Kenrokuen Garden is located in the outer grounds of the Kanazawa Castle in Japan.Its name means “Garden of the Six Sublimities” which refers to the six essential attributes in landscape theory that make up the perfect garden: spaciousness, seclusion, antiquity, artificiality, abundant water, and broad views.  It was constructed by the Maeda family and took over two centuries to complete.  It was opened to the public in 1871.

Japanese gardens are generally one of three types: Tsukiyama which is a miniature reproduction of some natural scenery, many times a famous landscape; Karesansui which also recreate a natural landscape but by using abstract representations, an example would be using raked wavy lines in the sand to represent flowing water.  This type of garden is frequently used for meditation and is sometimes referred to as a Zen garden; or Chaniwa which are built for the tea ceremony complete with tea house, a stone path leading to it, and a stone basin for purification before participating in the tea ceremony.

Karesansui garden-Nanzenji, Kyoto

Japanese gardens have had many influences throughout history.

Asuka period (538-710)-expression of Buddhism and Taoism through replication of mountain regions of China

Heian period (794-1185)-gardens became a place for holding ceremonies, amusement, or to gather one’s thoughts, it was during this era that gardens were used to surround mansions.

Kamakura and Muromachi periods (1185-1573)-gardens really took off during this era, both Zen beliefs and the fact that shoguns enjoyed gardens attributed highly to this.  Soseki Muso, creator of the Saihoji Temple, the Tenruji Temple, and the Zuizenji Temple gardens was a noted gardener during these periods.

Path to tea house.

Edo period (1603-1868)-the tea house emerged during this period and made its mark on the garden in addition to the influence once again of the shoguns who now used their gardens as a reflection of their power and prestige.

Meiji period-which followed the modernization of Japan has traded its shoguns and holy men for businessmen and politicians who now are the influence of the traditional gardens of Japan.

I first took an interest in this art form as a child while visiting the Japanese Friendship Garden in San Jose, Ca.  I thought it was one of the most beautiful places I’d ever seen.  The grounds had winding paths, bridges, and of course gorgeous ponds filled with some of the most amazing Koi fish I’d ever seen.  It was always a contest between us kids to try to find the biggest fish in the ponds, it was a challenge because most of them were huge thanks to the fish food dispenser that everyone loved putting quarters into to feed the fish.  Even as a child I was able to pick up on the serenity and peace that this style of garden evoked in all that strolled its lush green paths.  It truly is a wondrous art form, and an especially challenging one due to the ever changing nature of living things.

My first artist is one that quite a few people are familiar with, or at least his very hungry caterpillar is.  Eric Carle was born in Syracuse, NY in 1929 but lived in Germany from the time he was six years old.  He graduated from art school in Stuttgart, Germany then returned to New York in 1952.  He worked as a graphic designer for the New York Times then as an art director for an advertising agency.  Author and educator, Bill Martin Jr. requested Carle to illustrate a story he had written, and his career as an illustrator was launched with the children’s favorite Brown Bear, Brown Bear What Do You See? This was soon followed by his first solo creation of 1,2,3 to the Zoo and then The Very Hungry Caterpillar. He has since written and illustrated more than 70 books, many of which my children love to hear again and again.  Eric Carle creates his pictures with a collage style of hand-painted papers which he cuts and then layers to bring to life his wonderfully bright and unique characters.  The following are three examples of his work, and also some of my daughters favorite stories.

The Very Busy Spider-1984, Dragons Dragons-1991, and A House for Hermit Crab-1987

The next artist/author I’d like to showcase is Judy Schachner who is the creator of one of my children’s new favorites, Skippyjon Jones.  Judy was born in Waltham, MA in 1951.  She was always a very shy child, but she was extremely expressive in her artwork.  She graduated from art school in Massachusetts in 1973 and went to work in greeting cards.  She soon discovered that she had no passion for this line of work, in fact she was so disgusted with it she didn’t want to pick up a brush again.  Judy set her artwork aside for a time until motherhood and the reading of countless storybooks inspired her to create once again.  In 1995 she published her first book Willy and May as both illustrator and author.  Her success has continued with many more books, especially with her latest creation the beloved Skippyjon Jones series.  My daughters can’t get enough of this wacky Siamese cat and his identity crisis, but I think what really draws them in are the zany, super colorful illustrations.  Schachner has a way of conveying so much action in her pen, ink, and acrylic drawings that she sweeps her readers into the adventure.

Willy and May-1995

Skippyjon Jones and the Big Bones-2007

The Life of Skippy-Panorama

Well I hope you enjoyed this brief tour through some of our favorite bedtime stories.  I highly advise the perusal of these page- turners, if you decide to check out Skippyjon Jones make sure you work on a good Spanish accent.  I realize this isn’t exactly the first thing people think of when asked what style of art they like best, but it definitely makes an impression on young and old alike.  This is the first form of art our children are exposed to and it makes an impact on the use of color and imagination.  Many of my daughters’ masterpieces hanging on the refrigerator (my favorite art gallery ) have been inspired by images from their favorite stories.  These fabulous artists have become some of the threads that weave together a wonderful childhood, they’ve enriched parenthood, too.

     The photo entitled Migrant Mother has become a photographic icon of the Great Depression here in the United States.  It was taken by Dorothea Lange in a pea-picking camp in Nipomo, Ca in March 1936.  Dorothea Lange was photographically documenting the conditions experienced by farmers and farm workers during the depression for the Farm Security Administration when this photo was taken.  According to her field notes she had completed her assignment and was heading home when she came across a small sign indicating the presence of the pea-picking camp.  Her first inclination was to drive on, in fact she did, but something compelled her to turn around and investigate this one last camp.  The woman was a migrant field worker in a desperate situation when the pea crop had frozen over leaving her and the other workers without work or hope.  Her and her husband had seven children to feed and their outlook was bleak.  They had been surviving on frozen peas from the fields and some birds the children had killed.  Dorothea only snapped six photos that day, all of this woman and her children.  All she knew of this woman was her age, 32, though the photos shows how much her plight had aged her.  Out of the hundreds of photos taken on that mission it was these of this woman that captured the attention of the nation.  This photo turned out to be a blessing for this woman and her family, as a result of it 20,000 pounds of food was sent to aid this camp, most likely saving them from certain starvation.  

     As a family with seven children this woman’s story touched a chord with me.  We’re a military family and many times we’ve packed all the kids into our Suburban loaded with our belongings and hit the road.  Of course our situation isn’t desperate, all our actual stuff is somewhere in a moving truck and the stuff packed in the truck is what we need to get by for a month or so.  Yet it still gives a temporary sense of homelessness and some of that is what I can relate to this woman.  Additionally, as a parent I often have thoughts of what I would do for our children if we lost everything.  It’s terrifying to contemplate and it’s poignantly clear from the look on this woman’s face that she has realized all our worst fears.  In these times of economic hardship it’s easy to connect with this photo when so many people in this country are only one disaster away from frozen peas and wild birds for dinner.

     Unlike the linear nature of the Neoclassical style, Impressionism appears slightly blurred around the edges.  I think it’s this lack of concrete edges that conveys a sense of movement, the same appearance ones gets when putting a movie on pause and the moment is frozen.  Also in contrast to the Neoclassical era is the lack of any type of moral message, the Impressionist caught the here and now on canvas, not the deeds and messages of days gone by.  Although there are many wonderful pieces from all the previous eras, this is the era with artwork I would decorate my home with.  I love the good feelings this era conjures.

     The piece I selected for this posting is the 2nd movement from Symphony 101 in D major, more commonly known as “the Clock” due to the ticking rhythm,  by Joseph Haydn.  It was completed somewhere between 1793 and 1794 in Austria and premiered in the Hanover Square Rooms, London on March 3, 1794 where it met with rave reviews.  It was one of twelve symphonies, often referred to as the London Symphonies, written by Haydn after visiting said city on two occasions.   These trips inspired the development of “a way of composition that, with unprecedented success, created music having great popular appeal” (Wikipedia)  Haydn began incorporating folk-like music within his compositions which met with great enthusiasm from the middle class audiences.  The use of these familiar melodies strategically placed throughout his compositions provided stability within them and a sense of connection for the middle classes.

     I was first drawn to this piece because of it’s title, The Clock, because I drive my husband crazy always running late.  :)  However after listening to it several times I really enjoy the rhythm and flow of the music, it’s very smooth and uplifting.  I’m often discouraged by some classical pieces and their tendency to be dark and dramatic, I’m a sucker for happy music.  There’s just something about this music that brings to mind dancers in flowing dresses, the stuff Disney Fantasia movies are made of, bright, full of color, completely fanciful.  Bear with me on this one I spend a great deal of time watching movies with my girls.  At the completion of this movement you just feel better, it has inspired me to check out the rest of Haydn’s work during this era.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Haydn#Works

     I think what drew me to this particular painting was the fact that it wasn’t about the people.  So much of what had been painted up to this point was all about the people, either portraits or scenes of their activities, but always the focus was the human form.  I much prefer the paintings of things or places so this painting had instant appeal.  The figures do add to the picture by providing a sense of movement and energy, but they aren’t the main focal point.  I love the detail work of the architecture of the buildings, architecture is an area I’ve always had a passion for and Lorrain’s work makes me want to seek out this port for a closer look.  The main aspect that drew me to this painting was the way he washed the entire scene in the golden hues of the setting sun.  Having grown up near the coast I can almost feel the sun on my face and smell the tang of the sea air just looking at this painting.  It is unfortunate that Claude Lorrain couldn’t just follow his passion for landscapes without the constraints conforming the moral requirements of the time.  We are fortunate that he found a way around the system and was still able to bring us such fabulous works.

source:  

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Claude_Lorrain

     While the Renaissance period had many interesting pieces of visual art to choose from it was Pieter Bruegel’s The Fight Between Carnival and Lent that won out for this assignment.  The painting was done in 1559 and seems to have been painted in Antwerp.  I was unable to find anything conclusive on this location other than accounts that Bruegel lived and worked in Antwerp until his marriage in 1563 at which time he settled in Brussels. 

     I found this painting to be influenced by both Humanism and the Reformation, as well as Bruegel’s apparent use of his work to express moral messages regarding the follies of mankind.  Since much of his work depicted ordinary village life, he was often referred to as “Peasant” Bruegel.  It was rumored that he would diguise himself in peasant garb in order to mingle with common people thus allowing for an up close and personal view of every day life, which he captured in his paintings.  In The Fight Between Carnival and Lent he not only portrays the average man, but also the battle of the times between the secular and the church.  One side of the painting shows people indulging in the excesses of Carnival while the other shows the church with its followers during the period of Lent, the two scenes come together with a joust representing the ongoing battle of the reformation. 

     As a general rule I’m not usually drawn to art that is religious in nature, too much contraversy is always attached to this genre for my taste; however, this piece just had too much going on to pass it up.  I love Bruegel’s attention to detail, it’s just incredible.  Every inch of the canvas has some little story unfolding, each time I look at it I notice something I didn’t see before.  I think that is what I enjoy most about this piece, it’s never the same viewing twice and doesn’t allow the viewer to dismiss it after a moments examination.