Japanese art on the issues of time and eternity
26.08.2013
Tuula Moilanen, Graphic Artist, studied two abstract concepts in her dissertation – how ’time’ and ‘eternity’ appear in the depictions of Japanese woodblock prints and in the production process itself.
The research reveals cultural and artistic history information that has not been previously published in Finnish. It opens new perspectives to researchers of Japanese art, woodblock print collectors and modern artists who are inspired by tradition. In addition, it offers a foundation for further studies on the history of Japanese print products.
The dissertation studied how time perceptions and symbols of a past era are evident in modern Japanese graphics. It compares old and new woodblock production side by side. The comprehensive picture material contains woodblock prints ranging from early religious prints from the end of the 8th century to the most recent work of well-known modern artists.
The foundation of the research was the assumption that the Japanese perception of time is connected to the Japanese language, which is characterised by being visual and subject to interpretation. According to the research, the Japanese perception of time resembles a series of haiku-like short snapshots of the present, which form a circle or are circles within circles when combined.
‘This significantly differs from the linear, single-directional time perception of the West’, Tuula Moilanen explains.
According to the research, in Japan, natural elements are important allegories of never-ending change, eternity and the shortness of physical existence.
‘For example, cherry blossoms, often depicted in woodprint, can be interpreted as either symbols of evanescence or eternity. The beauty of the blooming trees is gone in only a few weeks, but the splendour brought by the flowers is repeated time and time again each spring’, the author states.
Although the current technological revolution and the quick pace of the media era has outwardly transformed the lifestyle of especially the youth culture, the deepest core of the Japanese culture can be seen in these seemingly “outdated” depictions’, states the author.
‘Perhaps traditional woodprint art is becoming overrun by new techniques and media art, but the pictures, the eternal questions and answers they contain, still interest us’, Moilanen explains.
Tuula Moilanen (b. 1959), Graphic Artist, Book Artist, is known in Finland as an expert of Japanese woodprint and traditional papermaking. She lived in Kyoto, Japan, for over 20 years until 2012. During that time, she closely studied the country's culture and arts.
The dissertation ’Jap
anilainen puupiirros ajan ja ikuisuuden peilinä. Japanilaiset ajan ja ikuisuuden symbolit ja niiden esittäminen puupiirroksissa 700-luvulta nykypäivään’ (Japanese woodprint as a mirror of time and eternity. Japanese time and eternity symbols and their depictions in woodprint since the 8th century to modern day) will be reviewed at the Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture on Friday, 30 August 2013 at 12 noon (Sampo Hall at Media Centre Lume, Hämeentie 135 C). The opponent is Minna Eväsoja, Docent, Doctor of Philosophy from the University of Helsinki. Orders for the dissertation can be placed with the Aalto University School of Arts, Design and Architecture’s online bookshop: books.aalto.fi, inquiries: artsbooks [at] aalto [dot] fi, tel. +358 (0)50 313 7086.