A taste of Japanese art currently resides in Giles Hall in an exhibit showing the work of Japanese brush painting artist Tsugako Shimada. The exhibit, entitled “Tsugako Shimada Suiboku-Ga Ten,” will be on display until March 21. Shimada attended the gallery’s opening reception and discussed her techniques with MSU art students late last month.MSU exhibit coordinator Robert Ring said one of Shimada’s students helped organize the exhibit.
“The idea came from Lucy and Robert Phillips. Robert was a professor of English here at MSU and went to Japan as an exchange professor,” he said.
While in Japan, Lucy Phillips studied in Suibokug [ink painting] under Shimada. She then approached her about hosting an exhibition of Shimada’s work at MSU.
The opening of the gallery provided Shimada with her first trip to the United States.
“This is only her second time to ever leave Japan,” Ring said. “Her first was a flight to Hong Kong just to see if she’d make the flight here to America.”
The largest work of the exhibit, which is sponsored by the Starkville Area Arts Council, is two byobus, which go together to make a mountain scene, 10 Zenshi, which are large ink paintings, 10 smaller paintings and 11 Kakejiku, which are scrolls.
Shimada also held a demonstration Feb. 27 discussing her techniques.
“Those who came to the demonstration got to see first-hand Shimada’s technique for using the brush and ink,” Ring said. “Everything was translated by MSU’s music professor, Iwao Asakura. He and Shimada were quite entertaining.”
“They do this long process of basically shaving the ink down and do this process of mixing it with water,” said sophomore graphic design major Alex Berryman.
He said Shimada displayed how they paint from front to back, rather than back to front like in Western art.
“[The exhibit] is drawings [and] paintings. They’re really paintings on rice paper,” Berryman said.
The gallery management class in the art department works each gallery opening. Kim Ladner, a sophomore graphic design major in the class, said she thought the turnout at the opening went well.
“There was a considerably good turnout, and the artist got a great response from the visitors,” Ladner said.
She said she enjoyed the exhibit because the art looked simple but was incredible. Shimada donated a piece to the school, she said.
“The opening was an incredible outpouring of good will and sharing by people of different cultures,” Ring said. “Shimada spoke and thanked everyone for the wonderful reception and then she made the double byobu mountain scene a gift to MSU.”
He said the exhibit has been great for students who have an interest in Japanese culture and students interested in Anime can see a traditional Japanese art form.
“Just seeing the show is chance to experience a small bit of Japanese culture and view the difference in approach that Eastern cultures have in viewing the landscape than we in the West have,” Ring said. “Shimada seeks to reveal the spiritual truth in nature through her paintings whereas in our Western culture we often see artists gravitate toward the sublime in nature.”
People have still been going to the exhibit and commenting on the beauty of the landscapes, he said.
The gallery is open Monday through Thursday from 8 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday from 2 p.m. to 9 p.m.
For more information about the exhibit, contact the art department at 662-325-2970.