+ Sumi-e Lecture review

Sumi-e master Shozo Sato of Japan gave a lecture this week thanks to the collaboration of the Asian Art Association and the Denver Art Museum. Sato has dedicated his life to painting and teaching the Japanese traditional arts and in one hour I learned a fascinating amount about the varieties of Japanese art and qualities of Japanese expression. Sumi means black ink and e means painting. Another art form discussed was Suibokuga made up of words translating to water, black, and art work. Sumi-e paintings in America are known to be impressions with minimum strokes, done in a few minutes. Suibokuga are more detailed using multiple brush strokes.
Sato mainly discussed the principles of organizing space within Japanese works and the dynamic between the art form and the viewer. These key elements and qualities are present throughout many forms of Japanese artistic expressions.
The first compositional structure that Sato pointed out is the grouping of threes. In all compositions presented, there was a dominant figure in the center, to its right (viewers left) the subdominant support, and to its left (viewers right) the subordinate. This organizational quality is clear and profuse in Japanese paintings throughout history.
A paramount quality throughout the lecture was the use of active empty space. There must be empty space to make room for the dark ink that has such strong visual weight. Sato states that the empty space in a composition is for the viewers’ sensitivity and that the purpose of a painting is to simply suggest the essence of the subject allowing the viewer to go beyond what is painted by using their imagination. Sato used a painting depicting a bird sitting on a branch as an example. The end and beginning of the branch are not seen and the top half of the composition at a diagonal angle is completely empty aside from a couple leaves at the top. Sato points out that the birds’ head is down and this grounds the energy to the center. How would the directional force be different if the bird were looking forward or upward? He encourages you to go beyond what you see, imagining a larger tree and compares this work with the small windows of the building the lecture was being held. The windows in the DAMs’ north building are small and leave it up to the imagination to fill in a surrounding view. Many Sumi-e derive their minimalism from Zazen philosophy, conscious to leave only the essence in display, as Shozo puts it. Zazen aesthetics are 60% expressed and 40% unexpressed, leaving a space for viewers to move, meditate, react, participate. A Zen phrase quoted was “The way of art is the way of the Buddha” meaning pure at birth, no thoughts, no “no’s” accumulating to create a personality, just pure awareness. And that is the essence depicted in so much of Japanese art.
A great example of the importance put on viewers’ appreciation is Noh Drama. Noh Drama consists of masked actors demonstrating extremely slow movements. The spoken words from the mask are made to sound as if “coming from nowhere.” The audience receives information about what is happening on the stage from a chorus and then puts these two elements together to form their own story. The abstract performers are the dominant subject, the general public is the conductor and the chorus Sato suggests, is the subconductor.
Another important principle mentioned was the pairing of ephemeral and eternal together. One art piece used as example was a very detailed painting of a landscape from the Ching dynasty. This type of landscape was intended for inhabitants of busy villages to be used as a visual meditation. Viewers too busy to trek to a temple can experience a visual journey by sitting and observing. The detailed painting Sato showed us depicted a temple in the middle ground, that could visually be reached by tree lined paths in the foreground. The background consisted of distant mountains and a waterfall that doesn’t seem accessible. The waterfall is a symbol for time and the constant unstoppable flow it persists. Large rocks and mountains along with the temple represent the eternal in the physical world as well as the spiritual. Depictions of small humans in the village are ephemeral, reminding us of our impermanence.
This lecture was very interesting and Sato had a pleasant, calm presence. The large body of art work slides paired with a masters commentary enriched the experience and deepened my knowledge and appreciation for Japanese paintings, rock gardens, acting, and even haikus. I hope to meditate more on the wisdom and awareness that goes into these Japanese works of art in the near future