January 26

We continued to cover some basic ideas about art. While it's an oversimplification to speak of "Western" and "Eastern" views on art, just to get started, we looked at Julian Bell's discussion of the development of painting in Europe, and began to look at Jonathan Chaves's introduction to his book The Chinese Painter as Poet to bring some terms and ideas up for discussion.

Some highlights of Bell's discussion:

Judaic and Platonic views reject images. The Judaic (Biblical) view sees them as potentially leading to idolatry; the Platonic view sees them as copies of copies, much inferior to the Ideal.

Aristotle accepts them, because they offer a means to understand the world better.

In the eighteenth century there was a shift away from painting as imitation of nature, towards creativity and the expression of emotion. Artists were not copyists, but vehicles for the principle of the creative force of nature.

About Chinese painting:

We didn't get very far with this, but some things that did come up were:

Poetry had more prestige than painting in the early periods of Chinese history; knowlege of poetry, together with history and writing about ethics were essential to education and to passing the exams that led to careers in the government bureaucracy.

The link between poetry and painting was especially strong in the work of the literati (Chinese: wenren, Japanese, bunjin) who regarded the arts of the brush as expressions of a cultivated self.

We also talked about the importance of two philosophical systems:

Confucianism (a highly pragmatic way of thinking primarily concerned with propriety, morality, human relationships)
Daoism ([Taoism] a more mystical and intuitive set of ideas, concerned with living in accord with the Way of nature)

Both systems encouraged the cultivation of the self. In broadest terms, while Confucianism emphasized self-discipline and conformity to strict social norms, Taoism allowed for more eccentric, sometimes almost mad behavior.

Topics that came up in the discussion:

Hudson River School
Romanticism (note the disclaimer at the top of the article; proceed at your own risk
Neo-Classicism
Li Bo [Li Po]; also known as Li Bai ; also see 300 Tang Poems for examples of his poetry. "Drinking Alone with the Moon" is one of my favorites! (Includes the original Chinese text.)

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We are searching for a new classroom. We discussed Emerson; some other possiblities have come up in the meantime. I'll keep you posted.

There is now a class Blackboard site. Look here for images.

Reading for next class: Chaves, continued; Stanley-Baker, Japanese Art, Chapter 1, "Introduction."