Meditation in Motion: Zen Calligraphy from the Stuart Katz Collection

July 17–October 20, 2019

The first exhibition at BAMPFA to present the unique art form of Japanese Zen-inspired calligraphy, Meditation in Motion features important works by Chinese Ōbaku monks who immigrated to Japan, as well as writings by Japanese monks who expanded on their examples.

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Tetsugen Doko: Ōbaku Zen calligraphy, two large characters in cursive style, 17th century; ink on paper; 12 x 18 in., mount: 44 x 23 in.; BAMPFA, promised gift of Stuart Katz.

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Saturday, October 12, 11:30 AM–1 PM or 1–2:30 PM
Gallery + Studio: Silvery Waves Pile 1,000 Layers High

Inspired by works of Zen calligraphy in Meditation in Motion, explore ways of drawing words to visually express their meaning and create fragments of poetry in response to works of art.

BAMPFA

For ages 6 to 12 with accompanying adult(s)
Sunday, September 8, 3 PM
Meditation with Movement

Experience the exhibition Meditation in Motion in a new way, entering into deep contemplation of an individual artwork through slow physical movement. Workshop led by Stephen Holtzman.

BAMPFA
Sunday, July 28, 3 PM
East Asian Calligraphy Workshop

Master calligrapher and painter Kazuaki Tanahashi presents a lecture-demonstration on the history and techniques of brush calligraphy, followed by a hands-on workshop.

BAMPFA
Wednesday, July 17, noon
Gallery Talk: Jon Soriano on Meditation in Motion: Zen Calligraphy from the Stuart Katz Collection

A discussion of the relationship between Zen Buddhism and calligraphy in Meditation in Motion: Zen Calligraphy from the Stuart Katz Collection.

BAMPFA

Meditation in Motion: Zen Calligraphy from the Stuart Katz Collection

July 17–October 20, 2019

Meditation in Motion: Zen Calligraphy from the Stuart Katz Collection is the first exhibition at BAMPFA to present the unique art form of Japanese Zen-inspired calligraphy. It features several important works by Chinese Ōbaku monks who immigrated to Japan, as well as a selection of writings by Japanese monks who followed and expanded on their examples. The exhibition is drawn from the private collection of Stuart Katz, who has made a promised gift to BAMPFA of these and many more paintings.

With the fall of the Ming dynasty in the mid-seventeenth century, monks from China’s Fujian province who followed the Chan form of Buddhism left for Japan, where there was a well-established Zen Buddhist community. Their home in China was centered in Wanfusi on Huangbo Mountain; thus they were designated Ōbaku—the Japanese translation of Huangbo. These monks practiced a form of meditation and “finding one’s true nature” that resembled that of the Zen schools of the well-established Rinzai Zen sect, but differed enough in elemental ways that they proceeded to establish a new branch of Zen Buddhism. Although Japan at the time was largely closed to the outside world, the Ōbaku monks were welcomed by the ruling Shogunate for their teachings and practice.

Their traditions varied in interesting and influential ways: they drank steeped tea rather than the traditional Japanese whisked tea; they maintained their practice of chanting sutras in their native Fujianese language; they wore their hair short rather than shaving their heads. Thus, they were regarded as followers of a distinct form of Japanese Zen practice until the late nineteenth-century Meiji Restoration. One of their great contributions to Japanese culture came through the art of calligraphy, in which one’s inner self can be expressed and revealed through disciplined practice of the art. They brushed koans (short, paradoxical sayings) intended to be comprehended not through analysis but by sudden intuition, and wrote or copied brief texts from important teachings. Their work appeared as scrolls that would hang in temples and homes, evoking a sentiment that resounded with Japanese sensibilities.

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Meditation in Motion is organized by Senior Curator for Asian Art Julia M. White with the assistance of Assistant Curator Stephanie Cannizzo. It is presented at BAMPFA through the generosity of the collector Stuart Katz and the Asian Art Endowment Fund.

Meditation in Motion: Zen Calligraphy from the Stuart Katz Collection

July 17–October 20, 2019

Past Events

Gallery + Studio: Silvery Waves Pile 1,000 Layers High

Meditation with Movement

East Asian Calligraphy Workshop

Gallery Talk: Jon Soriano on Meditation in Motion: Zen Calligraphy from the Stuart Katz Collection