VO LU M E 2 3 N O.

2 J U N E 2 0 1 4

the journal of
the asian arts society
of australia

TAASA Review

c o n t en t s
Volume 23 No. 2 June 2014

3 Ed itor ial

TAA S A R E V I E W

Josefa Green

PAI NTING THE T H EATR E : N P I CT U R ES AT T H E AGNSW

THE ASIAN ARTS SOCIETY OF AUSTRALIA INC.

Abn 64093697537 Vol. 23 No.2, June 2014
ISSN 1037.6674

Khanh Trinh

JIN SHAN P EAS A NT PAINTI NG I N CH I NA

Liwanna Chan

10

Bushid o : Way o f the Samu r ai

Wayne Crothers

Registered by Australia Post. Publication No. NBQ 4134

e di torI A L email: editorial@taasa.org.au

General editor, Josefa Green

pub l i c at i ons c om m i t t ee

12 A GLO BAL AUDI ENCE , O NCE AGAIN: CENTRAL A SIAN ART AT ART D UB AI

Asher Kohn

14

SOCIALIST REALIST ART IN SUKARNOS INDONESIA

Sahul Hamid

Josefa Green (convenor) Tina Burge

Melanie Eastburn Sandra Forbes Charlotte Galloway
William Gourlay Marianne Hulsbosch
Jim Masselos Ann Proctor Sabrina Snow
Christina Sumner
desi gn/ l ayou t

Ingo Voss, VossDesign

p ri n t i ng

John Fisher Printing

17 T HE BOUNDL ES S H ALL S OF BU ILD ER MONK MIAOF ENG (1 5 4 0 - 1 6 1 3 )

John Millbank

20

S HEDDING NEW LI GH T O N T H E A NCI ENT M EDIT ERRA NE A N W ORLD :

THE AN U C LASSI CS COLL ECTION

Elizabeth Minchin

22

SRI LANKAs BAWA: ARCHITECTURES SERENDIPITOUS LINKS

Sabrina Snow & Ann Proctor

24 F our DAY S WIT H CERAMI C ARTIST YOSH I KAWA MASAMI C H I

Wendy Ella Wright

27

ELEMENTS IN HA R M O NY: C O NTE M P O R AR Y JAPANE SE C E RA M I C S -

Published by The Asian Arts Society of Australia Inc.

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Enquiries: admin@taasa.org.au
TAASA Review is published quarterly and is distributed to members
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performing arts. All articles are refereed. Additional copies and
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A DIS P LAY AT TH E ART GALL ERY OF SO U T H AU STRALIA

or omit any article or advertisements submitted and require

Russell Kelty

or liabilities that may arise from material published.

28

BOO K REVIEW: E XHI BI T I N G T HE PA S T

Jocelyn Chey

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Compendium of n pictures (detail) , mid Edo period, 18th century, album with
50 illustrations, ink and colour on silk, 37 x 45.5 cm each. National Noh Theatre. See pp4-6.

A f ull In d ex of ar ticles pub l ishe d in TAASA R e view s ince i t s beg i nni ngs
i n 1991 is available on the TAASA web s ite , www.taas a.o rg. au

FOR OUR NEXT ISSUE IS 1 JULY 2014

The deadline for all aDvertising
FOR OUR NEXT ISSUE IS 1 AUGUST 2014

TAA S A c o m m i t t ee

E DITORIAL

G i ll Gr een Pr esident

Josefa Green, Editor

Art historian specialising in Cambodian culture

A NN PROC TOR Vice Pr esi dent

Art historian with a particular interest in Vietnam

To dd Sund er man TREASUR E R

Former Asian antique dealer, with a particular interest

in Tibetan furniture
Dy Andr eas en SECR ETARY

Has a special interest in Japanese haiku and tanka poetry

Hwei-fe n cheah

Visiting Fellow, School of Cultural Inquiry, Australian

National University.
Mat t Cox

Assistant Curator, Asian Art, Art Gallery of NSW

Charlotte Galloway

Lecturer Asian Art History and Curatorial Studies,

Australian National University, with a special interest
in the Buddhist Art of Myanmar
Jo sefa Gr een

General editor of TAASA Review. Collector of

Chinese ceramics
ANN GUILD

Former Director of the Embroiders Guild (UK)

MIN-JUNG KIM

Curator of Asian Arts & Design at the Powerhouse Museum

This June issue is quite a contrast to the March

TAASA Review, which focused on historical
collections held by the various royal houses of
Asia. This issue has a much more modern feel,
and its emphasis on East Asia is particularly
appropriate given that we can look forward to
two major exhibitions on Japan in the coming
months.

durable wooden structures remained the

primary architectural form in China.

Our opening article is Khanh Trinhs preview

of Theatre of dreams, Theatre of play - n and
kygen in Japan, on show at the AGNSW from
14 June. Though a wide range of exhibits will
be on display, Khanhs article explores one
particular aspect: nga or painted and printed
images depicting various aspects of this
performing tradition.

Architectural innovation is also the focus of

another article in this issue, this time of the 20th
century Sri Lankan architect Geoffrey Bawa,
who developed a style of architecture which
melded vernacular architectural forms with
inspiration drawn from historical prototypes
and Sri Lankas natural environment. Sabrina
Snow and Ann Proctor were lucky enough
to stay in a number of Bawa designed hotels
in their recent visit to Sri Lanka, and we can
share their wonderful experiences.

Soon after, the NGV will be presenting

Bushido: Way of the Samurai, which will
offer fascinating insight into the life and
preoccupations of this warrior lite. Wayne
Crothers gives us a taste of what we can
expect to see - including a truly fabulous Edo
period suit of armour.

Yukie S ato

Former Vice President of the Oriental Ceramic Society of

the Philippines with wide-ranging interest in Asian art
and culture
SUSAN SC OLLAY

Art historian and curator specialising in the arts of Islam

and in historic textiles. She is Fellow of the Royal Asiatic
Society of the UK.
CHRI STIN A SUMN ER

Former Principal Curator, Design and Society,

Powerhouse Museum, Sydney
Margar et White

Former President and Advisor of the Friends of Museums,

Singapore, with special interest in Southeast Asian art,
ceramics and textiles
s t a t e r ep r esen t a t i ves
Australian Capital Territory
Me la nie Eastbu r n

Curator of Asian Art, National Gallery of Australia

Queensland
Russel l Stor er

Curatorial Manager, Asian and Pacific Art,

Queensland Art Gallery
South Australia
Jam es Bennett

Curator of Asian Art, Art Gallery of South Australia

Victoria
Ca ro l C ains

Curator Asian Art, National Gallery of Victoria International

To flesh out our Japanese offerings, we have

two shorter pieces. Wendy Ella Wright gives
us a personal account of her four days spent
with ceramic artist Yoshikawa Masamichi,
acting as his interpreter during his Master
classes at the Australian Ceramics Triennale,
Subversive Clay, held in Adelaide in 2012.
Russell Kelty describes a current display at
AGSA which showcases over 40 works from
a private collection of contemporary Japanese
ceramics together with ceramics, prints and
sculptures from the Gallerys own collection.
As this is after all a general issue, there are
wider topics on offer, a number covering
Chinese themes. Liwanna Chan writes about
a very vibrant and colourful peasant painting
movement emerging in the late 1970s in
Jinshan near Shanghai, which essentially
transferred artistic folk traditions such as
jianzhi (paper cut techniques) and embroidery
into the painting medium.
Looking back to the Ming, John Millbanks
article discusses a major innovation in
building construction namely temples built
entirely of brick with arches and vaulted
ceilings rather than the more traditional
timber framework. About half of the dozen
known examples of these beamless halls
are the work of a monk called Miaofeng.
John speculates on what motivated him
to construct these buildings, and why less

And finally on Chinese themes, Jocelyn Chey

reviews a recent book by Kirk Denton on the
role of museums in contemporary China,
and how the representation of Chinas past is
changing as Chinese society evolves.

Staying in the 20th century, and SE Asia,

Sahul Hamid covers a very particular period
in Indonesian history when a Socialist
Realist form of art was used to promote
the revolutionary agenda of the Sukarno
regime in the late 50s and early 60s. He gives
us a detailed account of the way in which
individuals and organisations were co-opted
to adopt this art style to win the hearts and
minds of the population.
Emerging from a long period of State control
over the creation of much of their art, Central
Asian artists have made a strong impact at
the recent Art Dubai fair held in March. Each
year, Art Dubai reserves space to highlight a
particular theme or geography. In his article,
Asher Kohn walks us through the curated
space which this year covered the diverse
output of artists from Central Asia and the
Caucasus as represented by five galleries
from the region.
In past TAASA Reviews, we have tried to
present interesting but less well known
collections of Asian art. In this issue, the
ANU Classics Collection is highlighted by
Elizabeth Minchin, its honorary curator. It
comprises about 650 items from the GrecoRoman world, whose culture influenced a
vast region from Great Britain in the west to
Syria and Iraq in the east.
Finally, TAASA held its AGM on 14 May
where a number of existing Committee
members stood down and new ones were
welcomed. Details will be provided in the
September issue of the TAASA Review.

P AI N TI N G T H E T H E ATR E : N P I C T U R E S AT T H E A G N S W
Khanh Trinh
Inuyamabushi from the album Illustrations of old n and kygen, early Edo period,
17th century, ink and colour on paper, 44.4 x 59.5 cm. National Noh Theatre

(literally skill or talent, also spelled

noh),
Japans
oldest
continuous
performing art tradition, can best be described
as a total stage art that involves vocal and
instrument music, dance elements, acting
techniques, architecture and applied arts.
The roots of n trace back to 8th century
court entertainments, ritual dances offered in
agricultural festivals as well as various forms of
skits and acrobatic acts presented by travelling
troupes of performers at Buddhist temples and
Shinto shrines on auspicious occasions.

In the 14th century, Kanami Kiyotsugu

(133384) and his son, the celebrated actor,
playwright and theoretician Zeami Motokiyo
(c1363-c1443) consolidated these various popular
entertainments to develop a highly sophisticated
theatrical form that appealed to the social elite.
Throughout its formative phase in the
Muromachi period (1333-1573) and especially
in the Edo period (1603-1868), the production
and enjoyment of n performances which
usually consisted of various dramatic n plays
interspersed with humoristic kygen interludes
was almost exclusively reserved for members
of the ruling military aristocracy. This privileged
patronage provided the five main n schools
with secure income and access to high quality
performing tools such as costumes and masks.
But it also meant that members of the various n
troupes, as opposed to their counterparts from the
kabuki theatre, did not have to rely on marketing
through visual media in order to sustain their
activities. Consequently, this might explain
why in contrast to painted and printed kabuki
images, which have survived in abundance, n
pictures (nga or n-e) are rather rare resulting in

their fairly unknown status within Japanese art

historical discourse.
Theatre of dreams, theatre of play, an exhibition
examining the rich material culture of n
theatre organised by the Art Gallery of NSW
in collaboration with the Agency for Cultural
Affairs of Japan and the Japan Arts Council
(National Noh Theatre) will shed more light
on this intriguing pictorial genre. For the first
time, a separate section in a n exhibition is
dedicated to nga. Besides sumptuous robes,
captivating masks and elaborately decorated
music instruments, about one fourth of the
170 exhibits are folding screens, hanging
and hand scrolls and albums, as well as
compendiums of woodblock prints that

vividly depict various aspects of this timehonoured performing tradition. Through the
discussion of select highlights this article will
explore the diverse stylistic and compositional
modes surrounding n paintings and prints,
as well as the socio-historical context of their
production and consumption.
Measuring only 16.6 cm high (but stretching
over 7 m long!), the handscroll Hyakuman
is arguably the biggest star among the
paintings in the exhibition for its rarity as
well as its early date. The play is attributed to
Zeami, who adapted it from an older version
written by his father entitled The craze woman
of Saga. The protagonist of the piece, a woman
named Hyakuman, went mad with grief

N performance, mid Edo period, 18th century, six-panel folding screen, ink and colour on gold ground, 72 x 227 cm. National Noh Theatre

TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O. 2

Compendium of n pictures, mid Edo period, 18th century, album with 50 illustrations, ink and colour on silk, 37 x 45.5 cm each. National Noh Theatre

over the loss of her young son and wandered

around the country in search of the boy. One
day, as she drew attention with her delirious
dancing and chanting at an incantation
ceremony for the Amida Buddha at the Seiry
temple in Saga (near Kyoto), a priest took pity
on her and enquired about the reasons for her
deranged emotional state. It turned out that
the madwomans son had been rescued and
raised by the priest in all this time. The play
ends with the joyful reunion of mother and
child, and Hyakuman, having regained her
sanity, offers a dance to thank the Buddha.
Hyakumans heart-wrenching story is retold in
16 text passages written in a fluid, semi-cursive
calligraphic style and illustrated by 16 jewellike images painted with vibrant colour. The
text excerpts are taken directly from Zeamis
play; their positioning in alternate order with
the illustrations follows the compositional
convention of medieval illustrated narrative
handscrolls. The illustrations, while showing
influences of the native painting style
Yamato-e in the depiction of the figures
and architecture, are imbued with a nave,
untrammelled flair and seem to have been
carried out by a professional town painter (or

TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O. 2

painting workshop). The relative small size

of the scroll further indicates that this work
belongs to the group of illustrated fairy tales
(otogizshi emaki) and illustrated woodblock
printed books or handscrolls (nara ehon)
which circulated among the wider populace
in the Muromachi to mid-Edo period. Besides
Hyakuman, which was recently discovered and
purchased by the National Noh Theatre, only
four other handscrolls with illustrated n plays
are known today. They open up a new, exciting
field of research for art historians.
The more common extant n pictures are not
in this format but rather depict a performance
on stage or a particular scene in a given play.
The oldest depictions of n and kygen as
staged performances are seen in folding screens
portraying the noted scenes in and around the
capital (Kyoto) (rakuch rakugaizu) or the bustling
atmosphere of festivals at temples and shrines
(saireizu) that emerged from the beginning of
the 16th century. While they are usually only
tiny vignettes in such sweeping, richly detailed
cityscapes and festival screens, n stages can still
be discerned as located within temple or shrine
precincts, underlining the historical roots of n as
a performance within a religious context.

As exemplified in the leaf Inuyamabushi from

the early 17th century album Illustrations of old n
and kygen, the standard mode of representation
of early performances, held outdoor on an open,
raised platform, prescribed a birds-eye view
of the stage. This offered an all-encompassing
outlook onto the action onstage and the
audience, which up to that time comprised
commoners from a broad spectrum of society.
The lively depictions of the n and kygen
theatre in this album share similarities with
early Edo period genre paintings that portrayed
scenes of amusement in aristocratic residences
as well as the more popular showgrounds on
the banks of the Kamo river in Kyoto, where the
first form of the kabuki theatre was shown.
From the reign of the second Tokugawa
shogun Hidetada (r. 1605-23), n was declared
the official entertainment of the military
aristocracy. Works from this era reflect this
exclusivity, with their inclusion within a
painting genre showing leisure activities
hosted at noble mansions referred to as
teinai yrakuzu. Performances were either
conducted within domestic settings in which
spectators were seated in a room adjacent to
the stage, or more commonly, on a purpose-

Illustrated handscroll of the n play Hyakuman (detail), Muromachi period, 16th century, handscroll, ink and colour on paper, 16.6 x 738.1 cm. National Noh Theatre

built structure in the garden of palaces or other

residences of high-ranking personalities.
On occasion, renowned artists from the Tosa or
Kano lineage in the service of the nobility were
ordered to attend special performances and
thereafter produced commemorative paintings.
The sumptuous six-fold screen N performance
is an impressive example of such celebratory
works. It illustrates a highlight from Act II of
the first-category god play Naniwa, when the
goddess Konohana Sakuyahime and the ghost
of the scholar nin perform the main dance
act to orchestral accompaniment. Four stage
assistants, the chorus, the subsidiary actor and
his two companions complete the ensemble.
The blossoming cherry branches in the low
centre of the screen, as well as the audience of
numerous noblewomen (identifiable by their
cloak-like veils) and young children, indicate
that this work records one of the performances
conducted annually in spring in the Imperial
palace for the enjoyment of the court ladies.
Visualisations of such n performances possess
great appeal and are of high artistic quality.
But they are also treasured as visual records
of the evolution of the n theatre through
the centuries. For example, a comparison of
the early 17th century album with the 18th
century six-fold screen already reveals the
shift in the social composition of the audience
from a general populace to a more specific,
lite circle. More remarkable is the change
in stage architecture. While temple festival
performances in the formative stage of n were
outdoor and on temporarily installed raised
platforms, a complex architecture involving
a main playing area covered by a roof and
connected to a backstage area through a roofed
bridgeway can be seen on representations of
performances occurring from the late 16th
century onwards. The stage seen in the sixfold screen thus accurately shows the standard
stage construction that is still in use today.
Another major group of n pictures comprise
those with much simpler composition that
focus solely on the main actor, captured in
interaction with the supporting characters in

a key moment of a play. Usually collected in

albums and handscrolls conducive for a more
intimate viewing, these compendiums were
privately commissioned for n connoisseurs,
with the more sumptuously produced
deluxe anthologies handed down in daimyo
households. During the Edo period daimyo
were not only the principal patrons of the
various n schools, but were themselves
devoted students of the theatre.

even gained prestigious imperial patronage from

1881 onwards with the foundation of the Ngaku
Society and the construction of the N Hall in the
Shiba district of Tokyo where public performances
were held. This renewed interest in n was echoed
in the visual arts, most notably in the works of the
painters and print designers Kawanabe Kysai
(183189), Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (183992), and
Yoshitoshis pupil and adopted son Tsukioka
Kgyo (18691927).

The album illustrated here for example (p5)

consists of the highlights of 50 n and kygen
plays painted with utmost detailed brushwork,
great attention to the textile designs and
vibrant, costly pigments. It belonged formerly
to the Mizuno clan, lords of the Ozaki domain
(present-day Aichi prefecture) and is attributed
to Sumiyoshi Gukei (1631-1705), a noted
painter of the illustrious Sumiyoshi school. The
composition is largely standardised, showing the
actors as abstracted patterns set against a blank
background. The performers are depicted as
generic figures without individual physiognomic
traits, indicating a strong interest in the accurate
rendition of the pose and costuming rather than
the actors stage presence.

Kgyo, in particular, has earned the accolade

of a modern painter of n based on his prolific
output of more than 70 paintings, five sets of
prints (totalling over 700 individual designs)
and hundreds of magazine illustrations and
postcards relating to this theme. Kgyos lifelong passion was ignited by an attendance
at a n performance staged in honour of the
visit of the Russian crown prince Nicholas II
(r. 1894-1917) in 1883.

This approach contrasts markedly with kabuki

images, in which the actors fashion sense and
bearings offstage were considered as interesting
and important as his onstage persona. No such
cultish adoration of the individual existed for
n and kygen performers at this time, and
consequently the highlights of a specific n (or
kygen) play were not depicted to promote the
star-status of actors and boost ticket sales. In
general, anthologies such as the Mizuno album
might have served as resources for the selection
of plays for one-day programs or visual reference
works in the identification of the over 200 plays
in the repertoire at that time. They were also
appreciated as works of art in their own right.
N risked becoming a pass art form in the
wake of the Meiji Restoration in 1868 when the
patronage for many traditional artistic expressions
was threatened due to the abolition of the feudal
system. Thanks to the efforts of statesman Iwakura
Tomomi (182583), n experienced a revival and

For Kgyo, studying the patterns and colour

schemes of the costumes, the abstract quality
of the masks and the movements of the actors
on stage was essential for the creation of elegant
figure paintings. Between 1897 and his death in
1927, Kgyo collaborated with Matsuki Heikichi
of the Daikokuya, one of the leading publishing
houses in Meiji-period Japan to produce large,
luxurious print series such as Pictures of n plays
(18971902), One hundred n plays (192227), and
A great mirror of n pictures (192030). While in
essence relying on the conventional repertoire
of n imagery, Kgyo modernised his images
with numerous innovative compositional
devices, some influenced by Western styles. It
has been posited that these sumptuous editions
demonstrate a last concerted effort on the part of
publisher and artist to generate renewed interest
in traditional art forms ukiyo-e prints and n
theatre in an age of increasing modernisation.
Theatre of dreams, Theatre of play - n and kygen
in Japan is on show at the AGNSW June 14 to
September 14. The exhibition will close on
July 28-30 for a change over.
Dr Khanh Trinh is Curator of Japanese Art at the
AGNSW.

TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O. 2

J I N S H A N P E A S A N T P AI N TI N G I N C H I N A
Liwanna Chan
Snakes, Lu Yong, 1980s, painting, 75 x 69cm, Zhijiang Province.
Source: Jinshan Peasant Paintings, China Today Press, 1991

n the latter part of the 20th century, rural

workers, untrained in modern artistic
traditions, seized on a potent mix of economic
and social factors to catalyse one of Chinas
most important contemporary art movements.

A new form of apolitical peasant painting

emerged in the late 1970s in Jinshan, south of
Shanghai, Zhejiang province. Jinshan is one
of the well known beautiful southern water
villages. The spectacular landscape and rich
natural resources may have inspired its people
and cultivated their love for art. This new
genre is distinct in subject matter and style
from previous peasant painting movements
such as the brief surge of politically motivated
Pixian Wall Mural painting in Jiangsu Province
during the 1958 Great Leap Forward, and the
more sophisticated Huxian peasant painting in
Shaanxi Province which aimed to popularise
the sciences through art towards the end of the
1970s during the Cultural Revolution.
Following the implementation of the Open
Door policy in China in the late 1970s,
artists in various media had more freedom to
choose their themes. The favourable economic
environment created opportunities for them
to question all areas of art practice. For
contemporary revolutionary artists the focus
on indigenous art was a catalyst to challenge
conservative art concepts by questioning the
validity of the traditional art regime. For the
traditionalists, it acted as a means to resist
the influx of contemporary trends (Pan 1986:
12-13). Zou Hanzhong, a folk art researcher,
claims that no period in Chinese art history has
embraced folk arts in such an extensive and
spontaneous manner as the 1980s (Zuo 1992).
In 1984, folk arts were showcased by the
Chinese Artists Association at the 6th
National Art Exhibition as a way to promote
and raise artistic awareness of rural people.
This exhibition featured many Jinshan
peasant paintings that evoked jianzhi (or
paper cut techniques) and embroidery and
effectively represented a new hybridised form
of contemporary art.
Jinshans folk art, though not unique in
China, is highly varied and rich. Inspired by
its artistic folk traditions, it also drew from
the energy of the economically enriched 1980s
(Wu, T. 1982:41-43).Its folk art repertoire
includes indigo blue printed textiles, batik,
intricately carved wooden furniture, rich

TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O. 2

and vibrant embroidery, wall paintings and

highly decorative jianzhi. These traditions are
inseparable from the peoples lives and are
ubiquitous during festivals and special events
such as wedding and birthday celebrations.
The origins of the Jinshan painting movement
can be traced to 1972. Professor Wu Tongzhang,
a Shanghai based painter and stage designer,
was assigned to the rural area of Jinshan to
teach art and learn from the peasant farmers
as part of the back to the country side
campaign. At the local Community centre, two
farmers had produced a set of artworks about
their village history which were admired by
many including Wu, who believed that much
of contemporary urban art was highly skilled
but lacked vitality (Wu 1982: 41).
The Pixian peasant art movement had been
launched in the 1950s to promote political
awareness throughout the country, in the
belief that a strengthened ideology would
lead to rapid modernisation. It had been
accompanied by the slogan, Everyone is
an artist. Workers were expected to utilise
various art forms, although not technically
refined, to honour the achievements of the
community (Jizhe 1958: 13).

Wu believed this philosophy was at odds with

the production of true art: not everyone can be
an artist. However, he recognised the artistic
potential of the peasants due to their long
folk art tradition, with established tastes and
strong rural themes, and made it his mission
to develop peasant painting and coach the
peasant painters.
After the political regime changed in 1976,
allowing a freer expression of art, Wu
encouraged local folk artists to showcase
their creations. The beauty of the local
embroidery, jianzhi and other handicrafts such
as ceramics, lacquer painting, brick carving
and toy making, astounded Wu. Richly
varied embroidery subjects were realistically
executed yet exaggerated, with an emphasis
on the objects distinguishing features.
Dazzling colours were not necessarily
confined to those found in nature. Their
jianzhi were aesthetically decorative, symbolic
and intricately cut.
Wu believed these artists, particularly the
rural women talented in weaving, embroidery
and paper cutting, could transfer this
creativity to painting. Because painting was
a new medium to these artists, he believed

A Corner in the Kitchen, Zhang Xinying, 1980s, painting, 57 x 61cm, Zhijiang Province.

FISHING Village, Tao Linping, 1980s, painting, 55 x 64.5cm. Zhijiang Province.

Source: Jinshan Peasant Paintings, China Today Press, 1991

Source: Jinshan Peasant Paintings, China Today Press, 1991

this could free them from preconceptions,

and give full play to their artistic creativity.
He also believed one must search intensely
within ones local culture, whilst aiming to
make the old serve the new.
Wu initiated classes that did not require the
peasants to learn basics such as perspective
and composition, but instead concentrate on
the aesthetic. Wu hoped this approach would
elicit their ability to create from their hearts
and to convey an earthy essence of their
locality, feeling that without this expression
their works would lack strength and vitality.
Women could use the same colour mixing
skills applied to threads for their embroidery,
and patterns could be composed in a similar
way to jianzhi.
Thus, Jinshan folk artists substituted their
fabric with paper, their needles with brushes,
and coloured cotton threads with paint. They
valued teachers who understood their way
of life, feelings and aesthetic ideology and
who allowed them to follow their artistic
imagination. In peasant paintings, the
emphasis of the work is on elements of life.
In their early successes the Jinshan painters
did not follow typical academic methods
to cultivate their art, but instead painted
according to their own cultural system (Hua
1984: 11). The result was a distinctive regional
contemporary stylistic art form.
The wide range of themes in Jinshan peasant
painting captured the new phenomena
and events of the rural area after the 1980s

- reforestation of barren hills, natural

methods of animal husbandry, biogas,
scientific farming, and new housing - as
well as retaining traditional subjects such as
weddings, harvest celebrations and festivals.
Painters presented everyday life subjects
vividly in centuries-old Chinese folk styles,
at times transforming ordinary events into
grossly exaggerated metaphors according to
their imagination (Hua 1984:11). Figures and
objects may seem rather primitive in style.
The artists used a wide range of rich vibrant
colours, painting with tempera mixed with
chalk on xuan paper, which was then pasted
onto heavier paper.
Spatial realism and perspective were
unimportant, and various views from different
perspectives could be depicted within the one
image. Distance was not conveyed through
variation in size or shades of light but instead
through the conceptual representation of the
image and the distance between the flat object
and space.
Another special feature of Jinshan peasant
painting is the fusing of different time frames
and spaces in order to focus on distinct
aspects of peasant life, adapting the robust
and exaggerated style of jianzhi to painting.
Painters abstract subjects and surroundings,
for example, a cup might be represented by
a circle for the rim and a horizontal line for
the base. This allows the cup to stand. Objects
functions, as well as their appearance, are
relevant in peasant paintings, but the final
aesthetic effect is paramount.

Jinshan peasant painting is inspired by

familiar loved objects, local activities, legends,
surroundings and customs. This is typical of
works by artist Ruan Sidi such as Chicken,
where Jianzhi influences include the twodimensional arrangement, and the vibrant
colours mirror her embroidery expertise. Born
in 1906, Ruan Sidi learned the art of jianzhi at
age 13, and also went on to become a skilled
embroider and weaver. She commenced
painting in October 1979, producing works
that attracted numerous national and
international prizes.
The jianzhi influences are even more pervasive
in The Snakes by Lu Yong. The typical jianzhi
saw-tooth pattern appears throughout the
entire image. The objects are painted in a two
dimensional format with strong contrasting
primary colours of blue and red. The positive
and negative spaces are well balanced.
Similarly, Zhangs A Corner in the Kitchen,
has jianzhi stylistic elements and draws its
inspiration from daily life. The painting
consists of clean-cut edged objects contrasted
against a plain-blue table top background.
Amongst them is a pottery tea set patterned
with blue and white designs that were
popular in the Ming dynasty (1368-1644CE).
A red cloth - the colour for good omen - is
wrapped over the top of the vessel and tied with
coloured ribbon, as wine is typically presented
in China. The vessel is also decorated with
two bats, which symbolise longevity (shou).
A three-tiered steamer of decorated buns

TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O. 2

A Boat Receiving the Bride, Chen Weixiong, 1980s, painting, 64.5 x 43.5cm, Zhijiang Province. Source: Jinshan Peasant Paintings, China Today Press, 1991

symbolises abundant life. Two dishes of fish

and chicken are decorated with a red jianzhi,
as is customary for special occasions. The two
lobsters - in the form of jianzhi - denote good
luck and reflect a Chinese cultural preference
for items in pairs. Every item in this image is
grounded in Chinese culture.
In the style of jianzhi, the objects are depicted in
a bold and exaggerated manner, and arranged
in an orderly, two dimensional fashion on a flat
surface. Repetition of corresponding patterns
for the lobsters tentacles, legs and body, with
gracefully curving lines are apparent. The darker
items under the table fade against the lighter
background, but are skillfully backed with a
black area to ensure their clarity. The painting is
well composed with the objects statically placed
to fill the entire space of the support.
Fishing Village by Tao Linping evokes the
painters home environment. Houses in white
with dark roofs and up-turned eves mimic the
typical style of the southern river area. A series
of bridges connects the opposing river banks
dotted with people and boats. Symmetrical
patterns with harmonizing tones in shades of
blue create a simple but imposing image.
A Boat receiving the Bride by Chen Weixiong
is a joyous painting that depicts a marriage.
On her wedding day, the bride, wearing a

TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O. 2

traditional veil which will be lifted by the

bridegroom in the wedding chamber, is being
escorted to her future husbands home in a
boat along the canal, accompanied by her
family and friends with musicians and her
dowry wrapped in blue and white cloth. The
image is decorated with auspicious symbols
such as the double happiness character in red,
and bamboo for peace in the boat. The fish
(yu) is homophonetic with the word surplus
signifying the abundant supply of food. Lotus
(lian) begets children. The treatment of the
painting reveals jianzhi influence similar to
A Corner in the Kitchen, with full circles for
round objects and two dimensional in style.
These paintings show how Jinshan painters
sought to recreate the world as it appeared
to them, and to communicate the essence of
familiar objects, customs and legends. By
combining their perceptions of objects at
different times, different places and from
different viewpoints they created arresting
compositions (Cao 1991: 2).
Jinshan painters seized on a new,
economically enriched era to truly make the
old serve the new. Renamed contemporary
folk art in 1985 by art critic Chao Zengfeng,
their paintings were promoted in exhibitions,
featured in books and included in renowned
art journals. They, and especially the women,

had developed a new style of contemporary

painting by adapting age old folk art
traditions to their modern life. In these works,
primitivism and contemporary art find
common ground. Jinshan painters bolstered
their existing skills and concepts with tuition
from professional artists, who traveled to
rural areas during the1960s and early 1970s.
Currently, there are about 300 full time
painters working in Jinshan, mainly in the
dedicated farmer painter village of Fengjing
water town, and though many of this new
generation of folk painters have never farmed
in their lives, their paintings still represent
the culmination of generations of collective
traditions, reflecting the culture and beliefs of
Jinshan rural people.
Liwanna Chan is a Community Ambassador and
workshop presenter at the Art Gallery of New South
Wales.

REFERENCES
Hua, J. 1984: Rural Changes in Peasant Paintings. China
Reconstructs, 11.
Jizhe (staff reporter). 1958: Nongmin zenyang xuehui chuangzuo.
Meishu, 9.
Pan, D. 1986: Zai yaa yu su de dui liu zhong. Meishu, 4.
Wu, T. 1982: Jinshan nongmin hua de daolu. Meishu, 8.
Chao, Z. 1991: The peasants paintings in Jinshan. China Today Press.
Zuo, H. 1992: Zhongguo minjian yishu. Hunan meishu chubanshe.

B U S H IDO : W AY OF T H E S AM U RAI
Wayne Crothers

Armour, Japanese, Edo period (1600-151868), lacquer, leather, metal,

silk, cotton, hemp, gold pigment, 144.0 x 71.0 x 53.0 cm. National Gallery
of Victoria, Melbourne. Acquired 1889

he art and culture of the samurai

encompasses over 800 years of Japans
history and creative past. From the 12th
century through to the Meiji Restoration and
modernisation of Japan in 1868 the Shogun,
regional lords and their warrior retainers
ruled the country and lived to a rigorous code
of ethics. This military aristocracy aspired
to a life of spiritual harmony that not only
perfected the art of war but also embodied an
appreciation of the fine arts that established
their life as an art form itself.

The exhibition Bushido: Way of the Samurai

will introduce samurai as both warriors and
men of refined culture. It will showcase the
armaments and attire of the samurai with
suits of armour, swords, guns, helmets and
horse saddles, display the cultural pursuits
of samurai in the form of Noh costumes,
calligraphic scrolls, lacquer objects and tea
utensils and re-live the epic tales of samurai
through representations of historical events
in large screen paintings and dramatic
woodblock prints.
The origins of samurai culture can be traced
back to ancient ceramic figures of warriors
and actual surviving suits of heavy armour
from the Kofun era (300710CE). However,
it was during the Heian period (7941185)
that individual warrior clans developed
a characteristic style of Japanese armour
and weaponry that has come to universally
represent samurai culture. The exhibition
includes two suits of armour, three sets of
saddles and stirrups, a complete set of horse
trappings and several lacquered hats that
were some of the first Japanese items acquired
by the NGV in the 1880s.
The two suits of armour represent the two main
Japanese historical styles. The Tosei gusoku style
armour gifted by Mrs Henry Darlot, the widow
of one of Victorias first pastoralists, represents
modern armour constructed from large iron plates
that developed during the 1500s due to the advent
of fire arms and need for bullet proof protection.
The Kozane gusoku old fashioned style armour
acquired from an unrecorded source in 1889, was
produced during the Edo period (1600-151868)
as modern light weight armour, but created in the
style of 11th or 12th century cavalry armour with
scales joined with gradating tones of blue lace
and an elaborate helmet featuring golden horns,
wakidate kuwagata, and large turn back deflectors,
fukigaishi, on either side of the helmet.

10

Also acquired during the same

period are three sets of horse
saddles and matching stirrups
decorated with ornate taka maki-e
relief lacquered designs. Japanese
saddles and stirrups have a
distinctive style different from
those used in Europe. They were
coated in ornate lacquer designs
of auspicious, authoritative or
literary association and along
with armour and other accessories
were a further extension of the
samurais noble image and
individual personality. Research
on the NGV saddles has dated
them to the early Edo period
with
possible
re-lacquering
undertaken during the late Edo
period (early 19th century).
The earliest saddle inscribed
with the year Kanei 19 (1642)
features a motif of twisting vines
with berries. The next inscribed
Kambun 5 (1665), displays redcrowned cranes and turtles, the
symbols of good fortune and
longevity, and plum blossoms
over a cascading waterfall. The
latest saddle inscribed Kambun
10 (1670), features a thunderous
dragon
amongst
lighting
clutching the magical jewel in
its claws and a samurai generals
battlefield fans on the stirrups.
The sword is often called the soul of the
samurai and was deemed sacred as one of
the symbols of Japan. Japanese mastery of
metal smithing reached its zenith with the
production of samurai swords and sword
fittings. On display in the Bushido exhibition
is a magnificent selection of swords and
sword fittings from the collection of Colin
McDonald. Accompanying the swords will
be a collection of sword guards that was
acquired by the Felton Bequest and gifted
to the gallery between 1916 and 1924. These
beautifully cast, engraved and inlayed metal
objects are can be solid or of open metal work
design. Their decoration can be viewed as an
encyclopaedia of Japanese legends, folk law
and nature observation with subjects featuring
landscapes, immortals and mythological
beasts as well beautiful compositions of
flowers, plants, grasses and animals.
Swords ruled the battlefield through the

medieval period of Japan until matchlock

guns or arquebus were introduced in 1543.
News and examples of this new wondrous
technology were quick to circulate with
regional lords soon adapting Japans long
tradition of metal smithing to re-produce these
new weapons of war. Within a few decades
their use on battlefield had irrevocably
changed warfare and the ethics of samurai in
battle forever.
From this early period of gun production are
two long barrelled teppo matchlock arquebus
and a heavy barrelled ozutsu, colourfully
known in English as hand cannon, purchased
and gifted to the NGV by the Felton Bequest in
1927. Due to exquisitely inlayed, engraved and
applied decoration it is evident these amazing
guns were not produced solely as armaments
for the battlefield but also as flamboyant items
for high ranking samurai. Along the length of
the first arquebus are delicately inlayed designs

TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O. 2

The death of Kusunoki Masatsura, Utagawa Yoshitsuya(19th century), colour woodblock (triptych), 36.4 x 74.0 cm (overall), National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne, Purchased, 1993

of irises, flowing water, flying sparrows and

butterfly and on the other, dancing shishi lion
dogs with peony flowers.
The gun featuring lion dogs importantly
displays the family crest of Oda Nobunaga
on both the barrel and butt. Nobunaga is
regarded as first in a line of military rulers
who unified Japan during the mid to late 16th
century and one of the first military strategists
to embrace the production of firearms and
their use on the battlefield. Ultimately, his
ritual suicide after a coup dtat by one of
his own generals in the Honn-ji incident of
1582 brought an end to his family line and
the use of the family crest and hence dates
this weapon to the era of early Japanese gun
production before 1582. The imposing ozutsu
is decorated with engraved dragons and
swirling clouds along the length of its barrel
and features the inscriptions Tensh Gannen
(1573), Protector of the Matsudaira clan and the
three hollyhock leaf crest of the Tokugawa
clan (formerly Matsudaira clan) who became
allied with Oda Nobunaga in 1560.
The frantic frontline of battle is brought to
life in a large double folding screen on loan
from the Art Gallery of South Australia. One
of the great war epics in Japanese history, The
Tale of Heike, narrates the Genpei War and the
monumental struggle between two warring
clans, the Minamoto and Taira from 1180 to
1185. The screens on display illustrate the
dramatic events that took place at the battle
of Ichinotani.
Other episodes from samurai legends will be
brought to life through colourful and dramatic
woodblock prints that were popular during

TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O. 2

the closing years of the Edo and early Meiji

periods. These images of blood and bravery
include some of Kuniyoshis warriors from
his 47 Ronin series, Yoshitoshis depictions
of samurai battling to preserve the Tokugawa
feudal system at the Kumamoto uprising and
The suicide of Saig Takamori (Takamori often
being referred to as the last true samurai).
In an adrenaline filled print by Yoshitsuya
The death of Kuasnoki Masatsura we can see
the famous 14th century general Kusunoki
and two fellow warriors battling thought a
storm of arrows at the battle of Sakainoura in
1348. In the poetic tradition of many samurai,
Kusunoki composed a death poem before this
fateful final battle that may have influenced
this melodramatic moment as envisaged by
the artist.
I have a feeling
I will not be returning,
so among the names
of those who died by the bow
I inscribe my own.
Dedicated warriors who risked their lives in
battle cultivated a consciousness for living
life as richly as possible, and hence a deep
reverence for the arts and literature. Not only
were they skilled swordsmen and archers,
they were also great patrons of the masked
Noh theatre, and famous for their practice
of Zen philosophy, calligraphy and tea
ceremony. Noh robes on display will include
an Atsuita costume worn mainly for male
roles, with an overall alternating block design
featuring auspicious symbols and a Kariginu
costume worn for female roles that displays a
detailed overall motif of autumn flowers and

grasses. Accompanying the robes will be Noh

masks that represent the three main groups
of characters that appear in the Noh theatre:
male and female humans, ghosts and spirits
and supernatural beings.
The Samurai were renowned custodians of
classical literature; they took great pleasure
in the sophisticated noble pastimes of
falconry, incense and poetry games, and the
tea ceremony. During the Muromachi period
(13331568) a formal style of tea was practiced
that preserved ties to Chinese tea culture
and the use of Chinese tea ware. This older
practice of tea is presented in the fine green
Longquan tea bowl and the dark oil spot
glazed Jian tea bowl in the exhibition. During
the Azuchi-Momoyama period (15681615)
innovative tea masters like Sen no Rikyu
and his disciple Furuta Oribe, who was high
ranking samurai himself, established a new
and uniquely Japanese style of tea known as
wabi-cha that used rustic and irregular shaped
tea bowls. Raku style bowls with red and
black glazed surfaces were created through
collaboration between Rikyu himself and
the potter Chjir, and Oribe style tea bowls
were designed and decorated in the taste of
Furuta Oribe featuring whimsical and often
abstracted nature designs.
After many years in storage these magnificent
items along with other treasures of samurai
culture will be on display at the NGV from
4 July to 4 November, 2014.
Wayne Crothers is Curator Asian Art, National
Gallery of Victoria

11

A G LO B AL A U DI E N C E , O N C E A G AI N : C E N TRAL A S IA N ART AT ART D U B AI

Asher Kohn
Marker 2014, Tour, 2014, Art Dubai 2014

aking over the grounds of Madinat Jumeirah

(one of the Persian Gulfs largest hotels) for
four days every March, Art Dubai has become
one of the worlds foremost art fairs. Now in
its eighth year, Art Dubai sequesters a portion
of its wallspace for Marker, a curated, thematic
program of booth exhibitions and educational
initiatives. Amid its acres of commercial gallery
space and plethora of workshops, performances
and tours, Art Dubai touts Marker as a site of
discovery and cross-cultural exchange, each
year devoted to a particular theme or geography.

Slavs and Tatars, the renowned artists

collective that concentrates on the space
between the Berlin Wall and the Great Wall,
curated Marker this year. They placed the
spotlight on the arts of Central Asia and the
Caucasus and enlisted the creative energies
and input of five galleries: Asia Art + (Almaty,
Kazakhstan), Yarat (Baku, Azerbaijan), the
North Caucasus Branch of the National
Centre for Contemporary Art (Vladikavkaz,
North Ossetia, Russia), Art East (Bishkek,
Kyrgyzstan) and the Popiashvili Gvaberidze
Windows Project (Tbilisi, Georgia), to put
together a wide-ranging show that revealed
and explored the complexity and diversity
of Central Asia and environs. Conceived as
a regime of portraiture, this years Marker
determined to exhibit faces, places and traces
representative of the region, bringing Central
Asian art to a broader audience.
Slavs and Tatars were at pains to point out
that while the region may be regarded as
something of a backwater and is little known
in contemporary art circles, Central Asian art
has always been a central part of the global
artistic conversation. Most scholarship on
Central Asian art examines its contributions
to Russian, Iranian, Indian, or Chinese art.
Otherwise, academic research and art criticism
tends to freeze the regions art in a permanent
pre-modern zone, focusing on what makes
these art works peculiarly Central Asian, but
very rarely going into depth about how artists
from the region enter a dialogue with their own
past and with foreign artistic counterparts.
Central Asia has been known predominantly
for its textiles, handicrafts and antiques; bright
fields of colour, bold textures and distinctive
motifs tended to prevail historically. Such
cultural tropes have dominated, but there
are plenty of exceptions. In fact, modern art
in Central Asian is also notable for updating

12

and subverting traditional cultural modes.

The role of modern art (defined as art from
the 1950s through to the early 21st century)
in this context has not been simply to amuse
or astound, but also to question prevailing
political narratives socialism, nationalism
or to enforce or subvert cultural storylines.
In their curatorial capacity at this years
Marker, Slavs and Tatars applied an antimodern aesthetic, whereby they celebrate
both traditional art and clever co-options of
that art. In Central Asia there exists plenty
of art that is timeless, but this should not be
understood in some ahistorical, camels-andcarpets sort of way. Timelessness is rather
about embracing an artistic tradition, one that
is passed between people in space (from house
to house, neighbourhood to neighbourhood,
city to city) rather than through time. The antimodernism present at Marker is not a clich
but rather a conversation Central Asian artists
are having with each other, in the context of
the Soviet cultural and political framework
they have lived within for generations, and
their arrival into a wider global art scene.
Most of Central Asia was under Tsarist
Russian and, subsequently, Soviet rule from
the 19th century through to the fall of the
USSR in 1991. During that time, the creation of
much of its art was controlled by ministers of
propaganda and culture who censored artists
and work that was thought (or imagined) to be
at all subversive. Creativity was corralled to
conform with Politburo-defined societal goals

and standards. That said, artistic repression

did not faze certain artists who were able
to produce more nuanced works once the
atmosphere became more open after the 1950s.
Marker, purporting to offer a broad survey of
the regions art styles, included several artists
who were trailblazers in demonstrating this
subtle openness in their works.
One example was Natela Iankoshvili, a Sovietera Georgian artist who by the mid-1950s was
able to take advantage of loosening strictures
to paint not just objects of Soviet Heroism and
Realism, but also more thickly-coloured works
representing her homeland, the mountains of
the south Caucasus. Her later renderings of
beloved pre-Soviet nobility - including a 1958
portrait of Nino Chavchavadze, a legendarily
beautiful princess from the mid-19th century
- depicted subjects which would have been
forbidden closer to the beating, Soviet heart
of Moscow. Iankoshvili and her artistic
departures from an officially sanctioned
trajectory were a harbinger of what was to
come from other artists in the region.
After the collapse of the Soviet Union,
nationalism and identity politics came to
replace socialism as the overarching discourse
in the newly formed states and semiindependent republics of Central Asia and the
Caucasus. Many artists fell into line to retain
the favour of their state sponsors, but they
still kept their sense of slyness. Hsar Gassiev,
also featured at Art Dubais Marker, is a North
Ossetian artist who began to produce work in

TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O. 2

Baikonur 2, Sergey Maslov, 1990, Installation, computer

collage, sound projection, text. Courtesy of Asia Art+

The Dance with the God (detail), Alexander Barkovskiy, 2008, Still from video. Courtesy of the artist

the 1980s painting many folk portraits and

scenes that may have borrowed from Soviet
vernacular poster art. He painted portraiture
in a flat, naive style, almost like Orthodox
church icons but of everyday people. However,
even though Gassiev painted North Caucasus
types, in folk costume or in typical village
scenes, he gave the paintings laconic titles
such as Storyteller or A Bride to demonstrate
the similarities between the diverse peoples
of the region, bridging (imagined) divides of
language and religion.
The works of Iankoshvili and Gassiev,
charting a creative course through the
constraints imposed by a restrictive political
regime, set the tone for many of the other
artists featured at Marker this year. Still, Slavs
and Tatars were keen to point out that Central
Asia and its art should not be viewed solely
through a Soviet prism. After all, the centuryor-so of direct Russian rule is only a blip in the
history of the region.
Slavs and Tatars were also at pains to note that
the MENA acronym (Middle East & North
Africa) does not adequately encapsulate
the entire Muslim World as it does not
acknowledge the Caucasus and Central Asia
(not to mention Southeast Asia). By invoking
the likes of Rumi, al-Khwarezmi and Avicenna,
in their opening address, Slavs and Tatars
were able to remind a predominantly Arab
and Iranian crowd at Art Dubai that Central
Asia shared a history and a vocabulary with
them. Of course, these are important figures
in the Western literary and academic canon
as well, a fact that lends weight to Slavs and
Tatars contention that Central Asia has long
been part and parcel of this outside world
(even if unacknowledged). Highlighting
this global connectedness allowed the artists
showcased by the five galleries at Marker
to be seen not as exotic peculiarities but as
conversationalists in a global debate on arts
role in society.
These artists may have their own national
character, but the layout of Marker
emphasized how they work in concert. The
gallery space was conceived as a Central

TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O. 2

Asian chaikhaneh (tea salon). At its entrance

was a large takht; this raised backless sofa had
room for people to sit, drink complimentary
tea, and read from a curated library on
Central Asian art. The inclusion of a literal
meeting point in the otherwise-frantic forum
of Art Dubai offered an audience perhaps not
used to Central Asian art the opportunity to
contemplate the works.
The traditional takht installed in a place of
honour among modern artworks is tellingly
emblematic of Central Asian art. Here,
tradition provides a platform from which
to view and assess the modern (and perhaps
post-modern). There is also an element of wry
humour in this juxtaposition of tradition
and modernity, a juxtaposition clearly
evident at Marker. For example, formerly
Tajikistan-based artist Sergey Maslovs
Baikonur 2 installation featured, within the
physical space of a yurt, a slide show that
couples traditionally dressed Kazakh elders,
images of the Soviet space program and alien
caricatures. Elsewhere Alimjan Jorobaevs
photographs of Kyrgyz mosques where
those praying turn their backs on images of
Communist leaders - stand next to Alexander
Barkovskiys video of a straight-faced man
dancing with a statue of Tamerlane.

this new context, self-referential dry humour

and the ability to surreptitiously subvert
overarching paradigms will still be valuable.
At Art Dubai, Central Asian artists may now
play to the market but they may also slyly
play the market against itself.
In 2014, after being showcased at Art Dubais
Marker, the art of the region may begin to
attain a renown beyond the stereotypes of
textiles and antiques. There would appear
to be new enthusiasm for Central Asian art,
and now that some of it has been exhibited
alongside works from prestigious galleries
around the world, the global art markets
appetite for the regions art will likely rise
dramatically. That said, for Central Asia, the
21st-century art market is not an opening
of the regions art to the world but another
movement in a long tradition of interaction
and friction with artistic styles and patrons
throughout the world.
Asher Kohn is the Caucasus and Central Asia Editor
for the Ajam Media Collective. He has written
extensively about art and culture in the region for
The Los Angeles Times, al Jazeera, and others. He
currently lives in the United States.

As Central Asian art faces the 21st-century, it

must engage with the global art market and
with market forces entirely different from
those at work in Soviet times, or earlier. In

13

S O C IALI S T R E ALI S T ART I N S U K AR N O S I N DO N E S IA

Sahul Hamid
A man with ammunition and a woman with hoe and sickle, lifting guns. Source: Generasi Baru, No. 5-6, June/July 1964

he Guided Democracy years in

Indonesia, 1959-1965, were dominated by
Sukarnos personality, a skilled manipulator
of people and of symbols. He represented
a centre of power legitimacy, supported by
his allies, the Indonesian Communist Party
(PKI), the Military and religious groups.
In this revolutionary period, Sukarno needed
to instill a sense of ongoing struggle in the
minds of Indonesians. Hence, every aspect of
life was shrouded by propaganda in order to
evoke a sense of patriotism and national pride.
Sukarno ordered the official agencies, for
instance the Department of Information and the
Ministry of Education, to conduct propaganda
and indoctrination campaigns throughout
Indonesia, by shrewdly manipulating symbols,
slogans, and visual arts such as stage shows,
portraits, paintings, caricatures and posters.
Nevertheless, these propaganda efforts were
also supported by various groups outside
the official ruling circles such as peasants,
workers and students. This article examines
the cultivation and dissemination of Socialist
Realist art as a medium for the reawakening of
a revolutionary spirit in Indonesia from 1959
to 1965.

The idea of art for arts sake was perceived

as contradicting the revolutionary spirit with
its emphasis on abstractness, beauty and
aestheticism. By contrast, Socialist Realist art
depicts the real life of ordinary people, for
instance of peasants and workers. It reflects
their struggle, resistance, will-power and
strength. Socialist Realism has its origins in
the reign of Joseph Stalin in the Soviet Union
from 1932. Although there are debates about
its existence before 1932, Stalin undoubtedly
adopted it as a form of official government
propaganda. Vladimir Kemenov, an art
historian from the Soviet Union, has argued
that Socialist Realism was built upon the ideas
of patriotism and equality; ideas of humanism
and social freedom; the emancipation of labour
and the freedom of women (Oliver Johnson
2012: 272). Socialist Realism in art utilises
narrative, ideological elements, dramatic
compositions, and the liberal use of lines and
colour. The principal aim is to win the hearts
and minds of the people through the shrewd
manipulation of passion and emotion.
In Indonesia, although Socialist Realist art
was found earlier than the Sukarnos years,
it had limited mobilization and dynamics
as a propaganda medium especially during

14

the Dutch colonial period, when the arts

were devoted to reflecting the beauty of
the Netherlands East Indies, a naturalistic
form of art known as Mooi Indie (Purnomo
Setianingsih 1995: 7).
In 1937, PERSAGI, Persatuan Ahli Gambar
Indonesia (Union of Indonesian Painters), led
by prominent artist Sudjojono, had started
to use art as a form of social reflection. This
movement further expanded during the
Japanese occupation with the establishment of
the Cultural Centre, Keimin Bunko Sidhosjo in
1941. Artists from PERSAGI were assembled
here to assist the Japanese authorities
with creating propaganda, in part for the
recruitment of forced labour, Romusha (Claire
Holt 1967: 197-98).
Although it provided an official platform for
artists to develop their own national goals,
greater freedom of expression was offered by
the establishment of PUTERA, Pusat Tenaga
Rakyat (Centre of the Peoples Strength) in 1943
under the leadership of Sukarno, amongst
others. These developments cemented a
foundation for the development of a peoples

art after Independence in 1945. From 1945 to

1949, during the Revolution against the Dutch,
various sanggar (art workshops) bloomed,
particularly in Yogyakarta, producing antiDutch and revolutionary paintings and
posters with the support of politicians.
The end of revolutionary period in 1949 signified
a new era with the call by leaders to continue
the struggle to build a new society based
on kepribadian nasional, Indonesian national
identity. All cultural elements must characterise
the will and struggle of Indonesian people for
a better future. Particularly from 1959, the arts
started to be perceived as an important means
for conveying government propaganda. The
intention to use art and culture in this way was
evident in Sukarnos Independence speech,
known as Manifesto Politik (Political Manifesto)
in 1959. Art forms such as paintings, drawings,
posters and caricatures became a vital
propaganda tool in a country with high level of
illiteracy, as in Indonesia.
Even before the inception of Guided
Democracy in July 1959, Sukarno was inclined
to support Socialist Realist approaches.

TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O. 2

The participation of the military, working class and

peasants in their struggle to fight Dutch colonialism in

[Right] The heroic image of Sukarno contrasting with the uninspiring image of Tunku Abdul Rahman,

West Irian. (Desa Membangun, No. 1-2, Jan/Feb. 1962)

Malaysian Prime Minister [left]. Source: Mimbar Penerangan, No. 3, June 1965, Departemen Penerangan

LEKRA, Lembaga Kebudayaan Rakyat (The

Institute of Peoples Culture), founded in
1950, was an ardent promoter of arts for the
people, with the aim of fighting feudal and
imperialist cultures, to opposing the idea of
art for arts sake and of cultivating arts for
the people (Laporan Kebudayaan Rakyat
1959: 24); this was promoted by resolutions at
its First National Congress held in Solo, 22-28
January 1959.
LEKRA mobilized its members to consistently
use art to represent the working class through
painting, statues, song, dance, poetry and shortstories. LEKRA further proposed that there
should be a consolidation between politics
and art, and patriotism and internationalism.
President Sukarno also attended the closing
ceremony of this Congress, and in his speech
urged that the arts should act as an ambassador
of the time and of the masses (duta masa dan
massa) (Ibid: 90).
Simultaneously, the PKI promoted the
same approach as LEKRA. From 1959, the
Communists power sharing position offered
them a favorable opportunity to disseminate
Socialist Realist art. The works of Marx,
Engels and Lenin, as well as Stalin, were
widely distributed through printed media,
illustrated and disseminated by the cadres for
the people. For them, art and literature should
not only depict the real-life of the working
class but also present them as dynamic force
(Madjalah PKI 1962: 33).
On 27 August 1964, at the opening reception
of the National Conference on Revolutionary
Arts and Literatures, D.N. Aidit, the Head
of the Communist Party Central Committee
asserted: The struggle in art and literature is
an Indonesianization of Marxism-Leninism
(Tentang Sastra dan Seni 1964: 99). The
working class was depicted for example
in the newspaper Generasi Baru, as a man,

TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O. 2

strapped with ammunition, and a woman

with a hoe and sickle, both lifting guns in
the air. Indonesian and Communist flags are
attached to the guns. This illustration suggests
the struggle of the working class for the benefit
of the country and also for the communist
cause, regardless of gender. The participation of
the working class and peasants is also evident in
an illustration published in the magazine Desa
Membangun, which shows them united with the
army to fight Dutch colonialism in West Irian.

such as Manipol-Usdek, Pancasila, Marhaen

and Socialisme ala Indonesia. Socialisme ala
Indonesia has its root to traditional conceptions
such as gotong-royong (mutual assistance) and
mufakat (mutual agreement). An Indonesian
Socialist should portray unique traits such as
an Indonesian identity and culture, a sense of
patriotism, a rational and economist way of
thinking and a pioneering will.

The
two
most
influential
official
representatives to disseminate Socialist
Realism in Indonesia during the Guided
Democracy years were the Front Nasional,
FN (The National Front) and the Departmen
Penerangan, Deppen (The Department of
Information). D.N. Aidit, the leader of PKI
was also an influential figure in recruiting
cadres for the FN. In a handbook for
propaganda and indoctrination programs,
the importance of art and culture as tools for
the revolution was clearly stated (Naskah
Kerdja Bagian Indoktrinasi dan Propaganda
1962:4). Indonesian arts should not be set
apart from the revolution, and art must be
devoted to the well-being and dignity of
humanity. It was the task of the FN to fight
and eliminate destructive art and culture.

This conception was further reinforced

by another Independence Day speech by
Sukarno, titled Re-So-Pim, Revolusi-SosialismePimpinan Nasional (Revolution, SocialismNational Leadership) in August 1961. With
this speech, Sukarno portrayed himself as a
liberator of the people and as the leader of the
New Order (Ibid: 579). An image of Sukarno as
the developer of his people was published in
an official publication Mimbar Penerangan, and
distributed throughout Indonesia. Sukarno
is projected in a heroic manner alongside
an uninspiring image of the Malaysias
Prime Minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman.
Subsequently, Indonesian Socialism itself was
portrayed as a powerful machine able to storm
the demonic elements in Indonesian society
such as capitalists, landlords and corruptors
with the participation of Indonesian people men and women, peasant and army.

From 1959, Deppen became the most diligent

and efficient disseminator of state propaganda.
It carried out extensive propaganda through
various methods such as visual arts, motion
pictures, radio, press and stage shows. Earlier,
the Information Academy was established
in 1957 to train cadres as propaganda agents
(Mimbar Penerangan 1959: 602). These
cadres were indoctrinated to conduct and
disseminate the ideal of Manipol, the political
principles derived from Sukarnos 1959
speech, and Guided Democracy across the
country. Deppen organized many arts and
cultural events to propagate state ideologies

Dr Priyono, the Minister of Education and

Culture, Sukarnos confidant and chief
adviser for the creation of a new set of political
terms (Adrian Vickers 2013: 151) uttered in
Pangkalpinang, Bangka on 28 May 1963: That
the arts and cultures of Indonesia should be
felt by the peopleOur modern arts must be
embracing realism in its styleand socialism
in its breath (Gendang Budaya 1963: 343).
Priyono further provided an example of how
a fighter should be portrayed in drawings.
For instance, the figure of Tjut Nyak Dien, an
independence fighter, should be illustrated
with an optimistic face despite her defeat,

15

Indonesian people in concerted action against the states enemies. Source: Desa Membangun, No. 1, Nov/Dec 1961

the children had demonstrated complete

freedom and were not restricted by any
influences curtailing their imagination and
feelings (Pantjasila 1964: 67).

In conclusion, the idea of Socialist Realist art
in Indonesia started to develop rapidly only
after Independence, and particularly after
1957, when Sukarno commanded his official
apparatuses to disseminate state ideologies
such as Manipol-Usdek, Pancasila and
Socialisme ala Indonesia. The Socialist Realism
conception was in-line with Sukarnos most
celebrated term representing the majority of
Indonesians, those living in poverty. Although
Sukarno played a fundamental role in
formulating these policies, the development
of Socialist Realist art in this period relied on
the participation and contribution of countless
individuals and organizations in Indonesia.
Sahul

Hamid

Mohamed

Maiddin

obtained

Masters degree in History from the University of

Malaya, Malaysia. Currently, he is a PhD candidate
at the Department of Indonesian Studies, University
of Sydney. His research is on Propaganda and
Indoctrination in Indonesian Politics, 1959-1965.

REFERENCES
D.N. Aidit, 1964, Tentang Sastera dan Seni, Jakarta: Yayasan
Pembaruan.
Desa Membangun, No. 1, 1961.
Desa Membangun, No. 1, 1962.
Gendang Budaya, No. 5, 1963.
Generasi Baru, No.5-6. June/July 1964.
Holt, Claire, 1967, Art in Indonesia, Continuities and Change,
New York: Cornell University Press.
Johnson, Oliver, 2012, Aesthetic Enemies: The Two Cultures
Theory at the Outset of the Cold War, in David Welch and Jo Fox
(eds.), Justifying War: Propaganda, Politics and the Modern Age,
UK: Palgrave Macmillan.

with the image of Acehnese youngsters

standing bravely behind her body. Sukarnos
Re-So-Pim speech marked the beginning of
the Pantjawardhana system of education in
July 1961, revised and reformulated to suit the
revolutionary nature of the times.
Pantjawardhana
was
an
educational
scheme designed to uphold the Indonesian
revolution and reform the education system.
Its developmental objectives were to make
the arts a part of life in order to nurture
a sense of patriotism, to promote the arts
as revolutionary in content and style, and
to expand the revolutionary character of
Indonesian traditional arts (Pendidikan
Nasional 1964: 30).
Within this Socialist Realist framework,
pupils must have the freedom to express
themselves about the nation and country.
Ideas, it was posited, must not be confined

16

by creating a beautiful and abstract painting

or drawing, instead thoughts should be
unleashed on paper or canvas.
Examples of this freedom of expression in
childrens arts were published in an official
government publication in conjunction with
the 1964 Independence Day celebrations.
They do not emphasise the beauty of the
drawing, but rather the will to self-expression.
All the drawings in the publication
demonstrate patriotism and the development
and peace enjoyed by Indonesias new
generation. Harmony depicts well-developed
infrastructure with people strolling by. Our
Forces on Land and Air Fight shows the might
of Indonesians armed forces as perceived
by a 13 and a 7 year old child and Peaceful
Priangan Village illustrates a serene traditional
village. In relation to these drawings, an artist
educationist, Dukut Hendramoto, when
interviewed by the publisher, explained that

Laporan Kebudayaan Rakyat, Dokumen I, 1959, Bagian Penerbitan

LEKRA.
Madjalah PKI, No. 2, 1962.
Mimbar Penerangan, No. 3, June 1965, Jakarta: Departemen
Penerangan Indonesia.
Mimbar Penerangan, No. 1, September 1959, Jakarta:
Departemen Penerangan Indonesia.
Naskah Kerdja Bagian Indoktrinasi dan Propaganda 1962, Front
Nasional No. 172.
Pantjasila, Volume 1, 17 August 1964.
Pendidikan Nasional, No. 9/10, 1964.
Purnomo Setianingsih, 1995, The Voice of Muted People in Modern
Indonesian Arts, M.A. Thesis, University of Western Sydney.
Vickers, Adrian, 2013, A History of Modern Indonesia, Chicago:
Cambridge University Press.

TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O. 2

T H E B O U N DL E S S H ALL S OF B U ILD E R MO N K MIAOF E N G ( 1 5 4 0 - 1 6 1 3 )

John Millbank
WANNIAN SI, EMEISHAN, EXTERIOR OF SAMANTABHADRA HALL. PHOTO: JOSEFA GREEN

or
millennia,
traditional
Chinese
architecture relied on a single indigenous
system of construction for palaces, temple
halls and larger private houses, based on a
timber skeleton of columns and cross beams,
topped by a tiled roof with wide overhanging
eaves. Over time this system gave rise to
many elegant and sophisticated architectural
solutions. A new architectural innovation
emerged during the Ming dynasty (1368-1644),
halls built entirely of brick, with thick loadbearing walls supporting arches and vaulted
ceilings (only otherwise employed in tombs or
pagodas). Referring to the absence of wooden
frames, in China these buildings are known as
wuliang dian, or beamless halls (a different
character liang with the same pronunciation
yields the more Buddhist meaning boundless
halls). This style of architecture has been
almost entirely neglected in English-language
writings on Chinese architectural history (but
see Liang 1984: 71).

Remarkably, five of the dozen known

examples of beamless halls were the work
of a Chan Buddhist monk, Fudeng (15401613), often referred to by his religious name
Miaofeng. A sixth posthumous example also
shows signs of his influence. The beamless
hall was radically different from that of
traditional buildings. Thick brick walls
pierced by semi-circular arches supported
one or more internal barrel vaults. In the
larger examples, the barrel vaults ran both
longitudinally and latitudinally through
the building, dispersing stresses around the
walls. The roof was usually a traditional
curved gable tile roof supported by internal
brick arches rather than timber beams. All
Miaofengs halls but one were two-storeyed.
External walls and eaves and internal ceilings
were decorated with brick or plaster features
imitating the columns, beams and brackets of
the traditional wooden hall.
It is easy enough to find reasons for the
invention of the brick beamless hall. It offered
greater permanence than wooden structures. It
was fireproof and hence ideally suited to the
storage and protection of precious books and
objects. Finally, it overcame a problem that had
begun to emerge by the Ming: the diminishing
availability of timber suitable for building.
Despite these advantages, these buildings
are rare. So why was the traditional system
preferred? Doubtless a major factor was

the artisanal nature of building work in

China. Designers and tradesmen alike were
intensively trained in carpentry-based skills,
with an emphasis on shaping intricate and
ingenious combinations of brackets and
joints. Since 1103 these systems had been
codified in a manual for use in construction
of official buildings (Liang 1984:14). Brick
vault construction required entirely different
technical skills and knowledge, more akin to
those of an engineer than a carpenter.
One must also suspect an aesthetic and
emotional element attaching to traditional
timber-frame halls: the form had become
sanctified over 3,000 years of evolution.
Alongside substantial technical evolution,
developments in the stylistic and symbolic
vocabulary of these buildings could not be
easily jettisoned, as evidenced by Miaofengs
imitation of traditional wooden columns,
beams and brackets as decorative elements
on both exterior and interior of the brick halls.

of meditation and study at small, secluded

monasteries before becoming ordained at the
age of 26. Much of Miaofengs subsequent
career depended on his ability to gain the
patronage of members of the imperial family.
Miaofeng would certainly have seen two of the
earliest beamless halls in his travels following
his ordination in 1566. On a pilgrimage to
Putuoshan he stayed in Nanjing, home of
the earliest beamless hall, the great hall at the
imperial Linggu monastery, usually dated to
1381 (but see Bodolec 2005: 127-131). Certainly

Miaofeng was a native of Shanxi province,

born of humble parents and orphaned at
the age of six. His life was transformed in
his teens when he came to the attention of a
member of the Ming imperial family who
was living in a monastery where Miaofeng
came to seek shelter. Prince Shanyin was to be
his lifelong protector and benefactor. Under
his supervision Miaofeng began a regime
INTERIOR OF WANNIAN SI SAMANTABHADRA HALL, EMEISHAN,
SHOWING SONG PERIOD STATUE OF SAMANTABHADRA ON HIS
ELEPHANT. PHOTO: CHINA TRAVEL AND TOURISM ADMINISTRATION

TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O. 2

17

WANGU SI, SHANXI, INTERIOR CEILING VAULT OF BEAMLESS HALL SHOWING FAUX WOODEN
BRACKETS CARVED IN BRICK. PHOTO COURTESY CHRISTOPH REHAGE
BELOW: UPPER FAADE OF WANGU SI BEAMLESS HALL. PHOTO COURTESY CHRISTOPH REHAGE

His reputation also spread among building

workers, who flocked to him whenever he
undertook a new project (Ho 1996: 73).
Twenty years before, during an illness, he had
taken a vow that if he recovered he would
give thanks to Buddha by casting gilt-bronze
statues and bronze pavilions for three great
bodhisattvas on the three Chinese mountains
dedicated to them. By the 1590s he was in a
position to begin to fulfill this vow. Three of
his beamless halls were built in connection
with these bronze pavilions.
The way was opened by an invitation from
another imperial relative, Prince Shen of
Luan, who had cast a golden bronze statue
of Puxian (Samantabhadra) and wished to
have it installed on Emeishan, the mountain
sacred to the Bodhisattva. Seizing his chance,
Miaofeng asked for additional funds for
a bronze hall to house the statue (How
much? asked Shen. Wan jin, Miaofeng
coolly replied a phrase that can mean either
ten thousand gold pieces or simply a huge
amount). The golden bronze pavilion and
statue were completed around 1602 on the
summit of Emei, earning it the title of Jinding
or Golden Summit.

many of the features he subsequently

adopted, such as radiating brick arches and
use of barrel vaulting, appear first in the
hall at Linggu si. He may also have seen the
other two pre-existing beamless halls, both in
Beijing, but these bear fewer similarities to his
own works.
A crucial event took place when he was 40.
While in retreat on the Buddhist mountain
of Wutaishan in Shanxi, he and a friend
conceived the idea of a great religious
ceremony focusing on the Avatamsaka
(Flower Garden) sutra, which they had been
copying in blood. Miaofeng spent the year
1580 in Beijing, gathering donations to feed
and house the thousands expected to attend.
The event, the Wutai Dharma Assembly,
became famous as one of the great religious
assemblies of the Ming.
With the consent of the Wanli emperor (r.
1573-1620) and his mother the dowager
empress Li Cisheng (1546-1614) prayers for
the birth of an imperial heir were included

18

among the devotions. When an heir was duly

born in August 1582 the grateful empress
dowager showered the organising monks
with favours. It is said she never afterwards
refused to sponsor Miaofeng in the building
of a temple (Glahn 1976).
Miaofengs first essay in the beamless hall style
of architecture was at his former home, Wangu
monastery, which he was commissioned
by the provincial governor to rebuild and
enlarge. The new constructions, dated to 1586,
included a 13-storey brick pagoda and a set of
three vaulted halls made entirely in brick. We
do not know what motivated him to adopt
this innovation, but presumably its greater
durability was one factor.
His work at Wangu si gained him a reputation
as a master builder with considerable
engineering skills. He had also mastered
the secrets of metalcasting. His skills were
verified in two successful commissions by
provincial officials to build stone bridges, one
in Shaanxi and the other in Hebei province.

Further down the mountain, in what is now

Wannian monastery, a massive bronze statue of
Puxian, cast in 979 at the order of the emperor
Song Taizong, had recently lost its protecting
wooden hall in a fire. While he was there,
empress dowager Cisheng commissioned
Miaofeng to erect a solid brick replacement
structure over the statue. The hall is unique in
Miaofengs work. Its plan is square, each wall
15.7m with arched doorways and windows
in the front and rear. The roof consists of a
smaller upper dome on a wider base resting
on triangular sconces at the corners, a solution
unknown in Chinese indigenous temple
architecture. On the outside the lower dome
has been squared off to resemble a traditional
gabled roof, crowned by the smaller dome
on top. At each corner of the roof and in the
centre of the dome are decorative Tibetan-style
stupas, completing the exotic effect. Inside, the
spectacular statue, 7.35 m high, dominates, the
top of Puxians golden crown almost brushing
the domed ceiling.
There may have been a precedent for this
structure. On the northern borders of China,
in the north-west of Hebei province, is a
domed brick structure resembling the hall on
Emeishan. In 1999 it was identified as a royal
mausoleum built in the Yuan dynasty (12791368), probably by an Iranian architect of
the Mongol empire. It is not known whether
Miaofeng ever saw this building, but his

TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O. 2

XIANTONG SI, WUTAISHAN, REAR OF LARGE BEAMLESS HALL FROM THE GOLD BRONZE PAVILION.

INTERIOR OF XIANTONG SI BEAMLESS HALL.

ONE OF THE SMALL BEAMLESS HALLS IS ON THE LEFT. PHOTO: JOSEFA GREEN

PHOTO: SHANXI PROVINCIAL TOURISM ADMINISTRATION

earlier work on a bridge over the Yanghe

River took him within 80 kilometres (PripMller 1932:278; CCTV 2010).
In 1603, on completion of his work on
Emeishan, Miaofeng petitioned the empress
dowager for further funds to build and install
a golden Guanyin (Avalokitevara) image on
the sacred island of Putuoshan. However
the Putuo monks, victims of repeated raids
by pirates, objected. Miaofeng therefore
settled on the small monastery of Huiju
si at Baohuashan near Nanjing. Receiving
the green light from the empress dowager,
he commenced work. By the Buddhas
birthday 1605 the bronze pavilion had been
finished and the statue installed. A pair of
smaller beamless halls flanked the Guanyin
pavilion. The empress dowager granted a
new name, Longchang monastery, and gifts to
commemorate the occasion.
She then summoned him to Wutaishan, sacred
to the bodhisattva Wenshu (Manjuri), to
rebuild Xiantong monastery, traditionally the
senior monastery on the mountain. A stream
of officials, eunuchs and scholars came from
the court, presenting gifts from the Imperial
Treasury and assisting in choosing the site of
the new buildings. Miaofeng designed a vast
compound with six halls on a central axis,
surrounded by living quarters and storehouses.
Five of the main halls are of conventional
construction. The rearmost was his largest and
most sophisticated beamless hall.
Twenty-eight metres wide, 16m deep and
20m high, from outside it has the appearance
of two storeys, separated by an overhanging
eave which runs round the building. However
from inside it becomes clear the upper tier
of windows serves to provide additional

TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O. 2

illumination in a soaring, vaulted chamber.

The interior consists of three connected spaces,
the largest, central space running transversely
across the building between two narrower
halls running from front to rear. Brickwork
carved to resemble wooden brackets and
wooden caisson ceilings disguise the three
vaults. Rows of arched niches along each side
are used to display images but, along with
the combination of lengthwise and transverse
vaults, also serve to strengthen the structure.
Externally seven masonry pilasters imitating
the columns of a wooden hall separate the
arched doors and windows. Between the
pilasters are tablets naming the seven locations
where the Buddha preached his sermons.
Faux brackets under the eaves continue the
impression of a wooden structure. Seven
upper-level windows echo the arrangement
of the openings below.
On a raised terrace behind the large brick hall
is his bronze pavilion containing the golden
figure of Wenshu on his lion. Flanking it is a
pair of smaller beamless halls similar to but
larger than Baohuashan, housing scripture
repositories. Completion of this third bronze
bodhisattva pavilion marked the fulfilment
of the vow he had made 40 years before.
However his building career was not yet over.

storeys, the lower for worship and the upper

for storing and reading scriptures.
In 1612 he fell ill while working on a
bridge to the south of Taiyuan, returned to
Wutaishan and died there. The Wanli emperor
posthumously showered him with titles,
including Huguo Chanshi (Protector of the
Nation and Chan Master).
Of Miaofengs three bronze bodhisattva
pavilions, only one still survives, on
Wutaishan. By contrast all his beamless halls
still stand intact. All share certain common
features, as does a sixth, a scripture hall
in Suzhou built five years after his death.
Despite a lack of imitators, Miaofengs legacy
entitles him to be remembered as perhaps
the most innovative and original architect of
Ming China.
Dr John Millbank is an independent scholar who has
been undertaking research on the sacred mountains
of China.

REFERENCES
Bodolec, Caroline, 2005. Larchitecture en vote chinoise un
patrimoine mconnu, Maisonneuve & Larose, Paris.
CCTV English Channel, Journeys in Time: A Mysterious Ancient
Building, 3 parts, first transmitted 15, 16, 17 September 2010
(available online at www.english.cntv.cn)
Glahn, Else, 1976. Fu-teng, in Carrington Goodrich ed.,
Dictionary of Ming Biography 1368-1644, Columbia University

Miaofengs one last project was the

rehabilitation of Yongzuo monastery in the
city of Taiyuan. Here he constructed a new
brick pagoda, matching a Tang one which had
developed a lean. The twin towers have since
become a symbol of the city. He also built
three new beamless halls and side buildings
for the monastery arranged around three
sides of a central courtyard. The central hall
is of the style of Xiantong si with two true

Press, New York, vol. 1, 463-666

Ho Puay-Peng, Building for Glitter and Eternity: The Works of the
Late Ming Master Builder Miaofeng on Wutai Shan, Orientations,
May 1996, 67-73
Liang Ssu-cheng (Sicheng), 1984. A Pictorial History of Chinese
Architecture, ed. Wilma Fairbank, MIT Press, Cambridge, Mass.
Prip-Mller, Johannes, 1937. Chinese Buddhist Monasteries,
their plan and its function as a setting for Buddhist monastic life,
Copenhagen; republished by Hong Kong University Press, 1967
www.thelongestway.com

19

S H E DDI N G N E W LI G H T O N T H E A N C I E N T M E DIT E RRA N E A N W ORLD :

T H E A N U C LA S S I C S C OLL E C TIO N
Elizabeth Minchin

Refurbished ANU Classics Museum. Photo: Stuart Hay

the Australian National University

W hen
was a very new institution, its first

Professor of Classics, Richard St Clair

Johnson, advocated the development of a
Classics collection at the University, arguing
that a small museum on campus would give
students in Canberra, far from ancient sites
around the Mediterranean and the great
museums of the world, the opportunity
to engage with objects once handled and
enjoyed by those who lived in the Greek and
Roman worlds.
In 1962 the ANU Classics collection began to
take shape when two items were acquired:
a small cup and a black-figure lekythos (oil
bottle) depicting Herakles doing battle with
the Amazons (one of the heros 12 labours).
These items were joined by two equally
modest purchases in 1963. Just over 50 years
later, the Classics collection, located in the
atrium of the A.D. Hope Building on the ANU
campus, comprises about 650 items from the
Greco-Roman world, ranging in time from the
third millennium BCE (the Bronze Age world)
to approximately CE 500 (late antiquity).
The collection is drawn from a vast region
that at different periods came under the rule
of Greece or Rome: from Britain in the west,
across Europe, North Africa and Egypt, and
as far east as Syria and Iraq, far-flung regions
where Greek and Roman influences mingled
in interesting ways with existing traditions
and technologies.
This was never to be a collection like that of
the Nicholson Museum, at Sydney University,
with its splendid and substantial pieces
collected by Charles Nicholson in the 19th
century. Nor has it ever aspired to rival
the Greek vases of the Felton collection in
Melbourne. The ANU collection - which
illustrates the activities of everyday life,
in the home, in the workshop, and in the
marketplace-has been shaped with teaching
and learning in mind.
It is our intention too that students should
be able to handle these items (under
supervision): this hands-on experience brings
the ancient world alive. In our museum you
will find simple terracotta loom weights
from the home, a steelyard weight from the
marketplace, some small examples of Roman
wall-painting, lamps, and even a babys
feeding cup. We have a tiny cylinder seal
made of lapis lazuli and small but perfectly

20

formed terracotta storage vessels, all from

the Late Bronze Age. We have examples of
ancient writing, including a small cuneiform
tablet from the Sumerian world (ancient
Mesopotamia, modern-day Iraq and Kuwait)
of 2100 BCE, which documents the sale of
oxen to plough a field, in addition to papyrus
fragments and a wax-lined wooden writingtablet, both well-preserved in the dry climate
of Egypt. In the wax of the writing-tablet we
find the handwriting (in Greek) of its last user.
We have red ware dishes from the Roman
world, on the back of which we can see the
potters fingerprints marked in the slip. We
have a small piece of textile, from Christianera Egypt. We have a fine collection of
funerary items: grave stelai and a hero relief
from the Greek world and commemorative
inscriptions with their handsome lettering
from the world of Rome. And we have a fine
display of small blown glass vessels, brilliant
evidence of a technique developed in Syria at
beginning of the common era.
A story of loss. Nine years ago the Classics
Museum suffered a significant loss: a fine
bronze portrait head of a woman, perhaps a
female relative of the Emperor Augustus, was
stolen from its cabinet. The ANU subsequently
approved the rehousing of the collection in
more secure conditions; and the academic
staff in Classics and Ancient History began

to consider how best to use this opportunity

to re-interpret ANUs antiquities for our
students, the university, and the wider public.
It was not difficult to draw up a list of
desiderata. My colleagues and I wanted
large, secure, well-lit, and discreet cabinets
that would allow each artefact to shine. We
wanted the collections chronological thread
to be obvious to visitors as they moved from
cabinet to cabinet. Although many museums
today prefer thematic displays, chronology
is essential in a relatively small collection
that covers such an extended period of time.
We have not abandoned the idea of thematic
displays completely, however: we have, for
example, brought together in one cabinet
a fine display of artefacts that illustrate the
history and uses of writing.
We wanted maps in abundance; contextual
signage, so that visitors could locate
themselves
historically,
socially
and
culturally; and informative item labels. We
desired a more effective means for displaying
our excellent collection of ancient coins.
And we needed a creative solution to a
peculiar curatorial and diplomatic challenge:
a replica of the Aztec Calendar Stone, a
gift of the Mexican government to the
University in the 1970s, which had been
installed to overlook the Classics Museum

TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O. 2

Balsamarium (perfume bottle), Syria, 3rd or

Wax-lined wooden writing tablet, with text still visible, Egypt? 1st or 2nd century CE. Photo: Bob Miller

space. Because of its position and its

dimensions the Calendar Stone dwarfed our
collection, and, as a result, was for many
visitors its most memorable element.
Lucy Bannyan of Bannyan Wood took over
the administrative reins of the refurbishment
and gave us her expert guidance. Lucy left
to us certain tasks: deciding how we would
distribute the collection across our 12 new
state-of-the-art cabinets (it was critical that
the objects be grouped meaningfully to tell
a story or make a historical point), deciding
what graphics would form the background
in each case, and developing text for signage
(the introductory panel; a contextualizing
panel for each cabinet; and individual object
labels). She herself engaged with larger,
presentational, issues: colour, style, and the
practicalities of installation.
Transformation. The walls of the museum
space, now painted in a brooding, greybrown, provide a dramatic background for our
display. Large cabinets with subtle graphics
and imaginative installation layer the display
internally. Spot lighting caresses each item
and shows it at its best. The coins are easily
viewed; and a clear image represents the
side not displayed. The museums external
banners, which feature our hero image
(which appears on the collections Johnson
Vase), the substantial introductory panel, and
the signage throughout the museum space
convey a sense of purpose and a dignity that
the collection previously lacked. And the
Aztec Stone, set now against a near-identical
grey background, has been allowed - or
persuaded - to fade into the background.
Apart from the general delight generated by
this new display, there have been two further

TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O. 2

consequences of this refurbishment. Firstly,

the collection in its new guise, with readable
information, maps, and a clear chronology,
now functions effectively as a resource for
teaching and learning, as it should. The two
new coin cabinets are particularly successful in
engaging the interest of students and visitors.
The second outcome relates to the museums
place in the community. As our new museum
emerged in 2010, two of our supporters,
convinced that this collection would now be a
genuine destination for visitors, proposed that
a group of volunteer guides be established on
the model operating at the National Gallery of
Australia or the Australian War Memorial in
Canberra. The initial group of volunteer guides
was formed in August 2010, a few days after
the official opening of our refurbished space
by the Chancellor of the University, Professor
Gareth Evans AO. Over several months a
dozen trainee docents developed their own
education program, meeting fortnightly for
an afternoon of tuition and study. Colleagues
in Classics and Ancient History gave talks on
individual areas of the collection; the trainee
guides gave presentations to each other; they
shared research notes; and they gave practice
tours to friends.
Since mid-2011 our guides have given tours
and talks to over 1500 visitors - many of whom
have enthusiastically requested another tour,
or have passed the word along to their friends.
At the beginning of 2014 the training program
has again resumed, allowing new participants
to join this collaborative enterprise that
brings them - and the wider community - so
much pleasure, and that brings me and my
colleagues a great deal of satisfaction as we
observe our refurbished museum humming
with activity.

4th centuries CE, blown glass. Photo: Bob Miller

What we have learnt from this project - from

the bitter experience of theft, through the long
but rewarding refurbishment process until
today - is that an investment of significant
funds can pay very satisfactory and even
unexpected dividends. But we are also aware
that to maintain its vibrancy and its relevance
we must continue to develop the collection
and not allow it to gather (metaphorical) dust.
We are working on further projects that will
increase its attractiveness and accessibility
both to students and to a wider public. The
first of these is the cleaning and refurbishing
of our large model of ancient Rome, which
represents the layout of the city in the fourth
century CE. The second is to have our
museum catalogue published online.
Over the past three years our small museum
has become much more firmly integrated
not only into the life of the ANU campus,
for which it again serves as a lively hub
for teaching and learning, but also into the
life of the Canberra community. And we
hope that it will remain so. For it is through
the incidental items and the paraphernalia
of every day that are housed in the ANU
Classics collection that our students and our
visitors- as Richard Johnson had envisaged
50 years ago - gain insight into the lives and
the livelihood of those who lived during those
extraordinary times.
Elizabeth Minchin is Professor of Classics at the ANU,
where she teaches Ancient Greek and Latin language
and literature and social history. Her research
specialization is ancient epic, particularly the epics
associated with Homers name. She is honorary
curator of the ANU Classics Museum.

21

S RI LA N K A s B A W A : AR C H IT E C T U R E S S E R E N DI P ITO U S LI N K S
Sabrina Snow and Ann Proctor
NATIONAL PARLIAMENT, KOTTE, SRI LANKA . PHOTO: SABRINA SNOW

tepping into Geoffrey Bawas home in

Colombo gave us a taste of what we would
see as we explored Sri Lanka, our aims being
to look at Buddhist sites and to stay in some of
the hotels designed by him. Bawa (1919-2003)
is renowned for his role in the development
of a style of architecture known as Tropical
Modernism. The House at Number 11 was
Bawas city residence from the 1960s until
his death in 2003. At this site, Bawa united
four narrow bungalows, using his trademark
elements of extended entrances which build
expectation and surprise, use of light and
shade through fluid transitions between
exterior and interior, and the use of private
courtyards. The house also contains domestic
works of art and design from friends and
colleagues whose creations appear in many
of his larger scale buildings. For example, the
house contains a replica of doors painted by
Australian artist Donald Friend, the originals
of which are now in the collection of the Art
Gallery of New South Wales.

One of the first major Buddhist sites we visited

was the Kelaniya Raja Maha Vihara where the
Buddha was said to have preached on one
of his visits to Sri Lanka. Swarms of devout
pilgrims visit the complex to lustrate the large
Bodhi Tree and view a remarkable program
of murals by Soliyas Mendis (1897-1975).
The present image house, which contains
Mendis murals, was designed by H.H. Reid
and constructed between 1923 and 1946. Bawa
was employed by Reid as an assistant in 1951.
Neither architect was Buddhist by belief, but
both designed significant Buddhist temples:
that built by Bawa is the Seema Malaka (1976)
on Beira Lake, Colombo.
As one of the aims of our trip was to view
the Navam Poya, or the procession of the
Buddhas relic in Colombo, we were unable
to visit Bawas temple as it was being used
by the participants of this important religious
celebration. However, a major Bawa building
close to the Kelaniya temple site is the
National Parliament at Kotte (1979). Both
Seema Malaka and the National Parliament
consist of pavilions constructed on islands,
removed from the humdrum of everyday life
and accessed by causeways.
Bawa, who came to architecture at a relatively
late age, was a pioneer in moving it on from
the colonial model, as practiced by his early
employers, Edwards, Reid and Begg, drawing

22

inspiration from historical prototypes and

vernacular architecture. He incorporated
sculpted forms and water ponds, pavilions
and rock faces, creating transformative spaces
which seamlessly connect. It is interesting to
note that Bawas architectural concepts were
later introduced to Bali by Bawas Australian
associate Donald Friend and his colleague
Peter Muller, who designed the well-known
Amandari Hotel there. Muller invited Bawa
to be the architect of an estate of villas called
the Matahari project at Batujimbar in 1973
although only three of the intended villas were
built, they were to exert a major influence on
later important expatriate architecture in Bali
(Robson, 2007:198).
As we explored the ancient city sites
in central Sri Lanka we could sense the
influence of indigenous monastic and palace
architecture in Bawas work. The ruined city
of Anuradhapura, which dates back to the 4th
century BCE, was once a massive monastic
complex. By the 6th century CE, 50,000
Buddhist monks were estimated to have
lived there. It is thought that buildings like
the Western Monasteries and monumental
palaces such as the Brazen Palace, built by
King Dutugemunu in 162 BCE, influenced
Bawas designs for the National Parliament;
in particular the copper roof of the Brazen
Palace (Robson, 2002:150).
Only the lower storey of the Brazen Palace is
still standing, but when first built it consisted
of a massive nine storey square structure
housing 1000 monastic apartments, decorated
with silver and crowned with a roof of copper

tiles. The original palace was destroyed

but rebuilt by King Parakramabahu in the
12th century. In Polonnaruwa he also built
a council chamber consisting of an opensided columned hall, raised on a stone plinth
formed by 23 stone ledges and reached by
a vast staircase. This building is also said to
have been a prototype for Bawas debating
chamber in the Kotte parliament.
Certainly
the
pavilions
and
ponds
characterising
many
monasteries
at
Anuradhapura, and also at Polonnaruwa and
the mountain palace fortress of Sigiriya (apex
5th century CE), where glimpses through
rock cliffs, unexpected views along walkways
and reflective water reservoirs invite
contemplation in natures midst, inspired an
atmosphere often recreated in Bawas hotels.
We saw this at both the Bentota (1967-73) and
Kandalama (1991-94) hotels where we stayed.
At the Bentota Beach Hotel, the approach
consists of a staircase emerging from the rock
podium of the original building, reminiscent
of ancient Dutch fortifications. The entrance
foyer opens unexpectedly into a colourful low
roofed reception area featuring lively batik
artwork on the ceiling by Bawas colleague
Ena de Silva. In fact the colour use in this early
Bawa hotel differs from his more characteristic
palette of black and white (which he even
maintained in his favourite Dalmatian dogs!).
The foyer looks out over a contemplative
pond, a frequent feature of Bawa buildings.
Ancient Sri Lanka had a sophisticated
irrigation network of reservoirs, some

TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O. 2

KANDALAMA HOTEL FAADE, DAMBULLA, SRI LANKA.

STAIRCASE, LIGHTHOUSE HOTEL, GALLE, SRI LANKA. PHOTO: SABRINA SNOW

immense, like the Sea of Parakrama in

Polonnaruwa fed by the Amban Ganga,
which permitted multiple rich fertile
harvests. Monasteries and Palaces often
featured bathing ponds which fed from these
tanks; royal gardens used them as a design
feature, such as the renowned Water Gardens
at Sigiriya.
At Bawas Lighthouse Hotel, Galle (199597), an element of surprise is produced by
a stunning spiral staircase featuring metal
sculptures of animated historical figures
from Sri Lankas past such as Portuguese
and Dutch invaders. The staircase reaches
up abruptly from Bawas characteristic
sensual elements of rock formation and water
pond. The sculptures were designed by Laki
Senanayake, who collaborated with Bawa
in many of his building projects. In another
link with Australia, Senanayake studied and
taught art in Melbourne in the 1950s.
The Kandalama Hotel is a particularly
arresting expression of Bawas design
principles. As we approached, the 6 storey
edifice seemed to emerge amorphously from
the surrounding rock face and jungle; one
could not tell where the man-made structure
began and the jungle finished.
The entrance consists of a rock corridor,
reminiscent of the nearby Dambulla cave
monasteries, set in a smooth white polished
floor snaking around the curve of the building.
Once inside, the buildings structure seems
to disappear. The vast public spaces spill out
into the surrounds, vines enveloping the

TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O. 2

balconies of the rooms, rocks protruding into

the living areas and monkeys dancing on the
railings. From the upper levels one is swept
into a vast panorama of lake and vegetation
below: kilometres of shores reach across flat
green swamplands to sparse trees and distant
views. Outside and inside become one with a
massive bronze owl by Laki Sennayake soaring
towards the horizon from an upper landing.
Bawa attributed great importance to how his
buildings sat in the landscape. He referred
to Kandalama as a kind of lookout from
which to observe the sweeping panorama of
landscape and history. He said what is seen
from a building is often more important than
the building itself. The carved rock temple
spaces of Dambulla and its first century caves,
towering over the valley below, the reservoirs
of Anuradhapura, the rock fortress of Sigiriya
and the countless garden monasteries
a thousand and more years of the past are
referenced in this amazing place.

PHOTO: ANN PROCTOR

moods, the result of many imaginings: a

garden within a greater garden that is Sri
Lanka (Bawa et al. 1990: 219)
Throughout our journey in February 2014 on
the island formerly known as Serendip, we
were constantly impressed by the fortuitous
links between Bawas architecture, historical
sites and Australian connections. From a
personal viewpoint, we felt that by delving
into Sri Lankas rich and ancient past, we were
able to experience and understand the unique
visual and spiritual links that so inspired Bawas
creativity and architectural legacy. He himself
said: In my personal search I have always
looked to the past...I mean all the past, from
Anuradhapura to the latest finished buildings
in Colombo, from Polonnaruwa to the present
the whole range of effort, peaks of beauty and
simplicity and deep valleys of pretension for
all examples of these periods have taken Ceylon
into account. (Robson 2002: 41)
Ann Proctor is an art historian with a particular interest

Bawas country residence of Lunuganga

(1948-97) built on a disused rubber estate,
reflects the architects youthful engagement
with Italy in features such as its terraces,
classical sculptures and a ha-ha. Here Bawa,
in his longest running project, created
an idyllic retreat, a garden paradise that
incorporated many of his trademark design
features: elevated views, glimpsed vistas
through tunnels of trees, terraces cascading
down to lily ponds and purpose built paddy
fields and the lake beyond. The gardens and
entrance contain hidden surprises and follies
and delight at every turn; a place of many

in Vietnam. Sabrina Snow has a long association with

the AGNSW and has a particular interest in the arts
of China.

REFERENCES
Bawa, Geoffrey, Christoph Bon and Dominic Sansoni, 1990.
Lunuganga, Times Editions, Singapore
Daswatte, C., 2006. Sri Lanka Style, Periplus
Robson, D., 2007. Beyond Bawa: Modern Masterworks of Monsoon
Asia, Thames & Hudson, London
Robson, D., 2002. Geoffrey Bawa: The Complete Works, Thames
& Hudson, London
http://www.geoffreybawa.com/

23

FO U R DAY S W IT H C E RAMI C ARTI S T YO S H I K A W A MA S AMI C H I

Wendy Ella Wright

fter a few briefing phone calls and emails

from the Tokoname Studio in Japan,
I went to meet Yoshikawa Masamichi at
Adelaide Airport as his Japanese/English
language interpreter for the ceramic master
classes he was giving at the 2012 Australian
Ceramics Triennale, Subversive Clay.
This four day international ceramics event
aimed, according to the official organisers,
at exploring clay as a medium capable of
challenging artistic, social and cultural issues
through investigation across traditions and
new experimentations. I remember well the
excitement with which we all awaited for
Yoshikawa and the other ceramics artists to
arrive from around the world.

KAYOHO 2012, MASAMICHI YOSHIKAWA, B. 1946, JAPAN,

YOSHIKAWA MASAMICHI AT THE MASTER CLASS.

PORCELAIN WITH CELADON GLAZE, 25 X 29 X 28 CM. NATIONAL

PHOTO: BRAD BONAR

GALLERY OF AUSTRALIA, CANBERRA, PURCHASED 2012

moment, with the reverberations of an ancient

voice: the voice of the one who had made that
clay vessel, in either the Yayoi or Jomon eras.
Later in the master classes, Yoshikawa referred
to the impressions of lines and points made
with sharp instruments into the ancient clay,
each impression made over a thousand years
ago and representing a moment in the life of
its creator. This paralleled Yoshikawas own
creative process, alive in the impression of each
of his fingerprints on the asymmetrical surface
of a tea bowl.

Yoshikawa frequently spoke of the creation of

ceramics as a ceremony, a rite in the life of the
ceramic artist. The philosophy of Zen, and its
poetic symbolism imbued in ceramics used
traditionally for tea ceremony, is manifested
in the political statement of freedom of art
expressed in the contemporary world of the
avante garde. The power of art, of avante
garde ceramics in Japan, as both subversion
and regeneration of tradition, was perfectly
embodied in this Triennale with its theme,
Subversive Clay, where ceramicists from
Asia and globally presented contemporary
works from a range of cultural sources.

From his deep voice and honorific Japanese

briefing over the phone, I half expected
Yoshikawa Sensei to be dressed as a tea
ceremony master, wearing an indigo kimono
and geta. Instead, he came towards me in his
Issey Miyake jacket and jeans, observing me
quietly with amusement. There was something
both traditional and avante garde about this
internationally famous Japanese ceramic artist
who put me at ease at once by smilingly saying,
Call me Masamichi not sensei! We drove
to the artist-in-residence studios at the Jam
Factory and the ceramics creation and lectures
that Masamichi referred to as the ceremony of
art and life began the next day.
In our encounters over the next four days,
Masamichi took workshop participants
fragmentarily through the history of Japanese
contemporary
ceramics,
in
particular
recognizing the influences of China and Korea.
In the contemporary spectrum, he made
frequent mention of the visual arts dialogue
between Japan, New York and Paris, including
his own work held in collections in Lausanne
and London. During both the ceramic
workshop master classes at the Jam Factory,
and theoretical lectures at the University of
South Australia, Yoshikawa made reference
to the visualisation both of the natural world
and of ancient imaginary worlds, as existing
key conceptualization elements in the creative
process of his life as a ceramic artist.
The power of sensory consciousness was woven
into a narrative by Yoshikawa in relating the
first time, as an art student, he touched a shard
of ancient pottery during an archeological dig.
He described the experience of touching the
shard as being physically connected, in that

24

When beginning to create maketo (the Japanese

term for object ceramics, or ceramics that
have non-utilitarian shapes), we were told
to begin by imagining a castle or ruin, either
visited or seen in a dream. As we prepared
slabs of clay, with size and thickness of our
own choice, Yoshikawa spoke intermittently
in a quiet monologue while he created his own
castle along with ourselves. The imaginative
possibilities he offered encouraged each
person to conjure their own sculptural castle
from the slab of clay. The list of potential
works-in-creation included objects that might
be found in an archeological dig in Egypt, a
memory of a castle on a hill in Greece or Italy,
a hacienda in a desert in Mexico: a diverse
range of possibilities, roaming over the world.
Yoshikawa taught through a strongly
historical dialogue, making reference to
the linked arts of ikebana, chado (the way of
tea) and ceramics. He spoke of the defining
moment in Japanese socio-political history
in the late 16th century represented by the
tea master and philosopher Sen no Rikkyu,
and the highly symbolic place of chado and
the ceramics used as interlinked ceremonial
art forms within the then radically shifting
philosophical climate of Japan.

Yoshikawa urged participants to create

without preconception a creative maxim I
have heard applied to the choreography of the
avante garde Japanese dance world of buto. The
work of one participant whose clay fell down in
a heap through imbalance during the sculptural
process, was reconfigured by Yoshikawa
as representing an opening lotus bud. This
vessel was then left to dry as it was, following
Yoshikawas visualization that it would be
perfect as an ikebana vase, with its imaginary
pool of water in the base and the open mouth of
a lotus from which a reed would spring.
The drifting, gliding, shifting plates of ice
of either the North or South Poles of our
imagination, were used as a metaphor by
Yoshikawa to describe his frequent use of a
pale icy blue celadon glaze. The translation of
the term celadon into Japanese is seihakukuji,
or blue white glaze. Through the translation
of this and other Japanese terminology,
Yoshikawa discussed the multidimensional
evolution of ceramics in Japan, including the
influence of Chinese and Korean traditions,
not just through ceramic practices but also
through the media of literature and language.

TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O. 2

FLASK (TOKKURI), C. 2000, YOSHIKAWA MASAMICHI, B. 1946, JAPAN, TOKONAME PORCELAIN, UNDERGLAZE BLUE DECORATION,
17.0 CM (H). COLLECTION OF RICHARD MCMAHON. IMAGE COURTESY OF THE ART GALLERY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA

INSIDE BURMA: THE ESSENTIAL

EXPERIENCE

Yoshikawa described the breadth of his

own practice, including his signature use of
underglaze blue porcelain wares, for work
as diverse as a very large tile wall mural/
sculpture installation in Nagoya Airport,
and an enigmatic sake bottle now at the Art
Gallery of South Australia.

dialogue in the darkened lecture room. His

account of the influences on his own creative
process was accompanied by a range of music
including the sound track from the seventies
film Easy Rider, accompanied by photos of
himself and friends on motor bikes, acting
pretty wild themselves, back then in those days.

I think that no workshop participant will ever

forget Yoshikawas emotive description of
how he created the ceramic installation and
mural commissioned by the new Nagoya
Airport. After describing the difficulties of
deadlines, works exploding in the kiln, and
then kilns being shaved internally to fit several
large ceramic globes, Yoshikawa told us about
the day he flew through the airport himself
to return to Japan, some months after the
completion and opening of the installation.

After the workshops ended, Yoshikawa

Masamichi returned to Japan to continue
lecturing in design at Nagoya Art University.
Packing an oil painting that depicted a glimpse
of Australian gum trees somewhere, he said
that he strongly wished to come again soon, to
see more of the country. In the meantime, he
has left us with a few pieces in the permanent
collection of the Australian National Gallery,
the Art Gallery of South Australia and, of
course, a few unglazed pieces at the Jam
Factory studio that he created daily from 4 am
onwards, before each workshop.

Yoshikawa showed us some photographs of

the ceramic globes in the foreground of the
ceramic wall mural, and we could see the
scale of the composition when viewed in
relation to the children clambering on top of
these sculptural works. On that day, returning
from ceramics related business in Korea and
seeing the children physically interacting in
this way with the work, Yoshikawa claimed
that he instantly knew as an artist that he had
created real art.

On our last day we were driving along a beach

in Adelaide where the wild surf crashed onto
the sand through the windswept rain. Flecks
of foam flew into the air and Masamichi
said quietly, The beauty of Australias wild
nature is an environment for great art which
celebrates life. For something new.
Dr Wendy Ella Wright, poet and translator,graduated
B.A. from theComparative Culture Department of

One aspect of Yoshikawas workshop lecture

was his presentation of a video which
showed a series of photographs of his various
compositions, accompanied by his own live

TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O. 2

Sophia University in Tokyo. Wright is now a Visiting

Fellow at the Japan Centre of ANU where she is writing
a book on translation of ancient and contemporary
Japanese poetry and other ephemera.

23 October 11 November 2014 SOLD OUT

12 February - 03 March 2015
Burma is undergoing unprecedented change and
publicity. Archaeologist and TAASA contributor
Dr Bob Hudson is the doyen of Burma guides and
an additional departure of his longstanding annual
tour program is planned due to popular demand.
As usual, extended stays in medieval Mrauk U
(capital of the lost ancient kingdom of Arakan) and
Bagan, rivalling Angkor Wat as Southeast Asias
richest archaeological precinct are featured. Exciting
experiences in Yangon, Inle Lake, Mandalay and
a private cruise down the mighty Ayeyarwady are
also included. Now is the time to see Burma before
development and 'progress' change it forever.
Land Only cost estimate per person
twinshare $5975

VIET NAM: FOUR CITIES JOURNEY

23 February - 11 March 2015
Writer, blogger and creative writing teacher Walter
Mason has designed and brings personal and
professional insights to a journey based on his
WEA Sydney Viet Nam: Four Cities lecture series
in August this year. Fluent in Vietnamese, Walter
studied the language at the Ho Chi Minh Social
Sciences University and has spent part of every year
in Viet Nam for over two decades. Hanoi, Hue, Ho
Chi Minh City and Can Tho are the four influential
cities providing the focus of the tour punctuated with
interesting stays at Halong Bay, Hoi An and Da Lat.
Viet Nam today is a vibrant, complex and welcoming
country with a diverse range of landscapes, cultures
and ethnic groups. Our tour explores its contemporary
place in the world within the context of Viet Nam's
rich imperial, colonial and recent history.
Land Only cost estimate per person
twinshare $5800
To register your interest, reserve a place or for
further information contact Ray Boniface

H E R I TA G E D E S T I N AT I O N S
N AT U R E B U I L D I N G S P E O P L E T R AV E L L E R S

PO Box U237
University of Wollongong NSW 2500 Australia
p: +61 2 4228 3887 m: 0409 927 129
e: heritagedest@bigpond.com
ABN 21 071 079 859 Lic No TAG1747

25

26

TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O. 2

E L E M E N T S I N H A R M O N Y: C O N T E M P O R A R Y J A P A N E S E C E R A M I C S A DI S P LAY AT T H E ART G ALL E RY OF S O U T H A U S TRALIA

Russell Kelty

ALLEGORY III, 1988, ENDO TOSHIKATSU, SOUTH AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT GRANT 1991; STORAGE JAR (TSUBO) LATE 16TH C.,
GIFT OF SUE TWEDDELL 2007; LARGE JAR, MORI TOZAN AND WAVE JAR, MORI SEISHI, COLLECTION OF RICHARD B. MCMAHON

his current display in AGSA - ending 23

June 2014 - showcases over 40 works from
the collection of Richard McMahon by some
of Japans most exciting living potters as well
as a selection of ceramics, prints and sculpture
from the Gallerys collection. Elements in
harmony displays the work of artists whose
diverse experiences imbue historic forms with
a new sense of vitality and relevance, evoking
the transformational power of the elements.

In ancient Japan the elements (wood,

fire, earth, metal, water) were integral in
interpreting and placating the numinous
powers of the natural world. Along with
astrology and geomancy, diviners and
prognosticators used the five phases, an
elaborate system of correspondences among
the planets, directions, seasons, zodiac and
the elements to attain harmony.
According to the five phases, the elements of
earth and fire are complementary and Japanese
ceramicists have harnessed their potential to
create a culture of unmatched richness and
diversity. Artists continue to create vases and
tea wares according to traditions passed down
through generations at the six old kilns
(Shigaraki, Bizen, Tanba, Echizen, Seto and
Tokoname) while simultaneously confronting
the idea that objects made from clay should
only aspire to utilitarian shapes.
The Bizen kilns located in Okayama prefecture
are renowned for wares created from refined
rice field clay which display subtle reddishbrown modulations and natural glazes. The
Gallerys 16th century Storage jar (tsubo),
evokes the wabi and sabi aesthetics of utilitarian
wares so coveted by tea masters during the
Momoyama period (1568-1600). Placed next to
Large jar (c. 2000) by Mori Tozan (b. 1938) and
Wave jar (c. 2000) by Mori Seishi (b. 1944) these
wares resonate with each other and exemplify
both the familial lineage as well as diversity of
ceramics created at Bizen today. It also portrays
recent revitalization taking place at historic kilns
throughout Japan often fostered by outside
artists with diverse artistic backgrounds.
Kakurezaki Ryichi (b. 1950) was born
in Nagasaki and studied design at Osaka
University of Art before taking up an
apprenticeship at Bizen with National
Treasure Isezaki Jun (b. 1936). Kakurezakis
wares display similar colours and ash effects,
but are sculptural, hand built from slabs of

TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O. 2

clay which reveal his reverence for the natural

world, illustrated by works in the display
such as Tsurukubi (cranes neck) vase (2005) and
Penguin vase (2004). Kakurezakis innovative
blending and firing techniques were the result
of economic imperative, which required
him to use rock-filled coarse or garbage
clay rejected by other Bizen artists. As he
has stated: I come from Nagasaki, far from
Bizen, and that allowed me to express myself
in more unchained ways. Looking from
outside I am indeed a Bizen ceramic artist, but
looking from within the tradition of Bizen, I
do appear quite different. (E-yakimono.net,
Kakurezaki Ryuichi: Bizen unchained, http://
www.e-yakimono.net/html/r-kakurezaki.
html, accessed 12/3/14

sculptural concept kaze kangen, literally wind

and return to origins, which refers to the
inevitability that all worldly phenomena will
return to their elemental properties.

Unlike Kakurezaki, Kato Takahiko (b. 1952)

was born in Shigaraki and draws inspiration
from utilitarian masterpieces created there
during the 15th and 16th centuries, which
featured coarse clay and natural ash glazes.
He is known for putting twists on old classic
forms such as tea bowls and creating primeval
sculptural works with crusty natural ash glazes,
the result of a three day firing process which
activates impurities on the surface. As a vessel
for flowers or simply as a work of sculpture,
Scaled vase, Shigaraki ware (c. 2006) reveals Katos
vivid imagination and ability to conjure the true
flavour or tsuchi aji of gritty Shigaraki clay.

According to the five phases, the combination

of water and fire are perceived as ominous.
To create Allegory III (1988) Endo Toshikatsu
(b.1950) carved a wooden canoe, set it on fire
on a lake and later, sealed the interior with tar
and filled it with water. According to Endo,
his aim was to construct a situation where two
incompatible elements, water and fire, co-exist
and through an act of ritual destruction or
sacrifice, are transformed. For Endo, only direct
experiences with phenomena, unmediated by
language, will enable humanity to return to its
origins: language has stranded humanity in an
artificial world of endless possibility, devoid of
primal emotions and instincts associated with
life, sex, creation and death.

Rather than referencing the elements

themselves, artists such as Akiyama Y (b.
1953) and hira Kazumasa (b. 1943) evoke the
natural cycle of creation and disintegration
from which the elements are born. Both
feature rugged, geometric forms with natural
ash glazes. The muscular clay form of
Akiyamas Object, with rope base (2003) seems
to imply the slow steady movement of great
forces in the earths crust responsible for the
geological origins of clay itself. hiras Wind
vessels (c. 2000) take their name from his

Complementing the selection of ceramics are

prints by Yoshida Hodaka (1926-1995) and
a sculpture by Endo Toshikatsu (b. 1950).
Yoshidas Pachamama (1968), mother earth,
presents a landscape which mirrors the female
form and references the benevolent fertility
goddess revered by the indigenous peoples of
the Andes for over 2,000 years. This work was
inspired by artefacts, architectural ruins and
myths of pre-Columbian Mayan culture, part
of a series of works created between 1966-74
subsequently titled Mythology and Landscape.

Russell Kelty is the assistant curator, Asian art at the

Art Gallery of South Australia.

REFERENCES
Earle, Joe. 2005. Contemporary Clay: Japanese ceramics for the
new century, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston.
De Jongh, Karlyn, 2011. Facing the void: A conversation with
Toshikatsu Endo, Sculpture, Vol. 30, No. 5 (June 2011).
Koe Magazine Online, Kato Takahiko: Shigaraki Ceramic Artist, July
2013, http://www.koemagazine.com/2013/07/kato-takahiko/

27

B OO K R E V I E W : E X H I B I T I N G T H E P A S T
Jocelyn Chey

is how the sculptor was able to observe it

moving in slow motion.

Exhibiting the Past: Historical Memory and

the Politics of Museums in Postsocialist China
Kirk Denton
University of Hawaii Press, 2014
RRP US$59.00, hard cover, 350 pages

Not another museum! is a familiar refrain

from someone participating in a tourist visit to
China, only equalled by the alternative, Not
another temple! A recent survey of Chinese
museums listed a total of 2,200 across the
country and undoubtedly most people have
spent time in several, some with first-class
displays and excellent explanatory material
and some with boring poorly-lit glass case
displays and information only in Chinese
language text.
Back in Cultural Revolution years, I was once
asked to take a group of Australian jockeys
round the National History Museum (dont
ask me why, it is a long story). The material
was organised in what was then standard
Maoist/Marxist sequence, beginning with
Primitive Society, then moving through
Slave Society to Feudal Society. It was hard
to hold my charges attention through rooms
of oracle bones and clay pots. When we at
last reached the period of bronze artefacts, I
focussed on the famous bronze statue known
as the Flying Horse (later adopted as the
logo of China International Tourist Services).
I pointed out how remarkable it was that
2000 years ago, long before the development
of high speed photography, the sculptor had
caught the action of the galloping horse.
Around the same time, in Roman Europe,
horses were drawn with both front and
back legs extended as if flying, but the Han
dynasty bronze showed a natural action. The
jockeys were indeed interested and carefully
considered the statue, but then commented:
That horse shouldnt be called Flying. It is
not galloping at all but swimming, and that

28

Kirk Denton is a scholar of modern Chinese

literature and this book is his first venture into
the multi-disciplinary field of museum studies.
He has produced a fascinating commentary on
the role of museums in contemporary China,
on the picture that they present of Chinas past
as well as future, and on some of the Party
and government policies that are enshrined
in the presentation of exhibits and narratives
designed to build Chinese nationalism. He
also discusses how their representation of the
past is changing as society evolves, stressing
that although the vast majority of museums are
state-run, this does not mean that they present
a uniform one-Party view. The exhibits and
displays are rather the result of negotiations
and compromises and constantly reviewed
and revised.
Chinese museum authorities categorise
establishments into three types according
to their contents: either arts, history or
science. Dentons book focusses on history
museums and particularly those relating to
the modern and contemporary periods. Since
most international scholars have provided
commentary on the role of arts museums, this
volume therefore extends the discussion into
new and fruitful fields. From the vast number
of modern history museums, Denton has
selected a small number for detailed analysis,
all being state-run. Besides regular museums,
he has added memorial halls and parks,
and one chapter is devoted to sites related to
red tourism, offering nostalgic and patriotic
educational visits to sites associated with
the early development of the Communist
Party and its role during the War of Resistance
to Japan.
Some might criticise the fact that he has
concentrated on state-run museums and
not the new and growing number of
private museums such as the Sanyuan
Museum in Hunan Province, financed by
local interests, which is devoted to the
commemoration of three great revolutionary
leaders, Mao Zedong, Zhou Enlai and Zhu
De. However, since Dentons main aim is
to discuss the political role of museums,
this is best illustrated by reference to official
establishments. By contrast, in November
last year, I myself spent a day at the Jianchuan
Cluster Museum outside Chengdu. This is an

extraordinary group of exhibition halls built

up by a private collector, reflecting his personal
collection interests, but also testimony to the
growing freedom in China to discuss topics
in modern history that are too sensitive to
feature in official collections. Jianchuan, for
instance, has halls featuring the role of the
Flying Tigers and Nationalist fighters in
the War of Resistance to Japan, and also has
an impressive collection of Mao-era popular
culture such as enamel household items and
teaware featuring Cultural Revolution art and
political slogans.
One of the more interesting chapters deals
with the museum presentation of ethnic
minorities.
Against the background of
considerable controversy in the United
States and Europe regarding ethnic culture
museums, particularly relating to their origin
in colonial and imperialist policies, Denton
notes the dilemmas facing Chinese museum
authorities as to how to present their ethnic
minority people. Should displays focus on
their unique traditional arts or place them
in the national narrative of progress towards
modernity and the Road to Revival? In
recent years a private Chinese group set up
a theme park in Florida known as Splendid
China, similar to the one of the same name
based in Shenzhen, Guangdong Province. This
park showcases the many ethnic minorities
of China, intending to attract tourists with
traditional arts and crafts, demonstrations
of dances and so on, but expatriate Tibetans,
Uighurs and Mongolians have attacked the
displays as insulting and evidence of Han
chauvinist attitudes to their cultures.
Above all, this book explores how national
history is presented to the public and to
international visitors to China, to support
Party educational and propaganda objectives.
Anyone planning a trip to China, whether
to explore its ancient or modern history or
to study its extensive cultural traditions and
their modern expressions, will find Dentons
book an invaluable resource that will greatly
enhance an understanding of museum and
memorial hall displays.
Jocelyn Chey is Visiting Professor in the School of
Languages and Cultures at the University of Sydney
and a Fellow of the Australian Institute of International
Affairs.

TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O. 2

R E C E N T TAA S A A C TI V ITI E S

TAASA NSW
Chinese Opera Evening
27 February 2014
TAASA, with AASI (Australasian Art and
Stageworks Inc), treated guests to the
traditions of Chinese Opera. Fiona Reilly,
Head of Costume at NIDA, provided insights
into some of its symbolism and background.
We watched renowned Chinese Opera
performer, Gabrielle Chan, being made up
by professional make-up artist, Wong Ka Bo.
Gabrielle represented the hua dan or female
role with a dramatic, white and pink face and
slanted, phoenix eyes lined in black. A wig
was applied in pieces soaked in tree resin to
accentuate the performers face and to serve
as a base for her elaborate headdress. Lastly,
over her white, inner garments she was
dressed in an embroidered, pale, silk costume
with long, expressive water sleeves.
Meanwhile, Gabrielles husband, Michael
Quan, applied his own makeup in the
sheng or bold, male role. After our Chinese
banquet, we watched a Cantonese opera
excerpt performed by Gabrielle and Michael.
Margaret White
TAASA CERAMICS STUDY GROUP
An Exploration of Ly and Tran Dynasty
Ceramics (1009-1400) in Historical Context
11 March 2014
Authority on Vietnamese arts, Kerry
Nguyen-Long, focussed on the ceramics from
this period, little researched until recently.
Ly and Tran ceramics were composed of finetextured white clays, their warm white, pearl
grey and cream colours resulting from thin,
ash glazes. Greenish or iron brown wash
wares decorated with sgraffito designs were
also typical.
Her talk outlined the ways in which Buddhist
and Champa kingdom influences are evident
in Ly Dynasty ritual ceramic shapes and

iconography. The Tran Dynasty essentially

continued the arts of the Ly, however ceramic
export trade was stimulated by restrictions
on Chinese trade, exposing Viet potters to
new influences and resulting in new designs
on monochrome celadon green and brown
wares. Free-hand brush painted decoration
and blue and white wares followed.
Margaret White
TAASA TEXTILE STUDY GROUP
A Tale of Two Cities: Modernity in early
20th c. SE Asian Textiles
12 March 2014
Similar motifs and composition on a
Pekalongan (Java, Indonesia) batik and a
tye-dyed silk from Phnom Penh (Cambodia)
intrigued TAASA President, Gill Green, to
hypothesize how designs using symbols of
modernity such as cars and postal services
were embraced in the early 20th c. by
different cultures some 2000kms apart.
Gill postulated that the thriving, interregional
trade network led by Arab Hadramas who
migrated to SE Asia aided the movement of
batik to the north in the 19th century. Later,
skilled Javanese weavers and batik makers
migrated to the Kelantan/Trengganu region
of NE Malaysia bordering Cambodia. It was
but a small step for Cambodia to absorb their
new cutting edge designs.
Margaret White
Performing the Quilt- an expression
of cultural and individual identity
9 April 2014
An old collection of family photographs from
her early life in Quetta, Pakistan, kindled
Sarah Tuckers memories of quilts, handmade
by local women, and led to a general
fascination with textiles and the quilt form.
Sarah focussed on NW India and Pakistans
Ralli/Rilii quilts and the Tivaevae quilts from
the Cook Islands in the south Pacific, closely

associated with the Maori and Polynesian

peoples and their life cycle events.
A Ralli quilt may include patchwork, appliqu
blocks or the use of embroidery to join layers
together whereas a Tivaevae is created on thick,
cotton cloth and sewn with an oyster stitch in
similar methods to Ralli quilts. Dramatically,
the Tivaevae tatura employs paper cut stencils
for the appliqus and bold colours to depict
tropical foliage. Sarah concluded that until
recently the production of quilts was not
highly regarded, however they can now be
interpreted as performances of rich cultural
and individual identity.
Margaret White
TAASA IN VICTORIA
Visit to Chinese Museum
22 March 2014
TAASA members and guests took part
in a guided tour of Melbournes Chinese
Museum. Off one of Melbournes laneways
in the heart of Chinatown, the oldest area of
continuous Chinese settlement in the western
world, the museum preserves, collects and
researches the history and culture of the
Chinese and their descendants in Australia.
The tour brought to light the reality of life
of Victorias Chinese community during
the gold rush of the 19th century and later.
Members enjoyed lunch at the nearby
Hutong Dumpling Bar, famed for its soupfilled dumplings, xiao long bao.
TAASA IN QUEENSLAND
In Conversation with Bundit Puangthong
12 April 2014
Brisbane members enjoyed a joint TAASA
and Edwina Corlette Gallery artist talk by
exciting Melbourne-based artist, Bundit
Puangthong, coinciding with his exhibition
at the Gallery. Bundit explained how the
vibrant colours and imagery of his native
Thailand have inspired his work.

TAA S A M E M B E R P ROFIL E S B O R I S K A S P I E V
Boris
Kaspiev
is
an
independent,
private collector of
Asian art, with a
specific interest in the
Buddhist art of Tibet
and Mongolia. His
collection, acquired
over nearly 30 years
in partnership with the late Richard Price,
comprises more than 400 works dating from
the 10th century BCE to the early 20th century.

TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O. 2

Born in Canberra of Russian migr parents,

Boris has lived in Melbourne since the mid1970s. He was inspired in his collecting by
his heritage from the south of Russia on
the edges of Central Asia, and by the small
collection of Chinese art assembled by his
godmother, who was a harbintsy, a white
Russian who settled in Harbin in the early
20th century.
Having recently retired after working for
more than 30 years in social policy, he is

now able to devote more of his time to

researching and documenting the collection,
and pursuing his passion for Asian art and
culture. Believing he is only the custodian
of the collection, Boris has always been keen
for others to enjoy it, and has on a number of
occasions hosted visits from VisAsia, NGV
Asian Art supporters, members of TAASA,
and private researchers. Boris has recently
joined TAASAs Management Committee
and will convene TAASAs activities in
Victoria.

29

TAA S A M E M B E R S DIARY
JUNE AUGUST 2014

TAASA Weekend Excursion to Canberra

14 15 June, 2014
On Saturday, members are invitedto attend
the full day Symposium: Borobudur to Bali:
past and present photographic art in Indonesia
at the NGA, and on Sunday a guided tour of
the exhibition Bali: Island of the Gods curated
by Robyn Maxwell, followed by a Balinese
dance performance. With drinks courtesy
Asia Bookroom, dinner on Saturday evening,
lunch at the NGA on Sunday, this should be
a stimulating weekend. Details to follow.
Enquiries: Ann Proctor at
aproctor@bigpond.net.au
TAASA Symposium: Symbolism and
Imagery in Asian Textiles
10 am 1.30 pm, Saturday 19 July 2014
Target Theatre, Powerhouse Museum, Sydney
Explores the dissemination of symbolism and
imagery in textiles and the movement of ideas
through various trade routes. Speakers are:
Susan Scollay: Translating textiles: poetry,
profit and politics in the imagery of the woven art
of Asia
Siobhan Campbell: The symbolism of Bali
Christina Sumner: From pinecone to Paisley:
a case study of the ubiquitous boteh.
TAASA/VisAsia/AGS/Powerhouse/NGV/
QAG members $45; Non-members $50;
Life members $15 for catering.
Please book by email to
annguild@optusnet.com.au or (02) 9460 4579
TAASA IN VICTORIA
Private Melbourne collection viewing
Thursday 12 June 2014, 6-8pm
With a particular focus on textiles from Laos.
Refreshments provided. $20 at the door for
members, $25 for guests. Numbers limited.
Address provided on RSVP.
TAASA viewing of the NGVs exhibition
Bushido: The Way of the Samurai
Saturday 5 July 2014, 2-3pm
Curator Wayne Crothers will lead TAASA
members through this exhibition, which
explores the fascinating world of the samurai:
warriors, rulers and aristocratic elite of

Japanese society for more than 800 years.

Free. RSVP appreciated.
For more information on TAASA Victoria
events, contact Boris Kaspiev at:
vic.taasa@gmail.com or 0421 038 491.

for viewing. Cost: $10 for TAASA members;

$15 for non members, payable at the door.
RSVP: Jan Manton Gallery at
info@janmantonart.com. Limited
numbers;early reply appreciated.

TAASA TEXTILE STUDY GROUP

All meetings held at the PLC Room,
Powerhouse Museum, 7.15 9.15pm

Artist Talk by Khadim Ali

6-8pm, Thursday 3 July 2014
Josh Milani Gallery
54 Logan Road, Woolloongabba, Brisbane
Khadim Ali will speak about his current
exhibition at the Gallery which, through
images that interpret the 10th-century
Persian epic poem the Shahnameh,
considers the Hazara people and culture,
and the emergence of a lawless society in
contemporary Afghanistan.
Free event but numbers limited; early RSVP
appreciated to Josh Milani at his gallery
websitewww.milanigallery.com.au.

Wednesday 11 June: From Fashion to

Passion: A personal exploration of the
kimono culture of Japan from 1900 to the
present: Fiona Cole will explore aspects of
womens kimono such as its varying styles,
construction, materials and motifs and share
examples of pieces she has collected.
Wednesday 13 August:
Topic TBA
Refreshments provided. $10 members; $15
non members. Email enquiries to Helen
Perry at helenperry@optushome.com.au.
TAASA CERAMICS STUDY GROUP
Ikebana and Ceramic Wares
Saturday 7 June 2014, 10am-12pm
Kuniko Nagano, Head of the Sydney
Ohara School of Ikebana, will discuss the
relationship of ceramic wares to floral
arrangements and provide a hands-on
demonstration of several arrangements
matched with a range of ceramic containers.
Members $20; Non members $25.
Light refreshments. Venue: Pymble, exact
location provided on registration
RSVP essential to Margaret White:
margaret.artmoves@gmail.com
TAASA IN QUEENSLAND
Member Preview of Mossgreen Asian
Art Auction
6- 8pm, Thursday 5 June 2014
Jan Manton Gallery
1/93 Fortescue St, Spring Hill
Mossgreen Director, Paul Sumner will
speak about highlights of this auction, held
in their Melbourne Rooms on 16 -17 June.
A small selection of pieces will be available

Lecture - A Contemporary Traditional

Wedding in Sumatra
2 3.30pm, Saturday, 2 August 2014
QAG (Water Mall) Auditorium at Southbank
At this TAASA and ACAPA/ QAGOMA event,
Dr Chris Reid from the Australian Museum
and Safrina Thristiawati will use aspects
of their own Sumatran wedding in 2000 to
discuss the creation and symbolic purpose
of the sumptuous textiles used. Safrina will
wear a traditional costume and explain how
house decorations go up in preparation for the
ceremony. They will bring numerous examples
of ceremonial textiles. Free.
Opening talk - The Doily Collecting
Cowboy: Indonesian Textiles from
Lampung, South Sumatra
3 for 3:30pm, Sunday 3 August 2014
Gallery 159 (159 Payne Road) Brisbane
For this joint TAASA/TAFTA (The Australian
Forum for Textile Arts) event, Greg
Pankhurst, the Doily Collecting Cowboy,
will open the exhibition with a talk about
his passion for collecting Sumatran textiles,
especially those from Lampung where he has
long maintained a home. Free.

TAA S A M E M B E R P ROFIL E S S A N DY W A T S O N
I
grew
up
in
Queensland. After
some years living and
working in London,
and
travelling
throughout Europe
I met and married
John, an Englishman,
and together in 1972
we adventured overland (the so called
Hippie Trail) from London to Brisbane,
by public transport. We settled in Sydney,
where our two children were born.

30

I have always thought of myself as a left

brain person, although art was one of my
school subjects and sewing, photography
(using first a Box Brownie, a gift from dad),
and later on, pottery were early interests.

of SE and Central Asia, photography,

quilting, cooking (read food), music, and
learning French, a lost cause! And last but
not least travel. I love Asian destinations
as much as I love France & Italy.

I still love and buy fabric, for their feel,

colour and design, and use it in patchwork
& quilting, but my interest in textiles
was awakened on joining the TAASA
Textile Study Group sometime in the
late 1990s. My interests include learning
about various textiles, especially those

I was invited to join the TAASA Events

committee last year and now find myself the
chair of said committee as well as a newly
appointed member of the Management
Committee. I am sure there will be many
challenges ahead but I know that I have the
support of committee members.

TA A S A R E V I E W V O L U M E 2 3 N O. 2

W H AT S O N : J U N E A U G U S T 2 0 1 4
A SELECTIVE ROUNDUP OF EXHIBITIONS AND EVENTS
Compiled by Tina Burge
NSW

psyche to reveal a highly surreal world of

beauty, anxiety and horror within.

Plumes and pearlshells- Art of the

For further information: www.mca.com.au

New Guinea highlands

30 May 10 Aug 2014
Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney

The peoples of the New Guinea highlands are

renowned for their spectacular ceremonies,
which involve hundreds of dancers festooned
with elaborate body adornments, including
highly prized Bird of Paradise plumes and
the revered kina, or pearlshell.
Sydney businessman Stanley Gordon
Moriarty assembled one of the finest
collections of highlands material culture
during his travels there between 1961
and 1972. Among these were exquisitely
constructed headdresses, arm- and leg-bands,
ear- and nose-rings and necklaces, made of
feathers, shell, barkcloth, animal and plant
fibres and natural pigments.
Theatre of dreams, theatre of play
N and Kygen in Japan
14 June 14 September 2014
Art Gallery of NSW, Sydney

Featuring 165 works including masks

and costumes as well as paintings, musical
instruments and books from the collection
of the National Noh Theatre, Tokyo and the
Agency for Cultural Affairs of Japan, this is
the first comprehensive exhibition of the rich
material culture of n and kygen theatre
(ngaku) to be shown in Australia.
The beauty of the exhibits showcases
Japans unique aesthetic sensibility and the
excellence of its traditional arts and crafts.
The splendour of the masks, robes and
paintings invites all who see it to appreciate
this complex and sumptuous world.
For further information go to:
www.artgallery.nsw.gov.au

For further information about events

associated with the exhibition go to:
www.artgallery.sa.gov.au

The Mann-Tatlow Collection of Asian Art

15 March 20 July
Wollongong Art Gallery, Wollongong

The Wollongong Art Gallery is celebrating

10 years of the Mann-Tatlow Collection, which
includes Asian ceramics, objects and items
of furniture from the Neolithic Period to the
early 20th century. During the exhibition
there will be a number of activities such as
floor talks and writers workshops to engage
contemporary visitors with the Collection.
For further information:
www.wollongongcitygallery.com
Subject to Ruin
24 May - 6 July 2014
Casula Powerhouse Arts Centre

Renowned Chinese contemporary artist and

activist, Ai Weiwei rose to prominence in
1995 with Dropping a Dynasty Urn, where
he purposely dropped a Neolithic Chinese
vase from a height, smashing it into pieces.
The provocative statement underscored the
disposability in contemporary China of signs
and symbols of the past, displaced by a new
consumer aesthetic of cheap abundance.
Subject to Ruin is a contemporary art
exhibition that not only responds to facets
of destruction, degradation and disaster
in everyday society, it is a platform for
reflection, experimentation and free speech
with reference to actions of awareness and
a need for change.
For more information to:
www.casulapowerhouse.com

OKIMONO, KARAKO PLAYING BLINDMAN'S BLUFF,

LATE 19TH CENTURY, IVORY,WITH SEMI PRECIOUS STONES AND
LACQUER, 6.8 CM, M.J.M. CARTER AO COLLECTION 2004
ART GALLERY OF SOUTH AUSTRALIA, ADELAIDE

VICTORIA
Bushido Way of the Samurai
4 July 4 November 2014
National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne

Bushido explores the fascinating world of the

samurai who were the warriors, rulers and
aristocratic elite of Japanese society for more
than 800 years. Bushido: Way of the Samurai
will focus on samurai as both warriors and
men of refined culture. It will showcase
the attire of the samurai and display
their cultural pursuits in the form of Noh
costumes, calligraphic scrolls, lacquer objects
and tea utensils. The life of the samurai is
represented in screen paintings, woodblock
prints and studio photographs.
For further information about events in
association with the exhibition go to:
www.ngv.vic.gov.au
QUEENSLAND

SOUTH AUSTRALIA
The Doily Collecting Cowboy - Indonesian
Netsuke and other miniatures

Textiles from Lampung, South Sumatra

Tabaimo: Medurumeku

11 April to 31 August 2014

3 24 August 2014

Museum of Contemporary Art, Sydney

Art Gallery of South Australia, Adelaide

Gallery 159 (159 Payne Road) Brisbane

2014 is the centenary of the establishment of

the Art Gallery of South Australias collection
of Japanese netsuke, inr and other carvings.
This collection, around 300 works of art,
has been developed through the generosity
of many South Australians including early
notable art connoisseurs such as Sir Samuel
Way (1836-1916) and more recently, Max
Carter AO.

Greg Pankhurst has an extensive collection

of South Sumatran textiles, in particular from
Lampung where he has long maintained a
home and business. Selected works will be
exhibited at the dedicated gallery space of
TAFTA, The Australian Forum for Textile
Arts Ltd. At the opening (3:30pm on Sunday
3 August), Greg will talk about some of the
works, and his passion for collecting, linking it
to his life in Sumatra, shared with his family.

3 July-7 September 2014

Tabaimo: Mekurumeku is a survey of works

by leading Japanese artist Tabaimo.The
exhibition includes multi-screen video
works that immerse gallery visitors within
constantly moving, changing environments
that combine hand-drawn imagery and
sound. Tabaimos works draw upon the
historical Japanese woodblock tradition,
peering into hidden corners of the human

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