Tanizaki's In Praise Of Shadows

Japan is described as a country of wood, and the reverence of natural materials. The depths of the love and admiration that the Japanese people have for wood are famous, which is similar to the Greek love of pristine marble and its smooth surfaces. This can be seen in an old Japanese expression "plants and trees all have something to say", Japanese believe that trees have a soul and say they can sense spirits, or "kami", within them. It is trees that form the core which nurtures the sensibilities about nature held by the Japanese people. It is thus natural for architecture in Japan to be based on wood. Many structures are made of wood, ranging from shrines and temples to palaces and homes, and in doing so grand structures have been created (Stokstad).

“For all the quotes, phrases, poems, books, myths, and legends through history; the only words of importance are the ones that bestow a great influence within ourselves”

Quotation: “The philosophical dimension of beauty does not depend on the limits of the physical world; true beauty far exceeds our earthly bounds.”

The writer went to the Leepa-Rattner Museum at Tarpon Springs campus of St. Petersburg College. Before the visit, one went to the museum webpage and read about the museum and current exhibitions. It showed the " East meets West: New Japanese Traditions." Therefore, one was expected to see the Japanese style of art, like dragon and Japanese cherry blossom. At the beginning, one's feeling was perplexed, because the exhibitions were a mismatch with one's thought, but one could find the section for the Japanese art. In addition, this paper will cover about the museum, its artifacts, and relationship between humanities and art.

The beauty myth is likely to be a reality for a very long time ahead of us, if not forever. But understanding it and being educated as to why it may occur and seeing example of it in our daily lives and through these writings bring awareness to the issue at hand while also remaining up for personal interpretation. To some looks are everything, and life is about status symbols and beauty, but to others personal happiness and joy may be all the person needs. Both are perfectly fine in their own rights, however both must both be met by their own

“Architecture should not be seen as representing a magical transition from the worldly to the heavenly, as had been implied by the Baroque Style, but rather as a medium that told nothing less than the story of the “origins” of mankind.” (Ching 610)

question John Berger, critic of art and author of the Ways of Seeing, raised in his essay, and it is

He came from the free outside world where Shakespeare and other emotional literary works are there to read and enjoy. After hearing that this society cannot think and feel like that of the works that the Savage is used to, he brings up beauty. He counters the Controller’s remark of them not having a use for the touching literature by saying, “Even when they’re beautiful?” After reading this argument I thought this quote, while short and maybe irrelevant, was still comical and curious. Why are stories, poetry, events, or even songs beautiful to us? What causes these “things” to have this big impact on us emotionally? Later throughout the argument, the Savage defends this right to be unhappy. He does not necessarily mean to not be happy but to have desires other than happiness that might cause misery or

“Ooh, child,” The woman started. “Beauty is not about what is on the outside but the inside. You can be the most beautiful girl in all the land but with an ugly personality, you are the most lonely; but if you have the most beautiful personality, not matter your looks, you will be the most loved.”

Japan discovered their identity through borrowing and adapting ideas from other countries. From China to the West, Japan has always been flexible and open to a borrowing a wide diversity of things, ranging from politics, architecture, and even woodblock prints. Adapted from China, woodblock prints, or ukiyo-e, use location, color, content, subject, proportions, and perspectives to depict a scenery. The art from a time or country can be used to infer many things about its culture and people. The two woodblock prints featured in this essay are “Okitsu” and “Kakegawa” by Ando Hiroshige.

What Walker is trying to put forward is that beauty can come in different forms and meanings. Walker pursues the societal norm that different configurations of beauty must be achieved to attain internal and external happiness.   These including the need to feel welcomed by others, the need to experience true happiness and feel needed, the need to feel self-worthy and loved, and the aspiration to feel confident in one’s skin. This is what Alice Walker faces and it is this misconception she experiences throughout her life and defies

One of the most recognized architectural movements are the modern movements which comprise of the International Style, Art Deco Style, and Moderne Style. Modern Movements occurred between 1925 and 1950. Out of the three styles of architecture, International Style has been selected for this art analysis. The International Style of Architecture occurred between 1920s and 1930s, and it is characterized by starkly unornamented rectangular shapes which are very different from the traditional forms of architecture. The reason why International Style of architecture has been chosen for analysis in this paper is the fact that the rectangular shapes used in constructing the style have been punctuated with bands of windows which depict the modern purpose

Tadao Ando is considered one of the most prominent living architects, his philosophy about space and his constant self-awareness on his works has caught my attention. The AIA Gold Medal recognizes Tadao’s unique design in architecture that has set him apart from the crowd, his contributions to the future of this profession and deep respect for the past. Ando has created a combination between modernism and Japanese culture something clearly visible in most of his works in which nature plays a key factor in the vivid design. He constantly tries to address two aspects while designing a building: the physical and the fictional space.

One article talks about Japanese architecture being used in the Glasgow School of Art, “There are Japanese influences in the use and shape of the projecting timber eaves at the stairwells, left, and also in some of the internal details”(ScotCities).

Together, we can lower the numbers of people dying from eating disorders and cosmetic surgeries by resisting the beauty ideal. We can choose “to not participate in the beauty rituals, to not support the industries that produce both images and products, and to create other definitions of beauty” (WVFV, pg. 232). The most crucial and easiest solution is to create other definitions of beauty. Ultimately, it is up to the individual to decide what is beautiful. What if someone decided that the only thing that could contribute to one’s beauty is who someone is on the inside? Wouldn’t our world be a completely different place? Instead of