Sakai Hôitsu (1761-1828), Waterbird and Grass, ink and color on silk, hanging scroll, Clark Family Collection.   Click here for larger image. Fukuda Kodôjin (1865-1944), The American Ship, ink on paper, hanging scroll, Addiss-Seo Nanga Collection.   Click here for larger image.

The Lee Center for Japanese Art reopens to the public after its annual summer break with Script and Image - an exhibition which explores the history and closely intertwined connection between writing and image in Japanese art. Often ignored by the Western connoisseur of Japanese art, calligraphy or shodo - practiced for over 1000 years in Japan - is one of the most abstract forms of artistic expression. The art of writing in Japan is widely considered to be the foundation upon which many great artists learned and practiced the fundamentals of line and balance on a blank page.

Chinese characters were imported to Japan well before the 6th century, but it was not until Buddhism's introduction to Japan that they were studied widely and literacy of any kind began to spread. By the 10th century, the Japanese were well versed in written Chinese and had adapted Chinese characters to the syllabic nature of the Japanese language.

Beginning with a brief visual introduction to the written language in Japan and Japanese art, Script and Image explores the diverse nature of visual expression which developed out of the relationship between written Chinese and the Japanese languages. The varied works in the exhibition, which include Buddhist sutra, poetry and letters, are taken from the permanent collection of the Ruth & Sherman Lee Center for Japanese Art with many never-before-seen pieces drawn from the Addiss-Seo Nanga Collection.

Script and Image Members' Reception

Sunday, September 7, 2003, 2pm Associate Curator Elizabeth Beller will tour members through the new exhibition. Limited seating. Please RSVP by September 5 to 559.582.4915 or by email to info@shermanleeinstitute.org

Yosa Buson (1716-1784), Letter with Poem for Kitô , 1774, ink on paper, hanging scroll, Addiss-Seo Nanga Collection.   Click here for larger image.

Nukina Kaioku (1778-1863), Poem at 84, 1861, ink on paper, hanging scroll, Addiss-Seo Nanga Collection.   Click here for larger image.

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