"Jun’ichirō Tanizaki’s seminal text, In Praise of Shadows (1933), discusses Eastern, specifically Japanese, ideals of beauty. Contrary to the Western framework of thinking, Japanese aesthetics favors the in-between, typically discarded or overlooked places of beauty: the grey shadows, the tea ceremony, and even a toilet seat. By looking at examples of Japanese fine and decorative arts, we will discuss Tanizaki’s major ideas concerning Eastern Aesthetics and then apply his understanding to the works in the VMFA permanent collection. "
Lecture given by Amanda Dalla Villa Adams, VMFA faculty and independent curator, art writer, educator, and historian based in Richmond, Virginia. Amanda specializes in post-1945 contemporary art and holds a BFA in sculpture + extended media from VCU, an MA in art history and certificate in museum studies from the University of Cincinnati, and recently left VCU’s PhD program as ABD. She has presented her research domestically and internationally, including the Rothermere Institute at Oxford University. In addition to contributing art criticism for national publications like Artforum, Hyperallergic, and Sculpture magazine, Amanda is an art critic for the alternative-weekly newspaper Style Weekly. Her academic research has appeared in the peer-reviewed journals Art Inquiries and Archives of American Art and Amanda has curated exhibitions of the work of Hoss Haley, Emily Erb, and Carli Holcomb. (some of you will remember seeing 2 of those shows last year @ VIs Arts!).
- The resources below are meant to help you understand some basic concepts of Japanese aesthetics and to help you learn even more - especially as you try to APPLY these concepts to your knowledge-base and art-making skills.
- The live recording can be found HERE on the Maggie Walker Facebook page!
- The lecture PP has been put on itslearning.
If you WERE at the lecture: You will have a collection of notes that you can now review and compare with these resources as well as any related information learned in Global Studies. REFLECT on these connections.
If you WERE NOT at the lecture: You will NEED TO RELY ON these resources, any related information learned in Global Studies, AND your own research to make sense of the topic. REFLECT on these connections.
Resources:
- You can read In Praise of Shadows (PDF)
- You can watch this video about "In Praise of Shadows"
- You can learn about Kintsugi and consider how its principles, and those of the Japanese aesthetic, can be applied to your life and work, ceramics or not....
- You can learn how to improve your understanding of composition by learning about NOTAN.
- You can make your own Notan design!
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