Breaking Light: Arts of 20th Century Japan.
Kagedo, Inc., 2007
by Cline, Jeffery and William Knospe. [Kagedo Japanese Art].
Kagedo, Inc., 2007. Folio, blind stamped black cloth (hardcover), 317 pp. Full-color illus. plates. From Foreword: Reimei (Breaking Light) explores the 20th century arts of Japan. We follow an idiosyncratic path and wind along byways we find interesting and beautiful. The artwork offered includes painting, ceramics, metalwork, lacquers, cloisonne enamels, bamboo art, wood carving and sculpture. All of the pieces were selected for their superior quality. All speak with a clear voice. Japan experienced great change and upheaval in the 20th century. The clouds of war and natural disasters played their part in breaking old patterrns, but the transition to modernity was well underway before 1900. By the first years of the century, cross-cultural currents eddied between Japan and the West continually and impelled great creativity in the arts. Many arists openly questioned what it meant to be both Japanese and modern, and the debate inspired a remarkable cultural flowering. Much artwork from the first decades of the century explores imagery from nature..... (Inventory #: 14179kms)