamic architecture, including articles on both specific buildings and on general topics.  For example, the article on mosques describes the history, functions, and uses of mosques, and gives links to many specific mosques in different parts of the Islamic world

Particularly important mosques to look at would include:

• the Masjid al-Haram in Mecca, Saudi Arabia
• the Masjid al-Nabawi in Medina, Saudi Arabia
• the Al-Aqsa Mosque in Jerusalem
• the Great Mosque in Damascus, Syria
• the Mezquita in Cordoba, Spain
• the Djenne Mosque in Timbuktu, Mali
• the Maydan-i-Shah in Isfahan, Iran

The article on Mosques at Wikipedia is also excellent, as is its article on Islamic Architecture

A couple of the most important Islamic buildings that are not mosques:

• the Dome of the Rock in Jerusalem
• the Taj Mahal in Agra, India

Also good on Islamic Art in general is THIS

Paradise Found: Islamic Architecture & Arts 1/10

the Origin and History of Islam

The Birth of Islam: essay at the Timeline of Art History

(PBS)

History Channel

(Part 1 of 6)

PBS

(part 1 of 12) 

Schedule: Weeks 9 & 10

(Please note -- this is a slight rearrangement of the original syllabus, based on discussion in class today. It will buy us more time for Aboriginal Australian painting.) 

Week 9:  Islamic Art I 

M:  introduction to Islamic art & architecture :  the mosque 
W:  the mosque 2
F:   ***no class***

Week 10: Islamic Art II

M: decorative art in Islam 

W: the Taj Mahal

F:  the Taj Mahal

Chinese Painting IV

Walking on Path in Spring by Ma Yuan (马远 c.1190 - 1279年）

Three Chinese Landscape Paintings:

1. Ma Yuan.  On a Mountain Path in Spring.  Southern Song.  Book p. 66.

2. Guan Daosheng.  Bamboo Groves in Mist and Rain.  Yuan.  Book, p. 74.

3. Wu Zhen.  Stalks of Bamboo By a Rock.  Yuan.  (More examples) Book, p. 75.

Chinese Painting III

Zang Zeduan Detail: "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" (Song dynasty): Bridge

Zang Zeduan "Along the River During the Qingming Festival" (Song dynasty)
[Please click on the image directly above to examine the entire scroll]

Article on this painting at Wikipedia HERE

To "read" a Chinese painting is to enter into a dialogue with the past; the act of unrolling a scroll or leafing through an album provides a further, physical connection to the work. An intimate experience, it is one that has been shared and repeated over the centuries. And it is through such readings, enjoyed alone or in the company of friends, that meaning is gradually revealed. 

Chinese Painting II (Wed 16 March)

Fan Kuan & Northern Song dynasty Landscape painting

Article on Fan Kuan at Wikipedia

Song dynasty:  at the Timeline of Art History and at Wikipedia and at the MIA

and this page from Columbia University is excellent & extensive

University course pages on Northern Song Painting: HERE and HERE 

and a brief article on the Fan Kuan painting above here

Exercise 2 DUE Monday 21 March in class

The second written exercise (answering the five course questions on one work of art or one type of artwork) will be due in class on MONDAY 21 March.  
Please remember: 

• you may work on any object or topic covered in the course so far -- from Africa through the first works of Chinese painting
• you may NOT work on any object or topic on which you have already written
• any use of outside sources requires in-text citation as well as listing in a "Works Cited"
• your work will scored for these criteria: clear / correct / connected / complete 

Chinese Painting I (Mon 14 March)

Han Gan: "Night-Shining White" ca 750 (Tang dynasty)

China at the Heibrunn Timeline of Art History INDEX PAGE

• “Chinese Painting” HERE
• “Landscape Painting in Chinese Art” HERE
• “Scholar-Officials” HERE
• “Chinese Calligraphy” HERE

“A Look at Chinese Painting” (Metropolitan Museum) HERE

“Anatomy of a Masterpiece: How to Read Chinese Paintings” HERE

Chinese Panting in Context (Asia Society) HERE

Key points:

• Chinese paintings are not usually in the Western format (framed, hung on wall as false window); they can appear on handscrolls, wall scrolls, fans, and in many other formats
• Chinese paintings typically include written as well as visual content
• Chinese paintings often are marked with stamps that provide information on ownership of the painting
• Some beginning ideas on the Chinese aesthetic:

1. unification & balance between opposites: object / concept; visual / written; figure / ground; etc.  
2. less emphasis on originality & uniqueness; more on conformity & collaboration

(Also: the “Six Principles of Chinese Painting” stub at Wikipedia)