I have always had an appreciation for Far Eastern Art, it had a way of capturing my heart and evoking certain feelings from me. Within different works of art, certain pieces possessed an essence that could be expressed by a word. After careful consideration I chose one word that can apply to two different pieces, a ceramic, and a painting. The three words I decided to express use to express myself and capture my feelings toward certain pieces are the following: unity, faith, nature. In this exhibit I wanted to touch upon the artwork of Ancient Chinese and Korean culture and how the words unity, faith, nature evoke certain feelings and could be expressed differently in distinct pieces. Not only through this exhibit will I compare the ceramics and paintings but further tie artwork of this era as a whole.
UNITY
Xia Gui, TWELVE VIEWS FROM A THATCHED HUT
Chinese. Southern Song dynasty, early 13th century C.E. Handscroll, ink on silk.
Chinese. Southern Song dynasty, early 13th century C.E. Handscroll, ink on silk.
"slides provided courtesy of Pearson Education for Educational Purposes. Copyright, Pearson Education, 2009"
The word I chose to use to express both of these pieces was unity. When I look at the painting, it is a scenic view of the landscape in China. What captures me about this piece is the fact that the artist carefully selected certain parts of this painting to reveal and purposely left a lot of the silk blank, in a mist. His attention to detail feels enchanting. What can be gathered from this painting is the artist allows the viewer to take certain areas of the landscape and use that as a starting tool for envisioning what could lie beyond the ink.
GUAN WARE VASE
Chinese. Southern Song Dynasty, 13th century C.E. Gray stoneware with cracked grayish blue gaze.
"slides provided courtesy of Pearson Education for Educational Purposes. Copyright, Pearson Education, 2009"
This piece is a beautifully executed ceramic in a simple form and simple shape. What the artist does that he purposely incorporates a cracking techniques into the glaze which spirals all throughout the vase.
TWELVE VIEWS FROM A THATCHED HUT & GUAN WARE VASE
Even with the cracks in the glaze of the “Guan ware vase” and the empty space of mist from “Twelve views from a thatched hut”, they both feel unified in their present form. Each crack in the glaze cuts the glaze into individual pieces which reinforce one another and contribute to the unification of this piece. In the “Twelve views from a thatched hut”, the artist carefully painted segmented pieces of the landscape and what I feel unifies, what binds each piece of the landscape together would be the purposely empty spaces which are meant to be the mist in the distance. The mist serves as a cloud that holds the painting together. Whether the “Guan ware vase” or the “Twelve views from a thatched hut” their purposely separated parts come together to reveal unified shape or image.
FAITH
THE WESTERN PARADISE OF AMITABHA BUDDAH
Chinese. Dunhuang, Gansu. Tang dynasty, c. 750 CE. Detail of a wall painting
"slides provided courtesy of Pearson Education for Educational Purposes. Copyright, Pearson Education, 2009"
In “The western paradise of amitabha buddah” this is a detailed wall painting from 750 CE., is detailed imagery of a spiritual leader and the blessings that Buddha can bestow upon the people, a paradise. This painting captures the significance that Buddha holds in Chinese society, a life of liberation and enlightenment. There is a strong passion in faith that is expressed in this painting by seating Buddah central to the painting, but Buddha does not dominate this painting, instead Buddha’s vision of faith takes hold and what faith has to offer his followers.
CEREMONIAL STAND WITH SNAKE, ABSTRACT, AND OPENWORK DECORATION
Korean. Three Kingdoms period, Silla Kingdom, 5th-6th century. Gray stoneware with combed, stamped, applied, and openwork decoration and with traces of natural ash glaze
Korean. Three Kingdoms period, Silla Kingdom, 5th-6th century. Gray stoneware with combed, stamped, applied, and openwork decoration and with traces of natural ash glaze
"slides provided courtesy of Pearson Education for Educational Purposes. Copyright, Pearson Education, 2009"
The “Ceremonial stand with snake” is a ceramic that was high fired with a natural ash glaze which allowed this piece of art to stand against liquids. The purpose of this piece was typically used as a container to hold offerings such as food for the deceased so the spirit could nourish itself in the afterlife. The people who probably constructed this particular artwork had in mind durability over the tests of time. It’s a fairly simple shape with a long shaft and rounded bottom with cut out triangular shapes all along the body.
THE WESTERN PARADISE OF AMITABHA BUDDAH & CEREMONIAL STAND WITH SNAKE
Why I chose to bring these two particular artworks together is they both share spiritual feeling. They both posses beliefs in faith, the ceramic is a representation in a faith in Buddha while the painting offers a way to connect through with faith to deceased loved ones.
NATURE
MAEBYEONG BOTTLE WITH DECORATION OF BAMBOO PLUM TREE
Korean. Goryeo dynasty, late 12th-early 13th century. Inlaid celadon ware: light gray stoneware with decoration inlaid with black and white slips under celadon glaze
Korean. Goryeo dynasty, late 12th-early 13th century. Inlaid celadon ware: light gray stoneware with decoration inlaid with black and white slips under celadon glaze
"slides provided courtesy of Pearson Education for Educational Purposes. Copyright, Pearson Education, 2009"
The depicted image on the bottle is of the stalks of bamboo growing at the edge of a lake which are intertwined with a blossoming plum tree. This jar typically would have been used for storing a variety of liquids.
BAMBOO IN WIND
Ming dynasty, ca. 1460. Xia Chang (Chinese, 1388–1470)ChinaHanging scroll; ink on paper
"slides provided courtesy of Pearson Education for Educational Purposes. Copyright, Pearson Education, 2009"
The “Bamboo in Wind” is depiction, as the title states, of bamboo in the wind and was a popular subject among Ming and Qing painters. This painting has a sort of flow all throughout the bamboo leaves. They can appear as though they are moving freely through the wind.
MAEBYEONG BOTTLE WITH DECORATION OF BAMBOO PLUM TREE & BAMBOO IN THE WIND
What I feel that both these works of art posses is an appreciation of nature. Bamboo was a symbol of strength and integrity and used as the main focus of both pieces. There is a peaceful presence in nature which can be applied to both of these works of art.
A FEW FINAL WORDS.....
The ceramics and paintings I discussed today are apart of this unifying faithful nature which can be found all throughout Chinese and Korean works of art. There is a strength within each piece which binds each one to these two cultures. Each work of art holds a faith in importance of life and are all part of a culture's nature to capture it's beauty.
Curated by Megan Maher
Curatorial Statement by Megan Maher
Credits
Stokstad, Marilyn. Art History: Portable Edition. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Prentice Hall, 2009. Print.
