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Publications - Breaking Light Introduction
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 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. |
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