Feb. 17, 2022

"Listen Over Matter: Zen in Medieval Japan" Launches "The Arts of Devotion," a Five-Year Initiative Dedicated to Furthering Borough Soapbox and the Understanding of Religion

Portrait of a Gaofeng Yuanmiao, 1238 – 1295
Chūan Kinkō (mid-15th century)
Japan, Muromachi period, 1392-1568
Ink on paper H ten West (paradigm): 58.4 x 37.4 cm
Souvenir of Charles Lang Freer
Freer Gallery of Art, F1911.317a-b

For the first time since the museum's founding near a century agone, the Smithsonian'southward National Museum of Asian Art will exhibit the latitude of its medieval Zen ink paintings, highlighting rare and hit works from Nippon and China to unveil the world of medieval Japanese monasteries. Accompanied past ceramic and lacquer works, "Mind Over Affair: Zen in Medieval Japan" tells the story of the religious tradition's birth in Mainland china effectually the fifth century and its expansion to Korea, Nihon and eventually the Us. The exhibition will be on view in the museum'south Freer Gallery of Art from March 5 through July 24.

"Zen is a religion that is firmly rooted in the past, only deeply responsive to the nowadays," said Hunt F. Robinson, the museum's Dame Jillian Sackler Director. "How Zen monks expressed their religiosity and politics can teach us lessons about ourselves and our own time."

Every bit visitors journey through the exhibition, they will encounter monastic Zen paintings from medieval Japan (ca. 1200–1600), which are considered i of the great artistic traditions of East Asia and beyond. The abbreviated, seemingly impromptu paintings in monochrome ink have influenced artists and enthusiasts for centuries. Many of the most accomplished artists of this era—Mokuan, Ryozen, Shubun, Sesshu, Sesson and many others—were Zen monks credited by later generations equally the creators of a unique and remarkable legacy of ink painting. Zen monk painters inspired a number of the most important professional person painting lineages of Japan'southward early modernistic period (ca. 1600–1868) and formed a thematic backbone of Japanese art and cultural identity in modernistic times. The exhibition is co-curated by Frank Feltens, the Japan Foundation Acquaintance Curator of Japanese Art at the National Museum of Asian Art, and Yukio Lippit, the Jeffrey T. Chambers and Andrea Okamura Professor of History of Fine art and Architecture at Harvard Academy.

"Although Zen has come to embody notions of stillness and peace of mind, information technology is likewise a powerful philosophy embraced past monks over the centuries to claiming conventions of Buddhism and fine art," Feltens said. "Ink is a bones yet incredibly versatile textile in East Asian painting, enabling a wealth of individual expressions."

As the inaugural exhibition of The Arts of Devotion initiative, "Mind Over Affair: Zen in Medieval Japan" seeks to enhance understanding of the organized religion and to foster empathy and respect amidst the public. In lodge to highlight central aspects of Zen as it is adept today, the museum invited multiple perspectives: accompanying many of the works is commentary from high school students in Washington, D.C., award-winning koto musician Yumi Kurosawa and Zen priest Rev. Inryū Bobbi Poncé-Barger. Their observations reflect the ever-evolving nature of Zen and its pedagogy and its presence in the contemporary U.s.a.. A high school student from School Without Walls describes how the monochromatic ink paintings challenge expectations of Zen and Buddhism, while Poncé-Barger reflects on the expanded office of women in Zen exercise in today's gild.

"Zen, similar other religions, has never been a faith frozen in time," said Hussein Rashid, the project managing director for The Arts of Devotion. "It evolves and acquires new meaning equally new practitioners engage with the faith. 'Listen Over Thing' demonstrates the continuity of Zen tradition and the transformation of the religion over fourth dimension and place."

Additional highlights include a one-of-a-kind digital blitheness showing how an ink painting is fabricated and "Voices of Zen: Contemporary Perspectives on Medieval Japanese Zen," an online interactive feature that contains sectional audio content from the community and curatorial voices. Contributors offer their individual perspectives on three important Japanese works from the exhibition. "Voices of Zen" will launch on the museum's website prior to the exhibition's opening.

"Guided by our commitment to experimentation, we sought to expand the reach of the exhibition to online audiences with a digital interactive and exciting animation," Feltens said. "The cutting-edge blitheness and community voices create new avenues for engagement with and understanding of these artworks and Zen'southward presence in our world."

"Mind Over Matter" and The Arts of Devotion was made possible by Lilly Endowment Inc. Support for "Mind Over Matter" and the museum's Japanese art plan is provided by Mitsubishi Corporation.

Nigh the Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Fine art

The Smithsonian's National Museum of Asian Art is committed to preserving, exhibiting and interpreting exemplary works of art. It houses exceptional collections of Asian art, with more than 45,000 objects dating from the Neolithic period to today. Renowned and iconic objects originate from China, Nihon, Korea, South and Southeast Asia, the ancient Near Eastward and the Islamic world. The museum's Freer Gallery of Fine art too holds a significant group of American works of art largely dating to the belatedly 19th century. It boasts the globe's largest collection of diverse works past James McNeill Whistler, including the famed Peacock Room. The National Museum of Asian Art is dedicated to increasing understanding of the arts of Asia through a wide portfolio of exhibitions, publications, conservation, research and education.

The National Museum of Asian Art was the Smithsonian'southward first defended fine art museum and the get-go art museum on the National Mall. Since opening its doors equally the Freer Gallery of Art in 1923, it has acquired an international reputation. The museum is preparing for its centennial in 2023—a milestone celebration and a springboard for the museum's transformative vision for its next century, which volition broaden and deepen the museum's impact and reach, both onsite and online.