"Every Living Thing: Animals in Japanese Art" is the first U.S. exhibition to bring together artistic representations of animals in all media across Japanese history from the 5th century to the present.
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Underpinned by Japan’s unique spiritual heritage of Shintō and Buddhism, the Japanese reverence for nature—and the place of animals within that realm—is expressed in sculpture, painting, lacquerware, ceramics, metalwork, cloisonné, and woodblock prints. Lions, dogs, horses, oxen, cats, fish, insects, birds, dragons, and phoenixes are meticulously and beautifully rendered in a vast variety of artworks. Featuring nearly 200 objects, the exhibition draws heavily from LACMA’s permanent collection and includes other masterpieces from Japanese and American public and private collections, some of which are on view for the first time.
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“Animals play an unparalleled role in Japanese art and culture”
- says Robert T. Singer, department head and curator of Japanese art at LACMA. “Any visitor to Japan will quickly notice their pervasiveness: from high art and low, in religion and popular culture, in objects made for the tea ceremony and even as symbols for the times of day. These creatures, real and mythical, have long inspired Japan’s creative imagination and continue to do so.”
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✤ EXHIBITION ✤
Every Living Thing celebrates one of the most distinctive and compelling aspects of Japanese art: the ubiquitous depiction of animals. With works ranging from ancient tomb sculptures to contemporary digital displays, the exhibition reveals the various roles animals have played in Japanese culture through thematic sections including: the Japanese zodiac, leisure and pastimes, myth and folklore, religion, the natural world, the world of the samurai, and foreign and exotic animals.
❶ Animals of the Japanese zodiac.
Throughout the exhibition, zodiac animals are portrayed in various roles—sometimes taking on human form in playful parodies, or as protectors of the home, or as companions of Buddhist and Shintō deities.
❷ Animals in Japanese myth and folklore.
The mythical dragon and phoenix have both captured artists’ imaginations since antiquity... In Japanese folklore, some real animals also possess supernatural qualities. Folkloric creatures continue to influence artists in modern times, as seen through the art collective teamLab’s 2017 single-channel digital work, Sunflower Phoenix; Chrysanthemum Tiger; Peony Peacock; Lotus Elephant (2017) from the series Fleeting Flowers.
❸ Animals as represented in religious imagery.
In this section, the subjects of visual art is seen through the faith of Shintō, Buddhism, Zen, and Daoism.
❹ Natural world including creatures on land and of the rivers, lakes, and seas.
In this section, water creatures populate artworks in which highly realistic depictions, often injected with strong dashes of humor, dominate works of beauty and function.
❺ Foreign and exotic animals.
The arrival of elephants, camels, peacocks, and other species from Portuguese colonies in Southeast Asia, Africa, and South America caused a craze in Japan for spectacles featuring creatures from faraway regions. Artists met the demand for such exotica in works ranging from opulent folding screens to popular woodblock prints
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✤ ORGANIZATION ✤
This exhibition is co-organized by the National Gallery of Art, Washington, The Japan Foundation, and LACMA, with special cooperation from the Tokyo National Museum. Prior to the presentation at LACMA, the exhibition was on view at the National Gallery of Art Washington (June 2–August 18, 2019).
✤ RELATED PROGRAMMING ✤
★ Artist Talk: teamLab
Sunday, September 22, 2019 7 pm | BCAM, Level 1
Free, tickets required
★ Art Classes & Camps
Tuesday, October 1, 2019 4:30pm - 8:30pm | Smidt Welcome Plaza
$15 in advance per program; $20 on the day▼
https://www.lacma.org/event/evenings-educators-every-living-thing-animals-japanese-art
[ Image Caption ]
Pair of Inari Foxes, Kamakura–Nanbokuchō periods, 13th–14th century, Kiyama Jinja; Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, Shirafuji Genta Watching Kappa Wrestle, 1865, 2nd month, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Herbert R. Cole Collection; Octopus Form Box, late 19th century, Los Angeles County Museum of Art, gift of Allan and Maxine Kurtzman, photo © Museum Associates/LACMA
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◉ For more information, please access the event's homepage from below▼
https://www.lacma.org/art/exhibition/every-living-thing-animals-japanese-art
