The Art Dept., with funding from the Visual Arts Boosters (VAB), will be hosting the first of four Lunchtime Lectures on Oct. 31st in the school auditorium. Amanda Adams, VMFA faculty, will speak about “Japanese Aesthetics.” This lecture is meant to align with the current Global Studies cycle curriculum focused on Asian culture. The lecture will take place in the auditorium from 11:35 am – 12:25 pm and is open to the public.
Dr. Adams will discuss Jun’ichirō Tanizaki’s seminal text, In Praise of Shadows (1933), specifically about Eastern Japanese ideals of beauty. Contrary to the Western framework of thinking, Japanese aesthetics favors the in-between, typically discarded or overlooked places of beauty: the grey shadows, the tea ceremony, and even a toilet seat. By looking at examples of Japanese fine and decorative arts, we will discuss Tanizaki’s major ideas concerning Eastern Aesthetics and then apply his understanding to the works in the VMFA permanent collection.
