I'm writing to announce two new publications.
One is an article on a little known Japanese Buddhist artist, Kano Kazunobu (1815-1863), whose magnum opus, a grand set of paintings of 500 Takan (Arhats) owned by Tokyo's Zōjōji temple, will be on display for the first time since 1945, in a special exhibition at the Edo-Tokyo Museum in Tokyo, from March 15 to May 29,2011. My article is the first on this artist in English.
"The Savior as Ascetic, Shakyamuni Undergoing Austerities by Kano Kazunobu." Register, Spencer Museum of Art, University of Kansas, (summer 2010): 12-29.
DOWNLOAD THE ARTICLE HERE
The second publication is
major revisions to the Japan chapters of the new (4th) edition of Art History by Marilyn Stokstad and Michael Cothren. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson-Prentice Hall, 2011. I contributed chapter 11: "Japan to 1333" and chapter 25: "Japan After 1333." I worked hard to try to update the chapters and present a balanced view of the main characteristics of Japanese art.
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| Kasuga mandala, Burke collection |
New to chapter 11: new illustrations and discussion of art and architecture at the Great Buddha Hall (Daibutsuden) at Todaiji in “Recovering the Past” box. New discussion of Japan in the eighth century as the eastern terminus of the Silk Route. Increased emphasis on Japan's native religion of Shinto with addition of a Shinto painting. Expanded discussion of Chinese emigrant monks and their influence in section on Zen art.
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| Eri Sayoko, Dancing with the Cosmos |
New to chapter 25: greater emphasis on importance of crafts with addition of porcelain plate, kosode, and contemporary lacquer box. New “Closer Look” highlights techniques used in creation of a kosode robe. Increased discussion of Japan’s integration of foreign, particularly Western, influences in its art and culture. New emphasis on architecture and crafts in the postwar period (with lacquer box by Eri Sayoko). Tea Ceremony discussion consolidated into one section.
