Japanese Design: Art, Aesthetics & Culture

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Review ------ "This book, Japanese Design, is truly a treasure of information and adds another layer of appreciation to Japanese art - a must for anyone who has a passion for anything Japanese." --Asian Lifestyle Design blog "Graham's book gives a thoughtful account of Japanese art and design, its cultural context in Japan and its proponents abroad. Her discussion of design terminology, including the origins as well as the uses and misuses through the decades of terms like wabi, sabi, and shibui is essential reading for anyone interested in Japanese art." --Janice Katz, Roger L.Weston Associate Curator of Japanese Art, Art Institute of Chicago "This splendid book stimulates the mind and delights the eye in equal measure. It will engross the art historian as well as the art lover. Graham's elegantly concise exploration of some key aesthetic principles, social contexts, and modern interpreters of Japanese design recalls many of the works beautifully illustrated here." --Kendall H. Brown, Professor of Asian Art, School of Art, California State University, Long Beach "Graham has crafted a compact, jewel-like resource for all who seek to understand the sources, evolution, impact, and value of Japanese aesthetics and design principles in our modern world." --Jan Schall, Ph.D., Sanders Sosland Curator, Modern Art, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art "Japanese design has been a source of global appeal and fascination at least since the mid-19th century. In this unprecedented work, its underlying aesthetic and cultural roots that are essential for the success of Japanese design are explained engagingly and accessibly by Graham in reference to key concepts illustrated with a many examples of art and architecture. A must-read for designers, artists, connoisseurs and scholars of Japanese art and culture, and many others." --Andreas Marks, Head, Department of Japanese and Korean Art and Director of the Clark Center at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts "This well- formatted and illustrated handbook with clear explanations of modern concepts of Japanese design, their cultural sources, along with biographies of Euro-American promoters of the Japan idea, will provide a welcome guide for students and travelers." --Christine Guth, Royal College of Art and Victoria and Albert Museum, London "A treasury for art connoisseurs as well as students and scholars in search of inspiration, Japanese Design: Art, Aesthetics & Culture is highly recommended." —Midwest Book Review "This book is a must-read for anyone who likes Japan and its arts! Even a long-term collector like me finds new delights in its illustrations and text. It is a winner! Don't miss the chance to acquire it as I know you will truly enjoy it." --Bill Clark, Japanese art collector and founder of the Clark Center for Japanese Art, Hanford, California Book Description ---------------- This Japanese design book presents the arts, aesthetics and culture of Japan with over 160 stunning color photos and extensive historical and cultural commentary . The Japanese sensibility often possesses an intuitive, emotional appeal, whether it's a silk kimono, a carefully raked garden path, an architectural marvel, a teapot, or a contemporary work of art. This allure has come to permeate the entire culture of Japan—it is manifest in the most mundane utensil and snack food packaging, as well as in Japanese architecture and fine art. in Japanese Design, Asian art expert and author Patricia J. Graham explains how Japanese aesthetics based in fine craftsmanship and simplicity developed. Her unusual, full-color presentation reveals this design aesthetic in an absorbing way. Focusing on ten elements of Japanese design, Graham explores how visual qualities, the cultural parameters and the Japanese religious traditions of buddhism and Shinto have impacted the appearance of its arts. Japanese Design is a handbook for the millions of us who have felt the special allure of Japanese art, culture and crafts. Art and design fans and professionals have been clamoring for this—a book that fills the need for an intelligent, culture-rich overview of what Japanese design is and means. Topics explored in Japanese Design include: * The Aesthetics of Japanese Design * The Cultural Parameters of Japanese Design * Early Promoters of "Artistic Japan" 1830s-1950s