May 10, 2001

• here's the weblog that i really wanted to do - will add to it with my xanga premium when i can get to a computer with explorer!
  
  i'm studying for the final exam for my japanese art class and i have these vivid images in my mind, vestigal visions of wonderful works of art that express japanese aesthetic sensibilities.
  
  i love yamato-e or japanese style paintings for their rich decorative quality. The Lotus Sutra done by the Heike Clan as a means of gaining good karma during the time of Mappo (Decline of the buddhist law) is one of my particular favorites. the emphasis on the decorative elements, flatness of the picture and the arrangement of forms to yield a pleasing array of positive and negative spaces on the surface of the sutra is only the beginning of what makes this object a timeless piece of art. the rich colors and use of gold leaf contribute to a sense of lushness and beauty, so much that my eyes keep straying from what they are supposed to be reading and instead dwell on this dream made tangible.
  
  on the other end of the spectrum, i love too the japanese aesthetics of sabi and wabi, respectively, the beauty of worn and rustic things and the worship of poverty, principles of appreciation developed by the 16th century artist Sen no Rikyu. He opposed blatant vulgarity of wealth and instead stressed simplicity of expression. His tea-room at Honen-in is the result of his teachings: the interior walls are dark, worn and burnished, and straw peeks through areas which were deliberately left unplastered to give a sense of rusticness. the entrance to the tea room is small and half the normal height of a door, forcing visitors to crawl through it, so as to make people show respect and modesty, and also to prevent people from bringing weapons into the room. although i have never been there, it is esay to see that it is a place of simple pleasures meant to free the mind from the constant preoccupation with material things.
  
  i love the teabowls that exhibit this aesthetic too - it's such as sensuous experience holding it in your hands, feeling the crevices and textures on the body of the bowl, appreciating the subtle play of colors that play below the surface of the tea, and taking in the bitter fresh smell of powdered tea. ahhh.....just thinking about this makes me very relaxed....
  the top bowl is Moichimitsu which means 'without a thing', by Sasaki Chojiro. The lower image is of Fujisan, Mt Fuji, by Honami Koetsu. Can you see Mount Fuji's snow-capped peak?

  
  

  
  i promise to update this part later with pictures! lemme get my damned exams over with!!! gahhhh@!!!!!

  • 9:25 pm
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