Asian & African Art: Literati Painting, Zen Gardens, Hokusai Prints, Benin Ivory, and Kente Cloth

Artists: Highly educated writers and thinkers, not outsiders.
They were skilled in using a brush for both paintings and Chinese writing (characters).
Being able to read and write allowed them to add text to their art, which added deeper meanings.
Red cinnabar seals:
- Used as an artist's personal signature and proof of who owned the artwork.
- Over hundreds of years, many collectors would add their own seals, creating a visual record of who owned the piece over time.
- These seals are seen as part of the art's beauty, not as damage.

Example: The “Ming-dynasty vase” with a celadon (blue-green) glaze.
How it's made:
- The pot is shaped on a wheel, dried, then painted or carved.
- Glaze firing in a REDUCTION kiln (oven):
- Oxygen is removed from the air inside the kiln, which changes the chemicals in the glaze.
- This causes iron oxide to change, creating the special subtle blue-green color known as "celadon."
Surface decoration:
- After firing, patterns (like flowers) are lightly carved or “scratched” into the glaze to create a raised texture.
- Goal: To make the design flow smoothly around the entire pot, so it looks good from all angles, not just one side.

Imagine a spinning platform, moved by foot or a motor.
Two main benefits:
- PERFECT ROUND SHAPE (RADIAL SYMMETRY): Since the clay spins evenly around a center point, the walls of the pot become perfectly even.
- FAST & REPEATABLE: Many identical pots can be made quickly, much faster than building them by hand.
Also allows for making more pots and trying out thinner walls.

Made about 500 years ago; it has raked gravel and 15 rocks.
Raked gravel: Monks use rakes to create neat lines in the gravel; these patterns are changed daily or seasonally.
How you experience it:
- From any spot, at least 1 rock is always hidden behind another. This is done on purpose to make it feel incomplete.
- The garden itself (rocks and gravel) doesn’t change, but the plants around it (like moss) change with the four seasons.
Zen Buddhist meaning:
- Humans naturally want everything to be perfect and complete, but this is impossible.
- The garden teaches you to accept things that aren't fully clear or finished; it finds beauty in incomplete, changing views.

A Japanese idea that values things that are temporary, imperfect, and not perfectly balanced.
It’s the opposite of the Western idea of needing perfect finishes; it celebrates surfaces that are incomplete or show wear and age.

Woodblock prints: Made using several carved wooden blocks, which allows for mass production.
- This is why there are many copies of famous prints like “Great Wave off Kanagawa,” not just one original artwork.
Mount Fuji:
- A holy mountain, a symbol of Japan's identity.
- It appears in ALL 36 artworks, sometimes tiny, sometimes very large and important.
“Great Wave” special features:
- A powerful, almost like a sculpture, wave that makes Mount Fuji look small.
- Mixes Japanese art traditions with Western-style perspective and a bold blue color (Prussian blue).

Time: 18^{th}–19^{th} century.
Story behind it: The Queen Mother helped her son during a fight over who would rule. Her son rewarded her by giving her royal items, including coral crowns, a beaded necklace, and an ivory portrait mask.
Meanings on the mask:
- White ivory: Represents Olokun, the ocean god, who is linked to wealth and having many children.
- Mudfish images: The mudfish lives in water and can also “walk” on land.
- This means it exists in two worlds, symbolizing that the king’s power covers both the spiritual and earthly realms.
- Heads of Portuguese people were often included; however, this specific mask mainly shows the mudfish and ocean god themes.

Art form: Woven strips of fabric that are later sewn together into larger cloths.
Comes from the Ashanti & Ewe people; the patterns tell proverbs (wise sayings) and show social status.
Three historical periods:
1. Before colonization: It was a special fabric worn by important local people.
2. After 1957 (independence): Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana's first leader, made it a symbol of the newly free country.
3. 20^{th}–21^{st} century: It became a symbol for all of Africa, known internationally as a sign of pride for the continent (even though Africa has many different nations).
How it’s made: Woven on narrow horizontal looms; traditionally, men do the weaving.
Color meanings (not in original text but common): gold = royalty, green = growth, black = maturity, etc.

The careful brushwork in Chinese calligraphy (writing) is similar to how words and images are equally important in Japanese woodblock prints (title boxes).
The special “reduction firing” for celadon ceramics, which creates a hidden, transforming color, is like the hidden rock in Zen gardens, showing a subtle or transformative feeling.
Ownership seals on old Chinese scrolls are like modern company logos or signatures on prints: both directly show who created or owned the artwork and its history.
Kente cloth’s role in building national pride is similar to how the Benin mask shows the king’s rightful power; both fabrics and ivory artworks became tools for political messages.