Traditions Transfigured : The Noh Masks Of Bidou Yamaguchi

Utagawa Kuniyoshi’s Tatsu Tora (woodblock, 37 x 25 cm., c. 1835) is a stunning portrayal of a tiger staring intently into the eyes of a dragon next to a rushing waterfall. Derived from the Edo Period in nineteenth century Japan, this elaborate print symbolizes in and yo; the balance of energies in the Universe. Through Kuniyoshi’s utilization of space, a color palette that consists of both muted and saturated colors, and his creation of implied texture by etching a wide variety of lines, an undeniable sense of balance is established throughout the work of art.

Yasumasa Morimura (born in 1951, Japan) has had a career in film-making and conceptual photography for over three decades. Morimura uses costumes, makeup props and digital manipulation to create an almost replica of the original artwork, replacing the original subject with himself. Morimura graduated from the Kyōto City University of Arts in 1978 and then became an assistant at that same university. During his time working he experimented with many mediums and styles including painting, photography and wood-block art. He soon became recognized for his artworks and began to be involved in traveling shows such as ‘Japanese Art After 1945: Scream Against the Sky’ (1994). After some time, and with critics watching skeptically, he began to

When we look at this piece, we tend to see the differences in ways a subject can be organized and displayed. This assemblage by Betye Saar shows us how using different pieces of medium can bring about the wholeness of the point of view in which the artist is trying to portray. So in part, this piece speaks about stereotyping and how it is seen through the eyes of an artist.

The human body has been coupled with various beliefs for all of history. It has been the centre and representation for questions of ethics, power and sexuality. Works like “Confession” by Linh Dinh have found ways to express these questions further. By focusing on questioning how the body operates in art, Dihn portrays and inquires a whole belief system as to how the body functions and is viewed in society.

Kerkham, Eleanor. Matsuo Basho's Poetic Spaces: Exploring Haikai Intersections. 1st ed. New York: Palgrave MacMillan, 2006. 66-68; 110-112. Print.

I first became attracted to Yayoi Kusama’s work when I came upon a 1966 photograph of Kusama modeling on her own installation with painted dots covering her body. The photograph communicated what seemed to be a special message that fascinated me; I was curious about what symbolism the polka dots express and what connotations Kusama was intending to reveal by painting repetitive tessellations. I was instantly drawn to the manner in which Kusama dresses in the fashion of her own endless imagination; it seemed that Kusama’s body and art have merged into one creative entity, softening the variance between the artist and the art piece. In short, the photograph inspired me in discovering Kusuma’s history, analyzing her art pieces, and contemplating my

As I indulged in discovering the life of this avant-garde Japanese artist, I am certainly empowered to know more about her life and her works. Yayoi Kusama is truly an expressionist artist, her main theme on most of her art piece are phallus obsession which for some considers it as eccentric, and also her enduring obsession in fear reflects in her artworks. Yayoi Kusama is a dreamer, a visionary, and I sense her strong amorous feeling in all her works. Kusama climbed to the top of the Empire State Building and looked down upon the city, and announced to the world that she will be superior from all the rest and will become a star. Up there at the vast space beyond, she saw the horizon of hope and fame. It seems far-fetched, so out of reach for

Japan discovered their identity through borrowing and adapting ideas from other countries. From China to the West, Japan has always been flexible and open to a borrowing a wide diversity of things, ranging from politics, architecture, and even woodblock prints. Adapted from China, woodblock prints, or ukiyo-e, use location, color, content, subject, proportions, and perspectives to depict a scenery. The art from a time or country can be used to infer many things about its culture and people. The two woodblock prints featured in this essay are “Okitsu” and “Kakegawa” by Ando Hiroshige.

For thousands of centuries, Japanese artists had been breaking the boundaries with their relentless creations of shocking pieces that made people question if there was a life after death. The popular subject of restless spirits or dark beings drove many artists from the Heian Period to modern-day times to express their stylistic techniques and narrative stories through woodblock printing and other alternative forms of art. Unlike most Western art, Japan’s disturbing representations of decaying bodies and death did not promote unrealistic, commercial expectations of death that commonly exists in art today. While handling such abstract ideas of the afterlife alongside the uncensored authenticity of death, each piece arouses fear and empathy for

224). Jouve (1997) suggests that Miyake’s approach differs to Western design arguing that “he sees the body as a reed, a neutral flexible thing, in the tradition of the kimono. Yet Miyake suggests that the oversized and sculptural shapes have more to do with accessibility and the experience of the wearer:

This exhibition of Japanese works of art is at The MET. The exhibition opened fall of 2016. In this exhibition, that is featuring works of art drawn from the recent landmark gift to the Museum by the Mary and Jackson Burke Foundation. Which opened on October 20th, is a tribute to the discerning New York City collector who built what is widely regarded as the finest and most encompassing and private collection outside Japan. The works on the exhibition will includepaintings, sculpture, ceramics, calligraphy, lacquerware, and so more from the 10th to the 20th century. Among the highlights are a powerful representation of the Buddhist deity Fud & My, from the studio of the celebrated sculptor Kaikei, a sumptuous set of early 17th-century screens showing Uji Bridge from Kyoto, and It ?Jakuch? 's tour-de-force ink painting of plum blossoms in full bloom illuminated by Moonlight. I think this was organized by a theme and

The Edo era was the final period of traditional Japanese governing. This period, governed by Tokugawa shoguns, propelled art and common folk in Japan into a new era. Ukiyo-e, a genre of woodblock prints, is a japanese art form that came to be during this period. The invention of this kind of woodblock print has it’s own long and beautiful history in shaping the Japanese art and culture, but it also has had a massive impact on western modern art history. As the described the genre of ukiyo-e, we need to understand what it is and how it has impacted future artist.

I first encountered Nobuyoshi Araki’s work at an exhibition on contemporary Japanese art titled Mirror Neuron held in Tokyo in 2013. Among works by renowned artists hung Araki’s extremely provocative photograph titled Kinbaku. I was shocked yet somehow mesmerized by the work.. The woman in the photo, dangling hopelessly and powerlessly in front of the male photographer’s camera lens appeared to be obviously sexualized, objectified, and dehumanized.

Baudelaire once said, “Caricatures are often the most faithful mirror of life.” The art of caricature was established into print in eighteenth-century England as a form of commentary on the current events of the time. Caricature as a style itself is a combination of two separate social inventions. “Caricature Adopting the Italian invention of caricatura-the graphic exaggeration of facial and bodily features for comic effect and combining it with an updated repertoire of visual metaphor, personification, and allegorical attributes. ” Though born in England, the story about to be told in this paper is one of Spanish origin, a story about Francisco Goya. This paper will discuss how Goya implemented painting, drawing, and printing technique to stimulate social critique of and satirize the subjects of his works. Then how does Goya’s methodology transcend into modern caricature and social critique?

Throughout many centuries, art has portrayed an exceedingly dominant role in Japanese culture. These forms of artwork varied from everything from pottery to clay figurines. Overall, the majority of Japanese art was and still is considered to be of high importance in Japanese history. However, the most intriguing and unique form of art was the Isho-ningyo and Iki-ningyo dolls, otherwise known as the "fashion doll" and the “living doll”. Both the Isho-ningyo and the Iki-ningyo were merely two of the plentiful assortment of dolls created by the famous Japanese artisan, Goyo Hirata, as items of “luxurious indulgence.” The Kintaro doll of Isho-ningyo type or Iko-ningyo type illustrates the significant advancements in Japanese doll art