Freer Gallery of Art and Arthur M. Sackler Gallery Search this
Type:
YouTube Videos
Uploaded:
2015-12-10T17:32:18.000Z
Views:
3,836
Video Title:
Sōtatsu’s Methods: The Visibility of Craft
Description:
SŌTATSU: MAKING WAVES October 24, 2015–January 31, 2016 Freer|Sackler asia.si.edu/sotatsu Sōtatsu dealt with extremely refined subject matter—ancient aristocratic poetry and illustrated court and religious narratives—but he sought to reveal the construction and inner workings of an image rather than polish the “building blocks” until they were invisible. Skilled in both the production of supporting materials—i.e., books, folding fans, screens, and scrolls—as well as the forms that graced their surfaces, Sōtatsu was first and foremost a craftsman. Indeed, it is “craft” that he apparently wanted his audience to appreciate in his work. Sōtatsu used three techniques in varying degrees throughout his career: tarashikomi, horinuri, and kataoshi. Tarashikomi (たらしこみ) is a technique of pooling pigment or ink in partially dried layers, allowing random, semi-translucent shapes to take form. The patterns that result suggest both dimensionality and ephemerality, and thus uncertainty. Horinuri (彫り塗り) is a style of painting in multiple colors in which ink underdrawings—outlines of human figures and other shapes—remain partially visible. In the more traditional style, tsukuri-e, the outline is completely covered with opaque pigments. Horinuri honors the tradition of works created with brushed ink, which in East Asia is considered to be the skill par excellence. Kataoshi (型押し) are stamped patterns, frequently seen on the paper Sōtatsu and his studio prepared for calligraphers. The artist forms shapes—cranes, bamboo, flowering plants—with inks that have varying degrees of thickness, and the patterns that result are both manipulated and random.
Video Duration:
4 min 3 sec
YouTube Keywords:
Freer sackler freersackler smithsonian asian art museum asia dc nmaa "national museum of asian art"
