- 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
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.”
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/
------ 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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