Zen aesthetic: development and influence in culture and contemporary painting of China, Japan and USA = La estética Zen: desarrollo e influencia en la cultura y la pintura contemporánea de China, Japón y EE. UU
[eng] No other form of Oriental philosophy has had such a widespread, positive effect on culture and international contemporary painting as Zen Aesthetic. Owing to the birth of Zen Buddhism in China, its extraordinary boom and influence is evident in all aspects of society and Chinese culture. Espec...
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| Tipo de recurso: | tesis doctoral |
| Estado: | Versión publicada |
| Fecha de publicación: | 2017 |
| País: | España |
| Institución: | Universidad de Barcelona |
| Repositorio: | Dipòsit Digital de la UB |
| OAI Identifier: | oai:diposit.ub.edu:2445/121002 |
| Acceso en línea: | https://hdl.handle.net/2445/121002 http://hdl.handle.net/10803/463011 |
| Access Level: | acceso abierto |
| Palabra clave: | Budisme zen Art contemporani Pintura Zen Buddhism Contemporary art Painting |
| Sumario: | [eng] No other form of Oriental philosophy has had such a widespread, positive effect on culture and international contemporary painting as Zen Aesthetic. Owing to the birth of Zen Buddhism in China, its extraordinary boom and influence is evident in all aspects of society and Chinese culture. Especially painting with brush-tipped ink, it led to the development of a particular spirit or aesthetic, known worldwide as Zen, which has not stopped propagating since Zen Buddhism in the 16th century crossed the sea to reach Japan. Once there, it fecundated the native culture and motivated the development of an aesthetic with distinct Zen peculiarities, to such an extent that it took root in everyday life and was projected in different spheres of cultural life and creativity. This trend of Zen Aesthetic has long been recognized as the essence of Oriental aesthetics due to the fusion of Buddhism, Taoism and Confucianism, overcoming geographical limitations and cultural differences, becoming one of the most active and distinctive leading thought in the twentieth century. Once it was introduced to the United States by Soyen Shaku in Chicago in 1893, it soon became an admired and applied trend in the different cultural spheres of the country, and in particular it was followed closely by several painters, to such an extent that it was felt in contemporary painting both in the United States and in the same places of its origin. That is to say, China and Japan. Despite its impact, the Zen Aesthetic phenomenon and in particular its influence in culture and contemporary painting has not been thoroughly investigated. Also, there are many gaps, which is why we have explored its thematic research. The theme of typology required a panoramic approach or focus, for the simple reason that Zen Aesthetic can hardly be understood in contemporary painting without knowing its origins, cultural development and influence, as well as the geographic trajectory or international centers of propagation of Zen Aesthetic. In spite of its apparent amplitude, the author tried in the first place to compile as much documentation as possible or more understanding that explains the expansion of the Zen phenomenon at the intercontinental level, without forgetting their critical interrelations, to understand the extraordinary influence of this aesthetic movement and spirituality in Occidental contemporary painting. Also, within Oriental contemporary painting, such as any rebound effect or return to their places of origin. While the author has investigated as far as possible, the causes and their development from China to the United States, through Japan, the investigation has not forgotten the European continent. Indeed, in the thesis there are different European references, although their arrival in Europe came after the United States, through D. T. Suzuki around 1936, so it seemed convenient to leave this part of the research on the European continent for a new occasion due to its breadth, complexity, and stylistic derivations. The real Zen can hardly be understood without entering into the direct experience or life of the world that revolves around the principles of Zazen. In this regard, the two research centers that have contributed significantly to the development of this study are the Dongshan Monastery and the Shatou Cultural Center. Firstly, the author has been allowed to perform a three-month immersion period in Zen Buddhism meditation. And then, it has been fundamental to consult the documentary sources of Zen Buddhism and its different practices, such as Taiji, calligraphy, and painting as a method of meditation that is engaged in research, with the aim of seeking inner peace without any other secular purpose. The thesis is structured in twelve large sections with a series of chapters and sub-chapters within each. In the introduction, the research approach is presented, which is the specific typology of the panoramic thesis of critical compilation and the thematic justification, as well as the motivation of the thesis title. Although there are many publications on Zen Aesthetic, the author considers that the particular theme of seeking the motives of its cultural and pictorial influence in the contemporary world of the three countries China, Japan, and the United States is unprecedented. In addition to fundamentally exposing the different objectives and their diachronic, comparative, analytical, and critical methodology, the introduction ends with a large interrelated organization chart of the various parts of the configurator system of the influence of Zen aesthetics in contemporary painting from China, Japan and the United States. |
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