Imitation and Creativity in Japanese Arts

From Kishida Ryusei to Miyazaki Hayao

Nonfiction, Art & Architecture, Art History, Asian, General Art, Art Technique
Cover of the book Imitation and Creativity in Japanese Arts by Michael Lucken, Columbia University Press
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Michael Lucken ISBN: 9780231540544
Publisher: Columbia University Press Publication: March 29, 2016
Imprint: Columbia University Press Language: English
Author: Michael Lucken
ISBN: 9780231540544
Publisher: Columbia University Press
Publication: March 29, 2016
Imprint: Columbia University Press
Language: English

The idea that Japanese art is produced through rote copy and imitation is an eighteenth-century colonial construct, with roots in Romantic ideals of originality. Offering a much-needed corrective to this critique, Michael Lucken demonstrates the distinct character of Japanese mimesis and its dynamic impact on global culture, showing through several twentieth-century masterpieces the generative and regenerative power of Japanese arts.

Choosing a representative work from each of four modern genres—painting, film, photography, and animation—Lucken portrays the range of strategies that Japanese artists use to re-present contemporary influences. He examines Kishida Ryusei's portraits of Reiko (1914–1929), Kurosawa Akira's Ikiru (1952), Araki Nobuyoshi's photographic novel Sentimental Journey—Winter (1991), and Miyazaki Hayao's popular anime film Spirited Away (2001), revealing the sophisticated patterns of mimesis that are unique but not exclusive to modern Japanese art. In doing so, Lucken identifies the tensions that drive the Japanese imagination, which are much richer than a simple opposition between progress and tradition, and their reflection of human culture's universal encounter with change. This global perspective explains why, despite its non-Western origins, Japanese art has earned such a vast following.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

The idea that Japanese art is produced through rote copy and imitation is an eighteenth-century colonial construct, with roots in Romantic ideals of originality. Offering a much-needed corrective to this critique, Michael Lucken demonstrates the distinct character of Japanese mimesis and its dynamic impact on global culture, showing through several twentieth-century masterpieces the generative and regenerative power of Japanese arts.

Choosing a representative work from each of four modern genres—painting, film, photography, and animation—Lucken portrays the range of strategies that Japanese artists use to re-present contemporary influences. He examines Kishida Ryusei's portraits of Reiko (1914–1929), Kurosawa Akira's Ikiru (1952), Araki Nobuyoshi's photographic novel Sentimental Journey—Winter (1991), and Miyazaki Hayao's popular anime film Spirited Away (2001), revealing the sophisticated patterns of mimesis that are unique but not exclusive to modern Japanese art. In doing so, Lucken identifies the tensions that drive the Japanese imagination, which are much richer than a simple opposition between progress and tradition, and their reflection of human culture's universal encounter with change. This global perspective explains why, despite its non-Western origins, Japanese art has earned such a vast following.

More books from Columbia University Press

Cover of the book The Fracking Debate by Michael Lucken
Cover of the book China's Democratic Future by Michael Lucken
Cover of the book How to Read Chinese Poetry by Michael Lucken
Cover of the book Slow Boat to China and Other Stories by Michael Lucken
Cover of the book Are the Lips a Grave? by Michael Lucken
Cover of the book Éric Rohmer by Michael Lucken
Cover of the book Not Ours Alone by Michael Lucken
Cover of the book The Secret Financial Life of Food by Michael Lucken
Cover of the book Antitrust and the Formation of the Postwar World by Michael Lucken
Cover of the book Understanding Environmental Policy by Michael Lucken
Cover of the book Law and the Wealth of Nations by Michael Lucken
Cover of the book Bodies, Commodities, and Biotechnologies by Michael Lucken
Cover of the book Empire and Nation by Michael Lucken
Cover of the book Preventive Engagement by Michael Lucken
Cover of the book Nakba by Michael Lucken
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy