EALC 305: Art and the Environment in East Asia

This highly acclaimed, 'bold and refreshing' collection of essays takes a critical look at Asians' perception of their natural environments as well as at Western views of Asia in this respect.

This anthology is intended to supplement courses in which Japanese aesthetics and culture are taught. The essays assume little background knowledge; they do represent seminal thought in literary, cultural, and aesthetic criticism, and are well known to scholars for their clarity and straightforward exposition, making them especially useful to the Westerner who does not speak Japanese. Some of the essays provide a general introduction to the basic theories of Japanese aesthetics, others deal with poetry and theater, and a third group discusses cultural phenomena directly related to classic Japanese literature. The text includes notes on historical periods and language, a glossary of the most significant literary and aesthetic vocabulary, and an extensive, annotated bibliography that guides the reader to primary materials, critical studies, general histories, anthologies, encyclopedias, and lists of films and audio-visual materials.

Published jointly by Prentice Hall and Harry N. Abrams, Inc., this second edition of the comprehensive history of Japanese art from 10,500 B.C.E. now extends beyond 1945,  tying together more closely the development of all the media within a well-articulated historical and social context. Features a comprehensive survey of Japanese art and culture, now with 67 new color and 52 new black and white illustrations including other art forms such as calligraphy, lacquer, metalwares, ceramics, and textiles. For art enthusiasts interested in far eastern art.

Asian Art is the first comprehensive anthology of important primary documents and key contemporary scholarship on Asian art history. Traces the rich artistic traditions in China, Japan, Korea, India, and Southeast Asia across time periods, media, cultural contexts, and geography - from the terracotta armies of the First Emperor of Qin to late 20th-century installation art Covers both imperially commissioned works and popular, vernacular art Includes an accessible introduction which provides suggestions of thematic connections across the vast array of visual culture and historical time covered Captures the diversity and depth of Asian art through primary documents - from inscriptions and imperial decrees to writings by artists and travellers - and through examples of the very best scholarship in the field Features introductory material for each extract, an easy-to-navigate chronological structure, and has been extensively tested by the editors and their colleagues in classrooms.

The Hotei Encyclopedia of Japanese Woodblock Prints will serve as a source of quick reference as well as an in-depth study of all aspects of Japanese prints from the Edo (1600-1868) to Taish (1912-26) periods. The first section of The Hotei Encyclopedia is divided into four main subject areas: historical background, the art history of Ukiyo-e prints, print production (materials and techniques, the publishing trade) and the history of collecting Japanese prints, with a shorter fifth section on conservation. Each subject area contains a longer survey article which is accompanied by shorter essays that highlight specific topics pertaining to Japanese prints and their development. The second section of the book comprises an extensive alphabetical listing of well over a 2000 carefully cross-referenced entries on individual print designers and schools, publishers, carvers, printers and collectors, major Kabuki actors, materials and techniques, conservation, subject-matter/iconography, literature and miscellaneous print-related terminology. This is followed by various appendices, including such aspects as seals of publishers and carvers, signatures, maps and chronological tables. With this ambitious project Hotei Publishing hopes to fill the gap for an extensive reference work and introduction to Japanese prints, one that will prove a valuable resource for teachers and students, art collectors, librarians and interested lay-people alike.

Known as Japan's premier "poet of place," Kawase Hasui is one of the most popular landscape artists of the twentieth century. This richly illustrated catalogue spans Kawase Hasui's most imaginative period--the years from 1918 to the Great Earthquake of 1923. An important contributor to the early shin-hanga (new print) movement, Hasui crafted distinctive landscapes that also recall artistic traditions ranging from ukiyo-e and French Japonisme to Post-Impressionist painting. Water and Shadow is based on the unparalleled collection donated to the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts by Rene and Carolyn Balcer. These selections exemplify the creativity of Hasui's early work and reveal the dynamic interplay between his prints, graphic design, and rare but spectacular paintings. Five essays by leading scholars in North America and Japan explore Hasui's methods, art historical relationships, and themes as well as some socioeconomic aspects of the print business.

Focusing on one landmark catastrophic event in the history of an emerging modern nation--the Great Kanto Earthquake that devastated Tokyo and surrounding areas in 1923--this fascinating volume examines the history of the visual production of the disaster. The Kanto earthquake triggered cultural responses that ran the gamut from voyeuristic and macabre thrill to the romantic sublime, media spectacle to sacred space, mournful commemoration to emancipatory euphoria, and national solidarity to racist vigilantism and sociopolitical critique. Looking at photography, cinema, painting, postcards, sketching, urban planning, and even scientific visualizations, Weisenfeld demonstrates how visual culture has powerfully mediated the evolving historical understanding of this major national disaster, ultimately enfolding mourning and memory into modernization.

The natural and man-made cataclysmic events of the 11 March 2011 disaster, or 3.11, have dramatically altered the status quo of contemporary Japanese society. While much has been written about the social, political, economic, and technical aspects of the disaster, this volume represents one of the first in-depth explorations of the cultural responses to the devastating tsunami, and in particular the ongoing nuclear disaster of Fukushima. This book explores a wide range of cultural responses to the Fukushima nuclear calamity by analyzing examples from literature, poetry, manga, theatre, art photography, documentary and fiction film, and popular music. Individual chapters examine the changing positionality of post-3.11 northeastern Japan and the fear-driven conflation of time and space in near-but-far urban centers; explore the political subversion and nostalgia surrounding the Fukushima disaster; expose the ambiguous effects of highly gendered representations of fear of nuclear threat; analyze the musical and poetic responses to disaster; and explore the political potentialities of theatrical performances. By scrutinizing various media narratives and taking into account national and local perspectives, the book sheds light on cultural texts of power, politics, and space. Providing an insight into the post-disaster Zeitgeist as expressed through a variety of media genres, this book will be of interest to students and scholars of Japanese Studies, Japanese Culture, Popular Culture, and Literature Studies.

"Hiroshima and Nagasaki evoke powerful and sombre associations of holocaust and apocalypse, a vision that gives rise to Japanese hibakusha cinema, which attempts to come to terms with the bombings in a number of ways." "Including contributions from such renowned theorists as Donald Richie and Susan Sontag, Hibakusha Cinema focuses critical attention upon this little-studied yet vitally important trend in Japanese film. Assembled chronologically, the anthology begins with rare, early commentary and closes with new criticism specially prepared for this volume." "The essays explore the metatextuality of Hiroshima and Nagasaki via film and television renderings of hibakusha experiences as well as Japanese projections of future nuclear wars. Hibakusha Cinema assesses a broad range of Japanese film to locate this significant theme: the essays cover documentary and dramatic films made under strict, Occupation-era censorship; the historical docudramas of the 1950s and 1980s; the widespread though critically neglected nuclear monster subgenre; and apocalyptic manga films and videos."--BOOK JACKET.

Japan’s brilliant and influential postwar photographer Shomei Tomatsu (b. 1930) has created some of the most dramatic images in the history of photography. Many of his photographs have become icons of the twentieth century. This important book is the first in-depth English-language study of Tomatsu’s work. Richly illustrated and handsomely designed, it features more than one hundred plates representing--in ten thematic sections--the full range of his career. Tomatsu emerged in the 1950s with his sensitive pictures of postwar Japan. In the 1960s the artist turned his camera to the aftermath of the atomic bomb and the lingering presence of the U. S. military in his homeland. In subsequent decades his lens has captured the elation of Japan’s economic boom and the problems inspired by his culture’s increasing westernization. Throughout, Tomatsu’s pictures have consistently resonated not only with Japanese society but also with American culture. Included in this book are essays by distinguished scholars on all aspects of the artist’s life and career as well as a selection of brief excerpts from Tomatsu’s own writings, many of which have never appeared in English. Skin of the Nation (the book’s subtitle) is both a literal and metaphorical reference to the surfaces that have appeared in countless pictures throughout Tomatsu’s career. For the artist, skin is more than just a surface, it is a kind of map in which one can read the story of Japan--its essence and its future.

How would artistic practice contribute to political change in post-World War II Japan? How could artists negotiate the imbalanced global dynamics of the art world and also maintain a sense of aesthetic and political authenticity? While the contemporary art world has recently come to embrace some of Japan's most daring postwar artists, the interplay of art and politics remains poorly understood in the Americas and Europe. The Stakes of Exposure fills this gap and explores art, visual culture, and politics in postwar Japan from the 1950s to the 1970s, paying special attention to how anxiety and confusion surrounding Japan's new democracy manifested in representations of gender and nationhood in modern art.  Through such pivotal postwar episodes as the Minamata Disaster, the Lucky Dragon Incident, the budding antinuclear movement, and the ANPO protests of the 1960s, The Stakes of Exposure examines a wide range of issues addressed by the period's prominent artists, including Tanaka Atsuko and Shiraga Kazuo (key members of the Gutai Art Association), Katsura Yuki, and Nakamura Hiroshi. Through a close study of their paintings, illustrations, and assemblage and performance art, Namiko Kunimoto reveals that, despite dissimilar aesthetic approaches and divergent political interests, Japanese postwar artists were invested in the entangled issues of gender and nationhood that were redefining Japan and its role in the world.  Offering many full-color illustrations of previously unpublished art and photographs, as well as period manga, The Stakes of Exposure shows how contention over Japan's new democracy was expressed, disavowed, and reimagined through representations of the gendered body.

Through photographs of personalities, installations and works of art and in a text that recounts the artistic thinking that surrounded each new movement, this book provides an overview of progressive art in the 20th century through more than 20 important exhibitions.

Japanese Cinema includes twenty-four chapters on key films of Japanese cinema, from the silent era to the present day, providing a comprehensive introduction to Japanese cinema history and Japanese culture and society. Studying a range of important films, from Late Spring, Seven Samurai and In the Realm of the Senses to Godzilla, Hana-Bi and Ring, the collection includes discussion of all the major directors of Japanese cinema including Ozu, Mizoguchi, Kurosawa, Oshima, Suzuki, Kitano and Miyazaki. Each chapter discusses the film in relation to aesthetic, industrial or critical issues and ends with a complete filmography for each director. The book also includes a full glossary of terms and a comprehensive bibliography of readings on Japanese cinema. Bringing together leading international scholars and showcasing pioneering new research, this book is essential reading for all students and general readers interested in one of the world#65533;s most important film industries.

Anime From Akira to Howl's Moving Castle is the updated edition of Susan Napier's groundbreaking bestseller, Anime from Akira to Mononoke. It is a must-have for both seasoned and new fans of anime, and these are legion since Spirited Away won the Oscar for best animated film in 2002. Famed director Hayao Miyazaki's film proved that anime was much more than cartoons for children or a ploy for selling trading cards, and Napier demonstrates how anime often portrays important social and cultural themes in a sophisticated yet entertaining way. With new chapters on Spirited Away and other recent releases, including the forthcoming Howl's Moving Castle, this updated edition will be the authoritative source on anime for an exploding market of viewers who want to know more.

Contemporary art is deeply engaged with the subject of classical myth. Yet within the literature on contemporary art, little has been said about this provocative relationship. Composed of fourteen original essays, Contemporary Art and Classical Myth addresses this scholarly gap, exploring, and in large part establishing, the multifaceted intersection of contemporary art and classical myth. Moving beyond the notion of art as illustration, the essays assembled here adopt a range of methodological frameworks, from iconography to deconstruction, and do so across an impressive range of artists and objects: Francis Al#65533;s, Ghada Amer, Wim Delvoye, Luciano Fabro, Joanna Frueh, Felix Gonzales-Torres, Duane Hanson, Yayoi Kusama, Roy Lichtenstein, Kara Walker, and an iconic photograph by Richard Drew subsequently entitled The Falling Man.#65533; Arranged so as to highlight both thematic and structural affinities, these essays manifest various aspects of the link between contemporary art and classical myth, while offering novel insights into the artists and myths under consideration. Some essays concentrate on single works as they relate to specific myths, while others take a broader approach, calling on myth as a means of grappling with dominant trends in contemporary art.

Now that we 'curate' even lunch, what happens to the role of the connoisseur in contemporary culture? 'Curate' is now a buzzword, applied to everything from music festivals to artisanal cheese. Inside the art world, the curator reigns supreme, acting as the face of high-profile group shows and biennials in a way that can eclipse and assimilate the contributions of individual artists. Curatorial-studies programs continue to grow, and the business world is adopting curation as a means of adding value to content. Everyone, it seems, is a curator. But what is a curator, exactly? And what does the explosive popularity of curating say about our culture's relationship with taste, labour and the avant-garde? In this vibrant, revelatory and original study, David Balzer travels through art history and around the globe to explore the cult of curation, from superstar curator Hans Ulrich Obrist's war with sleep to Subway's 'sandwich artists.' Recalling such landmark works of cultural criticism as Tom Wolfe's The Painted Word and John Berger's Ways of Seeing, Curationism will change the way you look at art - and maybe even the way you see yourself. 'This is an unusual art book. It is a book you should read and one that you can. Balzer traces the history and current hegemony of curationism, a practice of jumped-up interior decorators who double as priests explaining the gospel to the unlettered masses. A good read, if you don't mind reading things that you don't want to know.' - Dave Hickey

The islands of Naoshima, Teshima, and Inujima in Japan's Seto Inland Sea are places of pilgrimage for friends of contemporary art and architecture. Alongside works in public spaces as well as site-specific installations, the islands are also full of numerous museums and collections of contemporary art. This publication offers a comprehensive documentation of this unique cultural landscape surrounded by Japan's Inland Sea. The photographs by the Dutch photographer Iwan Baan, ranging from tiny details to giant panoramas, create a comprehensive portrait of the islands with their fluid transitions between nature, art, and architecture. Numerous texts introduce readers to the individual areas and projects that are either permanently on display on the islands or have taken place there temporarily. In addition, other essays deal with the island as a cultural concept and phenomenon. Among others, the book presents buildings by Kazuyo Sejima, Ruye Nishizawa, Tadao Ando, and Hiroshi Sambuichi.