By: Tayida Phanich
Editor: Ngan Le
Art is one of the most diverse forms of culture, with a unique style and technique depending on the continent, country, region, or city. Starting with East Asia, in this five part journey on the exploration of art across the regions of Asia, allowing an expansion and a deepening of knowledge on not just Asian art, but the history, religion, philosophy, and more that the art builds upon.
Beginning our journey in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, we arrive at the island of the rising sun, moving along to the Korean peninsula, and up to the republic of China. In this region, painting is arguably the most distinguishable type of art form. Whether it be the popular ink washing technique, ukiyo-e paintings, or the Dansaekhwa, in East Asia, paintings reign supreme.
Paintings in the area have been dated up to two millennia ago, as recorded in the wall of tombs. However, it really only gained popularity during the Tang dynasty (618AD-907AD), considered the Golden Age of art, where the first ink and wash painting was invented by Wang Wei. Ink and wash painting was a new and unique technique as it focused on brushstrokes, particularly how to vary the density of ink on the brush, be it through the addition of water or pressure of each stroke. Due to the extreme difficulty, artists can spend years mastering the technique.
Painters grinded ink sticks, made of compacted charcoal ash from bamboo glued together with an adhesive extracted from fish bones, along a grinding stone to produce their ink. They used tapered brushes derived from goat, horse, sheep, or rabbit hair, and like with all paints, the shape of the brush determined the stroke of the brush and the amount of water carried on it. On either paper or silk, artists typically painted landscapes and nature, sometimes the Four Noble Ones, a collection of four different plants: bamboo, orchid, plum blossom, and chrysanthemum.
Although this was an art technique, it relied on various philosophies. Instead of being realistic, the point of ink washing was to capture the essence or the spirit of the subject. For the artist, it was an expression of the admiration and modest understanding they had on the universe around them, and to do this, they had to open up their minds and souls to receive and display this comprehension. This reflected the Daoist belief of being one with nature and the Zen Buddhist philosophies dealing with self-expression that were popular at the time. These ideas seem to be similar to the Impressionistic style of art developed later on in the western world.
Over time, this technique only gained popularity, traveling to Japan through Buddhist monks in 1338 and built traction throughout the Muromachi period (1333-1573). And this style, in combination from the existing Yamato-e method established the basis for the ever so popular ukiyo-e genre of art that flourished during the Edo period and continues to even today.
Lasting from 1603-1867, the Edo period was a time of peace, freedom, and an exploration of culture for the island of Japan, hence the term “floating world” that is the translation for the word Ukiyo-e. Its focus on the present made the social life of those in the modern era, especially the lives of entertainment figures like sumo wrestlers, geishas, or actors a popular subject. The most well known medium associated with this genre of art is woodblock printing, where artists would have to draw their picture onto a washi, or piece of paper, and carve that into the surface of the wood. Because of this, these paintings could be mass-produced, and thus were aimed at the middle class, who before this could not afford their own paintings.
One main characteristic of the ukiyo-e genre was the rich color palette, as a result of absorption of ink from the woodblock. Additionally, most artists did not concern themselves with the dimensions and perspectives. They typically focused on stronger shapes, graphic designs, and bold lines – the thick black lines providing a contrast to the color and emphasizing the flat nature of the artwork.
Believed to have been first introduced by Hishikawa Moronobu in the 1670s, the first prints were monochromatic, using only indian ink. In the mid-1700s, Suzuki Harunobu developed polychrome printing, a method enabling artists to print in full-color. These works became called nishiki-e, as they were as beautiful as the silk fabric, nishiki, and only garnered all the craze from the rest of the population.
Being a bridge between China and Japan, Korea was highly influenced by techniques and cultures on both fronts, and throughout the centuries, were able to incorporate these methods and genres into their own culture, leading to a high value in painting throughout the country. However, that changed in the mid 1900s with the Dansaekhwa movement pioneered by artists who were angered by the current political situation of Korea. In the 1950s, Korea was under a military dictatorship, and as a form of defiance against restricting traditions and authority, artists began to manipulate paintings and its materials like ripping paper, pushing paint, dragging pencils and soaking canvases. This expression brought about abstract art, inspired by expressionism and geometric fields in the 1960s, leading to the Dansaekhwa, or the monochrome style painting in the 1970s. The term Dansaekhwa was actually coined later on in the 1980s by Lee Yil, who used the term to describe a group of abstract paintings made using natural hues.
Similar to the ink washing technique of the Chinese, Dansaekhwa has a philosophy to it, it is just executed in a different form. Through the art, the artist returns to an individual’s roots, or their nature, and is considered a meditative form of art. An important part of the art is the viewer. Dansaekhwa explores the relationship between the art and the viewer, and they do this by experimenting with different materials and manipulation techniques.
Although it may look simple, a lot of work goes into these paintings. The focus is on the layers of the art, as well as textures and the relationships of the materials. They would typically create works highlighting textures, and ones with an abundance of movements and patterns. More modern forms of this art plays with negative space and minimalistic styles.
Surprisingly, this movement is still garnering interest. In 2014, there was a surge in popularity, possibly due to reemerging commercial attraction, which seems to still be growing today as more and more exhibits on Dansaekhwa open all around the world, bringing Asian culture to their own homes.
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