Woodwork and the Arts of Japan

Woodwork and the Arts of Japan

Yukio Lippit, PhD, History of Art and Architecture, Harvard University and Johnson-Kulukundis Family Director of the Arts, Radcliffe Institute

1 Session: Monday, March 27, 7:00–8:30pm

Location: Hunnewell Building, Arnold Arboretum

Material culture in Japan is distinguished by its heavy reliance on wood in art-making. For over a millennium, the rich biomass heritage of the country has provided a foundation for the work of master carpenters and the emergence of a wide array of remarkable techniques for the wood-related arts. Yukio Lippit will examine how wood selection and the materiality of wood conditioned the development of these arts in a Japanese context. His lecture focuses on timber-frame architecture and how Japan’s culture of building provides a lens into the man-nature relationship; Japanese sculpture and the meanings inherent in the different types of woods employed for the creation of religious statues; and Japanese woodblock printing and the relationship of wood carving to the artistry of Japanese prints.
Fee $5
 Register at my.arboretum.harvard.edu or call 617-384-5277.