The Japanese Tea Ceremony, Essay Example

Art can be found in uncommon places, without the original intent of being created for artistic appreciation. Rather, art is evoked because of an aesthetic form and a deep expression of content. Two such examples are the Japanese tea ceremony “The Way of Tea” and the Russian migalka lamps.

The tea ceremony is not a classical form of art, insofar as it primarily suggests a ritual. Nevertheless, consider such a ceremony carried out in a contemporary art museum and the aesthetic merits of the ritual become apparent. What is immediately striking is form. There is a strong discipline and order to all movements in the ceremony. The placement of objects such as the traditional sensu fan is crucial to the piece, as are the order in which one moves their body. This suggests a three-dimensional piece, in which strict linework from, for example, a two-dimensional painting, are transposed into the realms of physical bodies: the tea ceremony is the acting out of a painting with precision between spaces and movements. Furthermore, the symbolism is apparent as the entire ceremony has a deep spiritual meaning. The content of the piece is one of harmony and spirit, which shows a cohesiveness between objects in an environment.

In Russia, cars that have a blue light on top of the vehicle, a migalka, are not obliged to abide by traffic rules, similar to an American police siren. Because of some transgressions of this system meaning that unauthorized individuals were placing the migalka on their vehicle, citizens in Moscow organized a protest in which replicate blue lights were placed on all vehicles, on people’s heads, etc.,. The form of this action certainly recalls some of the contemporary art actions, such as for example, Joseph Beuys. There is a surreal effect generated by the use of blue color dotting the city streets as if in an impressionist painting. Furthermore, the content here is an explicit political message delivered through aesthetic means: the protest against government corruption. The symbolism thus employs the usage of the device of the absurdity of an object to demonstrate some obvious systematic flaws in government, all the while creating a surreal artistic experience.

Sources

Chado, The Japanese Tea Ceremony, http://www.kato3.org/chanoyu/frame.html

Milgaka action, http://ottenki-serogo.livejournal.com/173043.html