Michigan Oriental Art Society
Sunday, January 11 11, 2015
St John Hospital-Oakland Education Center, 27351 Dequindre Rd, Madison Heights
(between 11 Mile and 12 Mile Rds)
Social Time at 1:30 pm, Meeting at 2:00
pm.
The Year of the Sheep
Russell Yamazaki
The year of the
Sheep begins on February 19, 2015 in the Chinese calendar of the zodiac. Because
sheep are not native to Japan and were only introduced around the 1860-1880
period, there are very few representations of sheep in Japanese art. Images of
sheep are to be found in Chinese art, but because they are docile creatures,
sheep take a secondary role in the iconography as compared with the much more
popular fierce animals such as tigers and dragons.
Modern representations
of sheep in the form of young lambs as well as the adult ewes and even rams
tend to be shown in cartoon-like fluffy images. Goats, although technically a
different species from sheep, are sometimes included in pastoral images.
Please bring
your artwork featuring sheep, lambs, rams and goats to share with us. Examples
of nengajo, Japanese New Year’s
Greeting cards, are especially welcome.
The presentation
will follow our annual business meeting. Our February presentation will feature
the art of mahjong.
