Lecture (LEC)

• COLL (CASE) S&H Breadth of Inq
• IUB GenEd World Culture credit

• IUB GenEd World Culture credit
• COLL (CASE) S&H Breadth of Inquiry credit

Characterized as flat and decorative or bold and linear, Japanese painting's unique configurations of space, surface, and depth invite fascination and tempt deeper understanding. This course will trace the major transformation of painting and other artistic media throughout the major epochs of Japanese art history. Emphasizing major moments of change, it places visual arts in the context of international contact and the political and social order of Japan. Each biweekly lecture will explore artists decisions in representing space and how these relate to broader literary and intellectual motivations, political ideologies and theories of rulership, and economic imperatives. The class will also explore the material culture of Japanese art, including the architectural context of painting and the broader range of artistic objects such as ceramics, lacquerware, and sculpture. Students will be introduced to the unique format and materials of Japanese art, including scroll painting, albums, folding screens, sliding door panels, and hanging scrolls, their adaptation to a modern-day context, and how each of these media orders the viewer's experience of space. Lectures will be supported by additional trips to the Eskenazi Museum of Art to gain familiarity with works of art as physical media and their representational strategies.