Catalogues

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 Breaking Light
Introduction
Reimei (Breaking Light) explores the 20th century arts of Japan. We follow an idiosyncratic path and wind along byways we find interesting and beautiful. The artwork offered includes painting, ceramics, metalwork, lacquers, cloisonné enamels, bamboo art, wood carving and sculpture. All of the pieces were selected for their superior quality. All speak with a clear voice.

Japan experienced great change and upheaval in the 20th century. The clouds of war and natural disasters played their part in breaking old patterns, but the transition to modernity was well underway before 1900. By the first years of the century, cross-cultural currents eddied between Japan and the West continually and impelled great creativity in the arts. Many artists openly questioned what it meant to be both Japanese and modern, and the debate inspired a remarkable cultural flowering.

Much artwork from the first decades of the century explores imagery from nature. Whether in the naturalism and landscape painting of Nihonga painters or in the realism of lacquer and metal artists, the arts of the late Meiji and Taishō eras reflect a deep awareness of the seasons and of the natural world. These aesthetics changed with time and, by the 1930s, realism gave way to abstraction, the formality of stylized geometries, and idealized imagery.

The Pacific War clouded the arts as it wracked all of Japanese society. Materials were rationed by the government and allocated to artists based upon standing or prestige. Metal was eventually forbidden to civilian use, so that even Tsuda Shinobu, the head of the casting department at the Tokyo University of Fine Arts, spent the darkest of the war years sculpting in clay and plaster for want of materials. Metal artists often lived in centers of metallurgy that were targets for aerial bombing. The most avant-garde artists tended to gravitate to the great cities, and of these Tokyo and Osaka were largely reduced to smoking rubble.

After the destruction of the war, there followed a difficult period of adaptation. The old sources of patronage were gone, and few Japanese had money for the arts. For artists, survival in the early post-war years required great dedication. Yet there was a sense of rebirth and a freedom of expression that excited and inspired many. As the mood lightened in the 1950s, a playful and joyous quality surfaced in the work of many artists.

From the beginning of the century to its end, fine craftsmanship continued to be of absolute importance to the Japanese. Artists rarely work solely for themselves and, in Japan, they are fortunate to have a well-educated, passionate, and demanding audience. Likewise, the part played by public art exhibitions should be recognized. Whether sponsored by the government or by private art associations, these venues were often juried by committees of an artist’s peers and, despite the unavoidable politics associated with recognition and rejection, pride in the public display of one’s work encouraged the highest standards.

In addition, the arts in Japan benefited from a long tradition of official patronage. Up until the Pacific War, the Japanese Imperial government actively commissioned art for honorary gifts. As well, the government awarded prizes and purchased directly at exhibitions. After the war, the level of patronage decreased dramatically. However, official recognition of the arts continued with government honors and awards for cultural achievement. In 1955, the government also instituted a system to encourage the traditional arts by identifying and designating holders of important intangible cultural assets (commonly known as Living National Treasures). Clearly, the Japanese government recognizes that prestige attracts talent and energy, and infuses the arts with life.

Until recently, few in the West have paid attention to Japanese modernism. Both before and after the Pacific War, what appealed to most collectors and museums in America and Europe were the traditional arts. Perhaps, on some level, the West was uncomfortable with modern Japan and preferred to place it in a romantic category, to look to the past rather than the present. This fosters a romantic vision of Japanese culture and turns our eyes away from a brilliant cultural renaissance, one whose achievements answer the question of modernity with voices quite as beautiful and important as any in the West. We hope these pages bring new light to the way you see Japan, modernism, and the path to the present.

Reimei (Breaking Light) explores the 20th century arts of Japan. We follow an idiosyncratic path and wind along byways we find interesting and beautiful. The artwork offered includes painting, ceramics, metalwork, lacquers, cloisonné enamels, bamboo art, wood carving and sculpture. All of the pieces were selected for their superior quality. All speak with a clear voice.

Japan experienced great change and upheaval in the 20th century. The clouds of war and natural disasters played their part in breaking old patterns, but the transition to modernity was well underway before 1900. By the first years of the century, cross-cultural currents eddied between Japan and the West continually and impelled great creativity in the arts. Many artists openly questioned what it meant to be both Japanese and modern, and the debate inspired a remarkable cultural flowering.

Much artwork from the first decades of the century explores imagery from nature. Whether in the naturalism and landscape painting of Nihonga painters or in the realism of lacquer and metal artists, the arts of the late Meiji and Taishō eras reflect a deep awareness of the seasons and of the natural world. These aesthetics changed with time and, by the 1930s, realism gave way to abstraction, the formality of stylized geometries, and idealized imagery.

The Pacific War clouded the arts as it wracked all of Japanese society. Materials were rationed by the government and allocated to artists based upon standing or prestige. Metal was eventually forbidden to civilian use, so that even Tsuda Shinobu, the head of the casting department at the Tokyo University of Fine Arts, spent the darkest of the war years sculpting in clay and plaster for want of materials. Metal artists often lived in centers of metallurgy that were targets for aerial bombing. The most avant-garde artists tended to gravitate to the great cities, and of these Tokyo and Osaka were largely reduced to smoking rubble.

After the destruction of the war, there followed a difficult period of adaptation. The old sources of patronage were gone, and few Japanese had money for the arts. For artists, survival in the early post-war years required great dedication. Yet there was a sense of rebirth and a freedom of expression that excited and inspired many. As the mood lightened in the 1950s, a playful and joyous quality surfaced in the work of many artists.

From the beginning of the century to its end, fine craftsmanship continued to be of absolute importance to the Japanese. Artists rarely work solely for themselves and, in Japan, they are fortunate to have a well-educated, passionate, and demanding audience. Likewise, the part played by public art exhibitions should be recognized. Whether sponsored by the government or by private art associations, these venues were often juried by committees of an artist’s peers and, despite the unavoidable politics associated with recognition and rejection, pride in the public display of one’s work encouraged the highest standards.

In addition, the arts in Japan benefited from a long tradition of official patronage. Up until the Pacific War, the Japanese Imperial government actively commissioned art for honorary gifts. As well, the government awarded prizes and purchased directly at exhibitions. After the war, the level of patronage decreased dramatically. However, official recognition of the arts continued with government honors and awards for cultural achievement. In 1955, the government also instituted a system to encourage the traditional arts by identifying and designating holders of important intangible cultural assets (commonly known as Living National Treasures). Clearly, the Japanese government recognizes that prestige attracts talent and energy, and infuses the arts with life.

Until recently, few in the West have paid attention to Japanese modernism. Both before and after the Pacific War, what appealed to most collectors and museums in America and Europe were the traditional arts. Perhaps, on some level, the West was uncomfortable with modern Japan and preferred to place it in a romantic category, to look to the past rather than the present. This fosters a romantic vision of Japanese culture and turns our eyes away from a brilliant cultural renaissance, one whose achievements answer the question of modernity with voices quite as beautiful and important as any in the West. We hope these pages bring new light to the way you see Japan, modernism, and the path to the present.