Harn Diversity Project: Asian Art

Introduction

Gainesville is the biggest city in Alachua County and is the, “cultural, educational and commercial center” in the middle of Florida (City of Gainesville, Florida 2019). This city is mainly known for its natural landscapes with the most popular areas people visit being the springs, lakes and state known trails. In 2017, there were 132,249 residents in Gainesville and about 66 percent were white, 22 percent Black or African American, 11 percent Hispanic or Latino and 7 percent Asian. This statistic shows that as a whole, Gainesville is not as diverse as it could be since the majority of the population in 2017 was white.

Although the city is not very diverse, The University of Florida attempts to create as much diversity within the college portion of the town as possible. The campus is 2,000 acres and is home to over 50,000 students that come from in and out of state as well as around the world to experience what this school has to offer (U.S. News and World Report L.P. 2019).

The school is high in diversity as the, “student body composition is above the national average”. About half of the students are white, a quarter are Hispanic or Latino and about 8 percent are Asian (College Factual n.d.). To further promote diversity the school has a wide variety of cultural clubs, including sororities and fraternities. The most dramatic step the University has taken to stimulate diversity in the community was in 1990 when the Harn Museum of Art was built on campus. This museum features artwork from a vast amount of cultures and its vision is to display artwork that “reflects world cultures…” as well we welcome people from different cultures and backgrounds (Harn Museum of Art 2017).

The Harn Museum of Art provides an opportunity for people in the Gainesville community as well as students of the University to educate themselves about other cultures in an environment that is welcoming and understanding. This museum is appropriate for all ages which is beneficial as young child can learn about different cultures for the first time and older individuals can learn something new or spend time appreciating the different pieces of art. The Asian section of artwork in the museum is a prime example of artwork that is culturally important as the artwork in this section accurately represents the Asian culture. This culture may not be familiar with many individuals in Gainesville as it accounts for one of the smallest percentages in the city and University population.

Diving into Asian Art, Culture and Characteristics

Asian art is very diverse as it includes artwork from different religions such as Hinduism and Buddhism. This artwork commonly features calligraphy and certain materials are very important in different parts of Asia. For example, China places a great emphasis on jade and porcelain which Japan focuses on lacquer. This course mentions Asian art but particularly focuses on Buddhism and how this was the most common faith and the artwork associated with this religion. This course features Asian art, the most known one being the Standing Buddha which is a symbolic representation of Buddha that shows him in his most common yogic position.

The Harn’s Asian section of artwork also features a Seated Bodhisattva that is different from the one presented in the course. A Bodhisattva, “is a merciful Buddhist saint and savior” and the one in this artwork is made from wood and lacquer was used to attach on the head (Harn Museum of Art n.d.). Common features of the Buddha are long earlobes, monk robes, crossed legs and having the right hand up with the palm facing outward (Khan Academy 2019). These are all consistent with this artwork, Gift Wood Seated Bodhisattva, as well as the Buddha in the course material.

In the Asian art section, this artwork is accompanied by another artwork that features sacred text that was woodblock printed onto sutra paper. These two pieces of art are both under the same name as the sacred text is supposed to go inside the Bodhisattva. Woodblock printing was very important in China and it is a was a printing that involves engraving text into a block of wood. The engraved block is then used a stamp to transfer the text onto paper or scroll (Brekka 2018). The text displayed in this artwork features common Chinese calligraphy and is from the Lotus Sutra which is, “one of the most sacred tracts in Buddhism”.

Both of these pieces of artwork are equally important although many people many not realize the importance of the woodblock printing as numerous people are not familiar with the historical importance of woodblock printing. The Harn Museum places a great importance on educating about different cultures which can be shown here as people are more likely to be familiar with Buddha instead of woodblock printing, but this display explains the value and significance of both. Overall, these two pieces of art show common features of Asian art and are essential in Asian culture.

Calligraphy and Landscape in Asian Art

Calligraphy was very important in Chinese art as it was a way for people to have spiritual communication and it allowed them create art that had its own unique style (Encyclopedia Britannica Inc. 2019). In fact, it was so important that inkstone, brush, ink and paper were referred to as “the Four Treasures of the Study” in China (Center for Global Education 2019). Calligraphy requires a great amount of skill and patience as painters had to master the, “rhythmic movement of the brushstroke” (Encyclopedia Britannica Inc. 2019). Calligraphy was very popular which caused China to invent paper by making it out of materials such as bamboo because silk became too expensive to use (Center for Global Education 2019).

Hunting with Falcons is an ink and color on silk Asian artwork that features calligraphy as well as a landscape. The artist of this painting, Kim Hong-do, was known for his landscape paintings, calligraphy and poetry. The calligraphy on this artwork shows some of the common characteristics as it is ink on silk paper and you can see that the author had to be very precise and careful when forming his letters. Although, this calligraphy most likely does not have any spiritual connection as the landscape features a humanistic scene.

This specific of artwork displays a landscape that is more common with a Korean style as it shows a real life scene featuring men attempting to hunt geese. This is unlike Chinese landscape which normally features a dreamy landscape that have no connection to real life (Harn Museum of Art n.d.). Both types of landscapes normally include elements of nature as these paintings were commonly known for showing scenes that helped people remove themselves from the complications of urban living (Encyclopedia Britannica Inc. 2019). Hunting with Falcons features the nature element as it displays horses and geese in grassy, forestry areas (Harn Museum of Art n.d.). This artwork also shows how people would be able to obtain food without having to rely on going to the store which is a common problem for people living in an urban area.

Boating at the Red Cliff, Sheng Maoye, 1638

Boating at the Red Cliff is another artwork in the Asian collection that features calligraphy. This artwork is a fan painting that uses ink on a gold-surfaced paper to paint people swimming in the Yangzi River. By implementing elements of nature such as a River, this artwork successfully shows common characteristics of landscape paintings. Like the artwork explained above, Hunting with the Falcons, this landscape features a real life scene which is consistent with Korean style landscape paintings. Unlike Hunting with the Falcons, this artwork has a spiritual connection as water has been a, “centerpiece of spiritual symbolism and religious ritual” throughout history (Healing Earth 2019). At first glance, you may not notice the calligraphy on this piece as is it almost hidden in the top right hand corner. This artwork is very important to Asian culture it, “shows the relationship between literature and the visual arts” and it conveys the “emotional spirit of the text via artistic expressions” (Harn Museum of Art n.d.).

Overall, displaying artwork that includes calligraphy in the Harn museum is beneficial as many people may not understand the complexity of the writing since nothing in American writing can compare. This artwork has the potential to educate a vast amount of people on a topic that is essential to know about in Asian culture. At first glance, one may think there are random letters on a unique sheet of paper when in reality, it is something much more.

Porcelain in Asian art

Porcelain became very important in Asian art around 600 C.E., but was not as famous as the invention of other materials such as paper. This material was made by firing white ceramics at high temperatures and you could validate if something was porcelain by making sure it made a ringing sounds when hit against something else (Khan Academy 2017). This course mentions porcelain and focuses on the specific color used for this type of art. Blue paint was normally shown on a white surface because the blue color paint was the only color that could handle the high temperatures that were needed to make the porcelain (Brekka 2018). These ceramics were either sold or used as dishware for upper level individuals. Porcelain was specifically important in China and that is why these items are now referred to as a “China set” (Khan Academy 2017).

Blue and White Covered Jar, China, Qing Dynasty in the 18th century

Blue and White Covered Jar is a porcelain dish that features many of the common characteristics. You can see the original white surface that would be heated up to create the porcelain and the only color used is blue. A floral design is featured in this artwork which is very common in most porcelain artwork. Realistically, this piece of art could have been used as dishware for someone as it looks have to been made to hold something like sugar.

Blue-Glazed Cong-Shaped Vase is another artwork located in the Asian section that displays some common characteristics of Chinese porcelain art. This artwork is different from Blue and White Covered Jar as it only displays the blue color and it would not be used as dishware. This porcelain work is different as it has a rectangular body and displays elephant heads (Harn Museum of Art n.d.). In Chinese art, elephants were commonly used as they symbolized strength and wisdom. They were viewed as sacred and were displayed to promote a variety of things such as protection, love, power, career stability and faithfulness. During the Qing Dynasty, elephants would celebrate the Emperor’s birthday by carrying around vases. This artwork can be linked to that as it was created in the Qing Dynasty and features the idea of a vase carrying an elephant.

Overall, porcelain was an essential material in Asian culture and featuring it in the museum is beneficial as it informs people on its origins, purpose and importance. China sets are common for people to use today and people may be using these culturally important pieces without knowing or understanding anything about them. It is essential to raise awareness to cultural history or else the significance will be lost over time. The Harn plays a vital role in enlightening the community about culture in art in a way that is welcoming and engaging.

The Harn’s role in promoting education and diversity

Gainesville is just one example of a city that is not as diverse as it could be and this issue is prominent worldwide. Different cultures are forced to abandon their traditions and values because people are not educated or aware of the history of other cultures. Numerous steps have been taken at the University to welcome diversity such as introducing clubs that are specific to different cultures.

The Asian American Student Union is an organization whose mission is to, “educate the campus about Asian American issues, history, and culture…”. They accomplish this by hosting events around campus so students have the opportunity to gain insight into their culture. This attempt at welcoming different students has been successful, but the most influential step taken was creating the Harn Museum. This museum can not only promote diversity to students the University of Florida, but to individuals in the Gainesville community. This step could also inspire other Universities in the future to introduce their own Museum that displays a wide variety of artwork from different cultures. Ultimately, the Harn Museum provides an opportunity for people of all ages to educate themselves in a way the is enjoyable and it can cause them to understand why diversity is so vital.