The Japanese Tea Ceremony

My trip to Japan in the January of 2019 is documented in a powerpoint presentation in Unit 3. (Please See ARCHIVE Unit 3)

I ask myself, what aspects of this trip have distilled themselves into memorable experiences. While I was blown away by the art of Lee Ufan and Insho Dokmoto, what remains foremost is my experience of the Japanese Tea Ceremony and what it symbolises.

 Zen Buddhism had travelled from China to Japan in the 10th century and with it the tea ceremony, which was a highly ritualised performance that was meant to enable a quietening of the soul and a process of centring down. Over the centuries, the ceremony had become an opportunity to display wealth and status in the use of finely decorated utensils. It had become a flamboyant and extravagant privilege enjoyed only by the elite.

 Senno Rikyu (1522-1591) was a Zen Buddhist monk in the household of the famous General Hideyoshi. He called for a return to the principles of Zen Buddhism, endorsing simplicity and an ability to see beauty in that which is not conventionally beautiful. He called for a remembrance of the impermanence, the imperfection and the incompleteness of life. This movement eventually became known as Wabi Sabi. It gained a great following among the masses because of its attribution of dignity and aesthetic value to affordable and locally made tea utensils. An equivalent in our modern western culture would be the use of Ikea furniture, which brought simple lines of beauty in the homes of millions of people. Hideyoshi became highly jealous of the following that Rikyu had collected. He also disliked the new aesthetic as it disempowered his elite status and therefore ordered Rikyu to revoke his beliefs or commit Hara-kiri, which is suicide by disembowelment. Rikyu chose Hara-kiri.

 We see here a conflict between the aesthetic of detail, finery and fine technique (for example in the use of gold and elaborate designs to decorate porcelain) and the aesthetic of finding beauty in the simple and unadorned (for example in chunky and ‘rugged’ pottery). It is an age-old conflict. We see this modern life where some women prefer to present themselves in a highly polished way (and they are the target of the huge cosmetic industry that has grown around this aesthetic) while others believe in presenting themselves au naturale.

How has this moving story permeated my art? Because I eschew antithetical thinking (A≠ non-A) in favour of a more syncretistic style (X= A+non-A),  my attempt has been to integrate both seemingly opposed aesthetics into a unified whole. Thus, I have given myself permission to use simple, conventionally ‘un-beautiful’ utensils such as sketchbook paper and Sharpies to produce and present a cumulative work of art exemplified in my 6 am Paintings. I have also given myself the permission to be highly polished. This is seen in my use of state-of-the-art technology i.e. 3D video and also in my neatly and precisely executed painting, ‘Friday Evening’. In all that I produce, I hope to embody simple, authentic elegance.

 The story is formative in that it consolidated my artistic endeavour to communicate with the people i.e. the viewing public with everyday tools and techniques (Sharpies and Sketchbook paper) and in simple unadorned language. I have also adapted the Japanese tea ceremony to life in modern Britain so that it is a meditative experience of centring and slowing down and have created a video that documents this modern adaptation.