 | For traditional Chinese culture - and by extension for the Japanese culture - poetry was the most important form of communication and even religious divination. Closely by was calligraphy, regarded in both cultures as a major art, which only a selected few could handle. For Japan calligraphy became much more than an art, almost a religion, and those who created such works were higly respected and popular.
Besides it's artistic dimension, calligraphy was considered to be the key in discovering the character of the writer and his individual nature. Slowly but surely, calligraphy also became a major part of painting, expressing complicated poetical imagery. The Los Angeles County Museum of Art will be presenting a major exhibition dedicated to the presence and epression of calligraphy into Japanese painting. |
The curators have divided the works selected into three distinct sections, each with it's own ideas and principles. The first is that of Zen and Buddhist monks, who considered calligraphy to be a form of devotion and religious living. The second were the literati, who closely followed the example of their Chinese "rivals", expressing the national culture, myths, ideals and stories in beautiful compositions. The last one is dedicated to the creations signed by the aristocrats of the imperial line, who had the difficult and often challenging responsibility for maintaining the real and authentic Japanese art principles.
Photo : lacma.org
2007-08-31
