Movement and Materiality in Japanese Art

Organized by Talia Andrei and Miriam Chusid
Mary Griggs Burke Center Post-Doctoral Fellows

Friday, March 9–Saturday, March 10, 2018
Schermerhorn Hall, Columbia University
Registration required, email: tja2103@columbia.edu

One role of images in Japanese art is to bridge the gap between the viewer and the intangible—be it religious tenets, works of literature, or historical events. This symposium will explore the ways in which images and material objects inspired movement of the mind or body, or helped a viewer to form connections to disparate ideas and places through time and space. While pictorial content was an important factor for determining how a viewer might perceive a work of art, equally important was the image’s reception, use, and function. What were the motivations for promoting movement or creating allusions to people, places, and ideas outside of the artwork? Could any image be a conduit to a different time and location or were certain images endowed with specific characteristics and meanings that made them more suitable to this function? By examining a variety of images across time, medium, and genre, we aim to attain a better understanding of how objects can inspire movement, create networks of meaning, stimulate the senses, and capture the imagination.

http://burkecenter.columbia.edu/lectures-symposia/movement-and-materiality-japanese-art

SYMPOSIUM SCHEDULE

FRIDAY, MARCH 9

Keynote Lecture
4:00–5:00 pm
Image, Text, and Viewer
Sano Midori, Gakushūin University
612 Schermerhorn Hall

Reception
Stronach Center, 8th floor Schermerhorn, Department of Art History and Archaeology, Columbia University
5:00 –5:45 pm

SATURDAY, MARCH 10

Registration and Coffee
614 Schermerhorn Hall
8:45–9:30 am

MORNING SESSION 9:30 AM–12:30 PM

Welcome
Midori Oka, Mary Griggs Burke Center for Japanese Art

Underlying the “Visions” of Heian Buddhist Painting: The Flames of the Shōren-in Ao Fudo and White Gemstone Body of the Tokyo National Museum Fugen Bosatsu
Masuki Ryūsuke, Kobe University

Waves of Sound: Marine Movements of Buddhist Bells in Japan
Sherry Fowler, University of Kansas

COFFEE BREAK

Repurposing Wood for Sacred Images in Kamakura Period Sculpture
Sam Morse, Amherst College

Historical Changes in the Spatial Representation of the Ise Pilgrimage (in Japanese)
Chieda Daishi, Chūkyō University

Discussion
Discussant: Max Moerman, Barnard College
Moderator: Miriam Chusid, Columbia University

AFTERNOON SESSION 2:00–5:00 PM

501​​​​​​​ Schermerhorn Hall

The Resurgence of a Picture Scroll from the Rengeō-in Treasury: Prince Sadafusa’s Copy of and Insertion of Poems within The Illustrated Scroll of the Battle of Breaking Wind
Yamamoto Satomi, Kyōritsu Women’s University

Materialities Matter: Movement and Stasis of Two Medieval Karmic Origin Handscrolls
Melanie Trede, Heidelberg University

COFFEE BREAK

Exhibiting Place: Paintings, Pots, and Poetry in the Alcove
Andrew Watsky, Princeton University

Meisho Zue and Gayū: A Perspective on Virtual Travel in the Late Tokugawa Period
Robert Goree, Wellesley College

Discussion and Conclusion
Discussant: Matthew McKelway, Columbia University
Moderator: Talia Andrei, Columbia University