Writing an Image: Chinese Literati Painting

- The announcement below describes the October 2010 Program -

MICHIGAN ORIENTAL ART SOCIETY - Our 40th Year

DATE: Sunday, October 17, 2010, 1:30 pm
SITE: St. Johns Hospital – Oakland: Education Center
27351 Dequindre Rd (West side); Madison Heights
(North of 11 Mile Rd • South of 12 Mile
Conveniently located North of I-696 and East of I-75)

Meeting Information: Patricia Beer @ (586) 558-9767

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Slide lecture

Writing an Image: Chinese Literati Painting

By Shuishan Yu, PhD


Shuishan Yu

This lecture introduces the literati tradition in Chinese art. Literati art, or Weren Yishu , is a Chinese art form nurtured and promoted by scholars. The creators of literati art do not consider themselves as specialized artists, but first and foremost as human beings completed by Confucian moral cultivation and elevated by Daoist integration with nature. Literati art thus emphasizes art as a way of life that, in turn, nurtures the cultivation and moral character of the practitioner. The learning and creative process of art are just as essential as the final product. The four noble arts of literati: calligraphy, painting, guqin (a seven-stringed musical instrument with a rich history dating back 5,000 years), and weiqi (an ancient Chinese board game), or qin qi shu hua in Chinese, are inseparable and equally important in cultivating ideal personality and understanding the supreme truth Dao 道

Literati art thus casts a different look at amateurism, which does not mean unprofessional but rather anti-professional. For the literati artists, great art is created by pure enjoyment and a sincere motivation to share that pleasure. The professional divisions are deliberately abandoned. Built on common philosophical grounds, and sharing common terminologies and ideologies, art, music, literature, theater, and architecture are often mutually inclusive in the literati tradition, creating an inter-disciplinary framework that provides unique perspectives for the understanding and conceiving of them all. To some extent, they are all means for attaining higher spirituality, not ends in themselves.

Early Literati painting embodied the “three perfections”: poetry, calligraphy, and painting, or shi shu hua in Chinese, indispensable for creating perfection in a finished painting. Later a fourth “perfection” was added, that of carving the artist’s seal. The greatest literati artists were masters of all four skills. However, the technique, principles, and philosophy of Chinese calligraphy remained the most elevated of all literati art forms governing the other “perfections.”

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We are very pleased to have Professor Shuishan Yu present a lecture to MOAS members again. His last presentation on “The Ritual of Color in Tibetan Art and Architecture” was enthralling and expanded our knowledge of Asian cultures.

Shuishan Yu was employed as an Architect at the Architectural Design Institute Ministry of Construction, Beijing, China and worked on many architectural projects throughout China, including the National Grand Theater in Beijing (1999). He was also involved in the planning of China Town in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

Professor Yu is an artist with special interests in Chinese calligraphy and Guohua, traditional Chinese painting; and has exhibited his photographs and paintings. He is also a musician who plays the Qin (Chinese seven string zither), Erthu (Chinese two stringed violin) and Ziao (Chinese vertical flute). Professor Yu was a violinist with the University of Washington Symphony and baroque Ensemble. While studying in his homeland, China, he was Orchestra Leader of Tsinghua University and Chief Violinist in the Student's Symphony Orchestra of Universities in Beijing. By any standard Shuishan would be considered a Renaissance man.

In 2009, September - November 2009, Professor Yu mounted an "Art Exhibition: Writing an Image: Chinese Literati Art", at Oakland University Art Gallery that featured his scroll painting on the informative announcement. All MOAS members received a copy of his exhibition announcement that included the Reception, Curator's Lecture: "Literati Art and Culture", and Gugin Concert "Archaic Scent of the Plum Pavilion". Professor Yu's resume contains many honors, awards, scholarships, and fellowships. He has published many scholarly papers on Asian architecture, architectural history, and urban planning. He has also lectured extensively on a variety of subjects.

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Members and Guests are encouraged to bring Asian artifacts to show and share with the group.

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Please visit our web site for additional information and updates at: http://michiganorientalartsociety.blogspot.com/

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- Note: The source material for a member's presentation at the September 19 meeting on the work of William Pinckard, as edited by Richard Bozulich and entitled "Japanese Prints and the World of Go" is located at:
http://www.kiseido.com



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Women in Japanese Art

MICHIGAN ORIENTAL ART SOCIETY - Our 39th Year

DATE: Sunday, September 19, 2010, 1:30 pm
SITE: St. Johns Hospital – Oakland: Education Center
27351 Dequindre Rd (West side); Madison Heights
(North of 11 Mile Rd • South of 12 Mile
Conveniently located North of I-696 and East of I-75)

Meeting Information: Patricia Beer @ (586) 558-9767

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Slide lecture

Women in Japanese Art

By Jane Yamazaki, PhD

Takigawa from the Tea House, Ogi
Artist: Kitawa Utamaro

How are women portrayed in Japanese art? What do these glimpses of female beauty in art tell us about Japanese cultural and artistic sensibilities and how they have developed and changed over time?

Professor Yamazaki teaches courses on Japanese culture, contemporary culture and women in Japan at Oakland University. She has an M.A. in Asian History from the University of Virginia and a PhD in communication from Wayne State University. She is a collector of Japanese art, including contemporary woodblock prints.

One of the most famous ukiyo-e artists, Utamaro produced over two thousand prints during his working career, along with a number of paintings, surimono, as well as many illustrated books, including over thirty shunga books, albums, and related publications. among his best known works are the series, Ten Studies in Female Physiognomy: A Collection of Reigning Beauties. Great Love Themes of Classical Poetry (sometimes called Women in Love containing individual prints, such as Revealed Love and Pensive Love); and Twelve Hours in the Pleasure Quarters.

He alone, of his contemporary ukiyo-e artists, achieved a national reputation during his lifetime. His sensuous female beauties generally are considered the finest and most evocative bijinga in all of ukiyo-e. He succeeded in capturing subtle aspects of personality and transient moods of women of all classes, ages , and circumstances. His reputation has remained undiminished, since his work is known worldwide, and he is generally regarded as one of the half dozen greatest ukiyo-e artists of all time.

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You are invited to bring Japanese art items depicting Japanese women to share with the group. - Note: The source material for a member's presentation on the work of William Pinckard, as edited by Richard Bozulich and entitled "Japanese Prints and the World of Go" is located at: http://www.kiseido.com/ .

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Next meeting: October 17, 2010 - Shuishan Yu, PhD; "Writing an Image: Chinese Literati Painting."

Guests are always welcome to visit.

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Of Special Interest:

Presented by the Conservation Center for Art & Historic Artifacts (CCAHA)

East Asian Art: Historical Context & Modern Preservation of Paper-based Works

* November 4 – 5, 2010

Experts in the field of Asian Art uniformly recommend that preservation efforts be grounded in knowledge of the history and traditions embedded within the objects. This two-day conference will address the distinct historical and aesthetic differences that inform the rich artistic traditions of China, Japan, and Korea, as well as the practical concerns of handling, housing, storage, exhibition and conservation treatment of paper-based objects from this region. Program presenters will include nationally and internationally recognized art historians, curators, and conservators.

This program is intended for cultural heritage professionals responsible for the care and handling of paper-based art and artifacts from East Asia, including executive directors, curators, collections managers, librarians, archivists and conservators, as well as collectors and others interested in the history and care of works from this region.

Fee: $225 CCAHA Member Fee / $250 Non-Member Fee

Location: The Athenaeum of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA

Register before September 21st at:
http://ccaha.org/education/program-calendar

Making of Moku Hanga Woodblock Prints

MICHIGAN ORIENTAL ART SOCIETY - Our 39th Year

DATE: Sunday, May 16, 2010, 1:30 pm
SITE: St. Johns Hospital – Oakland: Education Center
27351 Dequindre Rd (West side); Madison Heights
(North of 11 Mile Rd • South of 12 Mile
Conveniently located North of I-696 and East of I-75)

Meeting Information: Patricia Beer @ (586) 558-9767

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Demonstration and lecture:
Making of Moku Hanga Woodblock Prints
by Mary Brodbeck, Artist

Mary Brodbeck, Woodblock, Islet (2005)

Mary Brodbeck makes woodblock prints the traditional Japanese way. She learned these techniques in Tokyo as a recipient of the prestigious Bunko-cho Fellowship from the Japanese government in 1998, and has been dedicated to this process since. The mission of the fellowship was to bring foreign artists to Japan to learn and help keep traditional Japanese arts alive throughout the world. Mary’s teacher was Yoshisuke Funasake.

In keeping with the fellowship’s mission, Mary will share with MOAS her knowledge of the Japanese woodblock printmaking process including giving a PowerPoint presentation of her work and influences, as well as give a printmaking demonstration.

A Michigan native, Mary Brodbeck currently lives in Kalamazoo. Her undergraduate degree, from Michigan State University, is in Industrial Design. Mary worked for a dozen years in the West Michigan office furniture industry before dedicating her professional energies to printmaking in the early 1990’s. The multiple blocks/layers/colors involved in the Japanese woodblock printmaking process suits Mary’s predilection for design.

Mary received her Master of Fine Arts degree in printmaking from Western Michigan University in 1999; her fellowship in Japan was part of her graduate studies. Mary has taught drawing and woodblock printmaking at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, and has given woodblock printmaking workshops around the country as well as at the Japan Center for Michigan Universities in Hikone, Japan. Of late, Mary is taking a break from her teaching as her prints have become more and more in demand.

The Great Lakes are Mary Brodbeck’s primary subject. She recently completed a series of ten prints entitled Autumn, Sleeping Bear Dunes, which are now in the permanent collection at the Detroit Institute of Arts. Her work is also in the Hunterdon Museum in Clinton, New Jersey, the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts in Kalamazoo, and in many notable corporate and private collections. Mary has received state, national and international accolades for her woodblock prints.

A selection of Mary’s prints will be available for viewing. After the meeting's adjournment many prints will be available for purchase. Further information about her work may be found on her website at: www.marybrodbeck.com

A series of ten woodblock prints begun during a three-week artist -in-residency at the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore are discussed and may be viewed at: http://marybrodbeck.com/projects/sleepingbear.htm

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SITE NEEDED: Third Saturday August 21, for our annual MOAS members only Pot Luck Social – usually 25 – 35 people.

Next Meeting to be determined, announcement will be sent in advance.

UMMA: Two Exhibitions: Kimono and Japanese Studio Ceramics

MICHIGAN ORIENTAL ART SOCIETY - Our 39th Year

DATE: Sunday, April 18, 2010, 1:30 pm
SITE: St. Johns Hospital – Oakland: Education Center
27351 Dequindre Rd (West side); Madison Heights
(North of 11 Mile Rd • South of 12 Mile
Conveniently located North of I-696 and East of I-75)

Meeting Information: Patricia Beer @ (586) 558-9767

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Next meeting: Sunday, May 16: Mary Brodbeck: Demonstration and lecture on making of moku hanga woodblock prints:
Artist displays her works and members share their contemporary prints.

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Prior meeting:

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"UMMA: Two Exhibitions: Kimono and
Japanese Studio Ceramics"
By Dr. Natsu Oyobe, PhD Research Curator of Asian Art,
University of Michigan Museum of Art. Ann Arbor


We are pleased to have Dr. Natsu Oyobe, Research Curator of Asian Art at the University of Michigan Museum of Art give a presentation to the Michigan Oriental Art Society for the first time. Dr. Oyobe will give a PowerPoint presentation with many color images about two exhibitions currently being installed and scheduled to open respectively: May 1, and May 15, 2010: Wrapped in Silk and Gold: A Family Legacy of Twentieth-Century Japanese Kimono May 1–July 25, 2010 ; and Turning Point: Japanese Studio Ceramics in the mid-20th Century May 15–August 8, 2010.


Japan, kimona with overall woven pattern of chrysanthemums, 1930's-1950's, UMMA Gift of Howard & Patricia Yamaguchi

Dr. Oyobe earned her Ph.D. in Japanese art history from the Department of History of Art at the University of Michigan in 2005. In her current position, Dr. Oyobe oversees the care, acquisition, and interpretation of a collection of art Middle East to South, Southeast, and East Asia. Dr. Oyobe’s research interest includes modern and contemporary experimental art in Japan and Korea, tea ceremony practice and textile design in Japan. She is the curator of Wrapped in Silk and Gold: A Family Legacy of the 20th-Century Japanese Kimono and Turning Point: Japanese Studio Ceramics in the Mid-20th Century, opening this May at the University of Michigan Museum of Art.

Since in the past we have been fortunate to have seen several major exhibitions of Japanese ceramics, the major emphasis of this presentation will be kimono with many highlights of the Japanese ceramics exhibition. To ignore one or the other is like having to choose between your children, which is your favorite - an impossible task

Wrapped in Silk and Gold presents for the first time the Museum's recently acquired collection of deluxe kimono, haori, obi, and other traditional Japanese women's garments. Dating from the 1930s through the end of the 20th century, these garments trace changing fashions as the function of kimono changed over the course of time, as well as the arc of a woman's lifetime from youth to maturity. The works in the exhibition are the generous gift of the Yamaguchi family, and were made for and worn by a mother and daughter living in Tokyo.


Arakawa Toyoza Plate, Circa 1960, Stoneware with iron and white slip painting.

Contemporary Japanese ceramics are currently highly prized, avidly collected, and frequently exhibited. UMMA became actively engaged with the medium in the 1960s, and thanks to astute acquisitions made with the help of John Stephenson, Catherine B. Heller Professor Emeritus, School of Art and Design, the Museum has a priceless selection of ceramics dating from the 1930s through 1970s by leading figures and “living national treasures” such as Hamada Shôji, Kawai Kanjirô, and Yagi Kazuo. The collection of approximately 50 works offers a focused look at the Japanese studio pottery movement at a moment of exceptional creativity and lasting influence.


Members & Guests are encouraged to bring textiles and ceramics to show and share with the group.

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Saturday April 10: Exploring Indian Cuisine: MOAS members Dinning Social, gather for lunch buffet about 12:50 pm ●
House of India ● (248) 553-8491 ● 28841 Orchard Lake Road, North of 12 Mile & I-696; about 1/2 mile on the left.
Bill Cavers & Larry Hall will help educate novice Indian food consumers about the Indian cuisine.

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Next meeting: Sunday, May 16: Mary Brodbeck: Demonstration and lecture on making of moku hanga woodblock prints:
Artist displays her works and members share their contemporary prints.

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Welcome new member: Ann Warren