Asian Arts Council 2023-24 General Meeting Lectures

  The rapid development of literacy in the Edo Period (1603-1868) made Japan one of the most literate countries of the time. Reading and writing was taught in temple schools to people of the merchant and lower classes, and due to the expansion of the printing industry, books were readily available from lending libraries and bookshops. Woodblock printing allowed books to be illustrated with images that enhanced the text and captivated readers. Literature such as The Tale of Genji that was once available only to the elite became widespread and familiar to the lower classes. Sometimes colorful images of animals and insects or landscapes were borrowed from books, then hand-copied and made into picture books with no text or into hand scrolls. The Art of Literacy in Early Modern Japan was presented by Mai Yamaguchi, Ph.D., Andrew W. Mellon Assistant Curator of Japanese and Korean Art at the Minneapolis Institute of Art who is curator of the exhibition of the same name at MIA. A virtual tour allows a leisurely stroll through the galleries of the exhibit. (Turn the image to the right or left and follow the circles on the floor).

  Prior to joining MIA, Dr. Mai Yamaguchi was a Fellow at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and she curated the exhibition, Animals and the Pursuit of Knowledge in Japan, at the Princeton University Art Museum. She received her MA and PhD in Art and Archaeology from Princeton University.

  So powerful and adaptable is Chaekgeori, an 18th century Korean style of painting showing screens with multiple shelves of “books and things,” that it continues into contemporary art today. Introduced by King Jeongjo (r. 1776-1800), his scholarly love of books and the power of knowledge, caused him to commission a large eight-panel screen depicting bookshelves full of books as a backdrop framing his throne. In her fascinating presentation, Books and Things: Korean Joseon Dynasty Screens, Allie Arnell, SDMA docent, illuminated how this genre spread throughout Korean society. The elite class adapted these screens to depict their appreciation for scholarly pursuits, and included auspicious symbols to ensure prosperity, longevity and many sons to look after them in later years. Although a rigidly hierarchical form of Confucianism reinforced the stratified society of the time, this art form expanded to all classes, moving beyond the early dictates of style, to more colorful depictions of many flowers, fruits and even eyeglasses and watches, untethered from the shelves of a bookcase, simply floating in space. Modern Chaekgeori paintings provide artists with an opportunity for social commentary on consumerism and materialism, and the clutter of useless knickknacks.

A summary of this lecture will be posted here a month or two after the lecture is given. 

A summary of this lecture will be posted here a month or two after the lecture is given. 

A summary of this lecture will be posted here a month or two after the lecture is given.

A summary of this lecture will be posted here a month or two after the lecture is given.

A summary of this lecture will be posted here a month or two after the lecture is given.

A summary of this lecture will be posted here a month or two after the lecture is given.

A summary of this lecture will be posted here a month or two after the lecture is given.

A summary of this lecture will be posted here a month or two after the lecture is given.