Crafting Beauty in Modern Japan

Celebrating Fifty Years of the Exhibition of Japanese Art Crafts

Edited by Nicole Rousmaniere

• $45.00 paperback (9780295987330) Add to Cart
• hardcover not available

• Published: 2007
• Bibliographic information: 208 pp., 150 color illus., 110 bandw illus., 9 x 11 in.
• Territorial rights: North American rights only
• Contents

Japan has a long tradition of superb craft work in many media, including ceramics, textiles, laquerwork, metal, wood, glass, and bamboo. The worldwide appreciation and respect for Japanese crafts is embedded in Japanese social mores and culture. Crafting Beauty in Modern Japan presents some of the finest examples of art-craft created in Japan in the past fifty years, submitted to the Japan Art Craft Association annual exhibition, an open and competitive showcase inaugurated in 1954.

A number of the artists included are considered "Living National Treasures," holders of special craft skills recognized by the Japanese government. While much of their work is traditional in form and function, it also reflects the needs of contemporary society through the improvement of techniques and the use of new materials.

Fine porcelains with exquisite designs, fabulous kimonos, lacquer boxes with mother-of-pearl inlay, a hammered-silver vase, a box made from striped ebony wood, delicate dolls, and crystal glass are but a few of the exceptional pieces illustrated.

Published to accompany an exhibition at the British Museum, this sumptuous book will appeal to artists and collectors of Japanese art and craft as well as to students of art, design, and fashion.

Nicole Rousmaniere is director of the Sainsbury Institute for the Study of Japanese Arts and Culture, Norwich and London. She was co-curator of the Kazari exhibition at the Japan Society, New York, and the British Museum, London.

Forewords
The National Museums of Modern Art, Toyko and Kyoto
Japan Art Crafts Association
The Japan Foundation
The British Museum

Preface by Kaneko Kenji (Chief Curator, Crafts Gallery, The National Museum of Modern Art, Toyko)

Essays
Continuity and Change: Understanding Japanese Art Crafts in Context by Nicole Rousmaniere
The Japn Tranditional Art Crafts Exhibition: Its History and Spirit by Uchiyama Takeo (Director Emeritus, The National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto)

The Catalogue
Ceramics
Textiles
Lacquer
Metal
Wood and Bamboo
Other Crafts
-Dolls
-Cut metal foil
-Glass
Craft Heritage

Craft Techniques
Artist Biographies
Description of Works
Bibliography
Acknowledgements