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ASIA SOCIETY AND JAPAN SOCIETY PARTNER
FOR MAJOR TWO-PART EXHIBITION ON
CONTEMPORARY TEA PRACTICE AND ARTS
THE NEW WAY OF TEA OPENS AT BOTH VENUES MARCH 6, 2002
Exhibition Features Complete Tea Ceremony in Traditional and Experimental Environments Representing Japanese and Non-Japanese Artists
Press Preview: Tuesday, March 5
Japan Society: 9:00 am to 10:30 am
Asia Society: 11:00 am to 12:30 pm
In a major two-part exhibition, The New Way of Tea, opening concurrently at the Asia Society and Museum and the Japan Society on March 6, 2002 through May 19, 2002, visitors will find a comprehensive overview of environments, utensils, and performances exploring the aesthetic and contemplative aspects of the contemporary Japanese tea ceremony - also known as the Way of Tea. The practice and arts of the Way of Tea form a tradition that has evolved over a long period of time in China, Korea and Japan, culminating in a unique, communal event centered on contemplation and aesthetics. The exhibition will feature seven teahouses installed in both venues, representing the finest expressions of traditional and contemporary architectural designs. In addition, some 100 utensils designed by Japanese and non-Japanese artists and selected by Seizo Hayashiya, Japan's leading scholar of the practice and art of tea, will be on view. Guided by tea practicioners, members of the public will also have the opportunity to learn and perform the basic steps of the tea ceremony, and through this process, will develop an understanding of the universal relevance of the practice. The exhibition, the first to introduce the contemporary practice and arts of the Way of Tea, will be at both venues through May 19. Asia Society and Museum and Japan Society Gallery will be the sole venues for the exhibition.
The exhibition is organized by Masakazu Izumi, second son of Soshitsu Sen, the fifteenth grand master of the Urasenke School of Tea, and director of the International Chado Culture Foundation. He also selected the utensils with Mr. Hayashiya. The preeminent architect Atsushi Kitagawara has created the overall installation design. A team of advisers representing some of the most distinguished living Japanese tea masters, craftsmen, artists, and architects has also contributed to the exhibition. A full program of tea performances, lectures, demonstrations, and films will accompany the exhibition, as well as a catalogue.
According to historical tradition, the drinking of powdered green tea was introduced from China to Japan in the late twelfth century by the monk Eisai, the founder of Japan's Rinzai sect of Zen Buddhism. Under the influence of the great tea master Sen no Rikyu in the late sixteenth century, tea practice rose to the fore as a pastime and pursuit of both the military elite and the aristocracy. By the mid-seventeenth century, the art form had evolved into a highly ritualized event, in which every element - the manner in which people gathered, every piece of equipment, even the way in which participants entered the tearoom - had taken on a profound significance. Since its inception, the Way of Tea has embraced an eclectic range of artifacts from other Asian cultures, and in the upcoming exhibition at the Japan Society and Asia Society, this aspect of the practice will be featured, emphasizing the universal nature of the experience for the participant - an experience that has been described as enhancing self-discipline, mental harmony, and tranquility.
The exhibition will be shown concurrently at the Asia Society Museum and Japan Society Gallery. Asia Society will display five teahouses by Japanese and non-Japanese architects and artists representing more experimental structures, while the Japan Society will present three teahouses that draw on traditional architectural styles and materials. The teahouses will be furnished with utensils created by the most eminent modern masters of tea ceramics (Raku XV) and lacquer ware (Sotetsu Nakamura), as well as examples of tea utensils made by non-Japanese artists such as Malcolm Wright and Ettore Sottsass. Also featured will be a suite of screen paintings by the internationally acclaimed painter Hiroshi Senju, award-winner at the 1995 Venice Biennale. Central to the experience will be a tea master who will practice tea within the teahouses on a regular schedule throughout the show, adding a dimension of performance to the exhibition display.
Japan Society Gallery - Part 1
The first part of the exhibition, at Japan Society Gallery, will include three teahouses, a gallery of superb tea utensils, and screen paintings. The teahouses will include a reproduction of Konnichi-an, the seventeenth-century National Treasure teahouse on the grounds of Urasenke in Kyoto. This quintessential form that has for centuries embodied the tea aesthetic and its concepts of materials and space will serve as a reference for the exhibition's examples of teahouse innovation. It will be juxtaposed with a contemporary teahouse designed by Toshiyuki Kita, a leading industrial designer, in the form of a single lacquered cube. A third tearoom, designed by architect Masayuki Kurokawa, will feature furniture for seated tea. One gallery, designed by Atsushi Kitagawara, will be devoted to showcasing approximately 60 superb tea utensils of ceramic, lacquer, and bamboo in three period groupings: contemporary, modern, and Momoyama (late sixteenth century). A complete series of fusuma (sliding door) paintings by Hiroshi Senju, commissioned by the Juko-in of Zen temple Daitoku-ji for installation in its Shizuoka prefecture branch temple, will also be on view. This will be the first and only time that this historic commission of 80 running meters of a single painting composition will be exhibited before its permanent installation later in 2002. (The branch temple was designed by Junzo Yoshimura, the modern architect who also designed Japan Society).
Asia Society Museum - Part II
The second part of the exhibition, at the Asia Society Museum, will feature one tea space and four teahouses of contemporary design, including two commissioned works: one by Wenda Gu and one by Jae Eun Choi.
The exhibition design has been conceived by renowned designer Atsushi Kitagawara, who has created an environment that suggests "The Way of Tea" through an abstraction of the idea of the traditional pathway to the teahouse (roji). Kitagawara's innovative concept of roji feathers a tunnel made from rice paper at the entrance to the exhibition.
The tea space by installation artist Wenda Gu will have a tea powder cube and structures composed of rice paper dyed with tea leaves - a reference to the artist's well-known installation works composed of human hair from around the globe. The new paper, produced by a rice paper factory in China, will emit the fragrance of tea. The first teahouse, designed by Jae Eun Choi, a Korean artist who resides in Japan, is composed of Plexiglas and sand. Jae Eun Choi is known for her installation works that draw on traditional garden design and ikebana. A second teahouse, designed by Atsushi Kitagawara, whose teahouse is made of wood, Plexiglas and wires, offers a radical interpretation of traditional form, space, and materials. The third, by interior designer Takashi Sugimoto, uses traditional Japanese design elements and rich textures that reflect the natural environment of the tea aesthetics and practice. The fourth teahouse, by national award winning designer Ikko Tanaka, is made of wood with a long cherry wood table and is the place where tea ceremonies will be held during the exhibition.
The Asia Society's part of the exhibition will also feature components of Hiroshi Senju's fusuma painting series for Daitoku-ji, providing one of several visual links between the two presentations. Utensils on display at the Asia Society Museum will include ceramics, lacquer, bamboo, and metalwork by contemporary Japanese and non-Japanese artists and designers, as well as work in new materials such as plastics and glass. The inclusion of international tea utensils recognizes the historical incorporation of non-Japanese objects into the tea ceremony as well as the current broad appeal and interest in contemporary tea practices.
Visitor Participation
The New Way of Tea is intended to provide a complete sensory experience. Visitors will have the opportunity to learn and perform the basic steps of tea practice both in the exhibition spaces at Japan Society and at Asia Society. The exhibition will be accompanied by texts and videotapes of traditional tea ceremonies to provide historical context. Related public programs and performances will also include a series of lectures at both institutions, gallery tours by a selection of artists and designers, tastings at the Asia Society's Garden Court café, and informal teahouse concerts to provide visitors with opportunities to enjoy the full range of experiences associated with the consumption and practice of tea.
Sponsors
ITO EN is the lead sponsor of The New Way of Tea.
Additional assistance is provided by the E. Rhodes and Leona B. Carpenter Foundation; Mary Livingston Griggs and Mary Griggs Burke Foundation; the National Endowment for the Arts, a Federal Agency; and an anonymous donor. Support for the exhibition at Asia Society is provided by The Rockefeller Foundation, John Guth, Mary Ann and Stanley Snider, and the Friends of Asian Arts. Support for the exhibition at Japan Society is provided by the Lila Wallace-Reader's Digest Endowment Fund and the Friends of the Japan Society Gallery. Additional suport in Japan is provided by Urasenke; Tankosha Publishing Co., Ltd.; KSA International, Inc.; Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd.; and Millieme, Inc. The law firm of Danziger and Danziger is gratefully acknowledged for its assistance and counsel.
Asia Society
The Asia Society is America's leading institution dedicated to fostering understanding of Asia and communication between Americans and the peoples of
Asia and the Pacific. A nonprofit, nonpartisan educational institution, the Asia Society presents a wide range of programs including major art exhibitions, performances, media programs, international conferences and lectures, and initiatives to improve elementary and secondary education about Asia. The Asia Society is headquartered in New York City, with regional centers in Washington, D.C., Houston, Los Angeles, Hong Kong and Melbourne, Australia, and representative offices in San Francisco, Manila and Shanghai. The society recently underwent a major renovation that greatly expands its galleries and
public spaces. For more information, contact the Asia Society and Museum, 725 Park Avenue, New York, NY 10021. (212) 288-6400. (www.asiasociety.org).
Asia Society Museum gallery hours: Tuesday - Sunday, 11:00 A.M. - 6:00 P.M., with extended evening hours Fridays until 9:00 P.M. Closed on Mondays and major holidays. Admission: $7; $5 for seniors and students with ID; free for members and persons under 16; and free to all on Fridays, 6:00 - 9:00 P.M.
Japan Society
Japan Society, founded in 1907, is an American institution with individual and corporate members, which promotes understanding and enlightened relations between the United States and Japan. It is a private, nonprofit, nonpolitical organization devoted to cultural, educational and public affairs and to discussions, exchanges and research in areas of vital interest to both countries. The Society provides informative, innovative programming that is often available nowhere else in the country. Japan Society is funded by contributions, endowments, grants, membership dues, and revenue from functions and events. Further information is available at www.japansociety.org.
Japan Society Gallery has been a preeminent venue for exhibitions of Japanese design and crafts since its founding in 1971. These have included: Tsutsumu: The Art of Japanese Wrapping (1979); Kanban: Shop Signs of Japan (1983); Kawari Kabuto: Spectacular Helmets of Japan 16th-19th Century (1985); and Japanese Folk Art: A Triumph of Simplicity (1992). The Japan Society is located at 333, East 47th Street, between First and Second Avenues. For more information call (212) 832 1155 or visit the website at www.japansociety.org.
Japan Society Gallery hours: Tuesday - Friday, 11:00 A.M. - 6:00 P.M., Saturday and Sunday 11:00 A.M. - 5:00 P.M. Closed on Mondays and major holidays. Admission: $5; $3 for seniors and students with ID; free for members.
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