Japanese Design - by Patricia J Graham (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

"Graham has crafted a compact, jewel-like resource for all who seek to understand the sources, evolution, impact, and value of Japanese aesthetics and design principles in our modern world." --Dr. Jane Schall, Sanders Sosland Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

This beautifully illustrated guide offers stunning visual examples and detailed discussions of the objects, aesthetics, philosophy and cultural significance of Japanese design.

Asian art expert Dr. Patricia Graham helps guide readers through the aspects of Japanese art and design we've all come to appreciate--whether it's a silk kimono, carefully raked garden path or modern snack food packaging. From the ten key characteristics of Japanese design to the Shinto and Buddhist influences on its aesthetics, this book serves as a great resource for the different styles and how they developed.

Another fascinating and less explored piece of design in Japan is its influence on and interpretation by Westerners. From Frank Lloyd Wright to Lafcadio Hearn, artists, scientists, designers, journalists and philosophers were inspired by Japan's arts and crafts in the 19th century. This often romanticized version of Japanese design--viewed through a Western cultural lens--continues to influence our view of it to this day. Graham unpacks the sincere, but sometimes misguided, interpretations of concepts like wabi sabi and shibui.

With more than 200 stunning color photos, this detailed guide will be enjoyed by everyone from professional designers to art students, and museum geeks to Japanophiles.

Review Quotes

"Graham has crafted a compact, jewel-like resource for all who seek to understand the sources, evolution, impact, and value of Japanese aesthetics and design principles in our modern world." --Jan Schall, Ph.D., Sanders Sosland Curator, Modern Art, The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art

"Graham's book gives a thoughtful account of Japanese art and design, its cultural context in Japan and its proponents abroad. Her discussion of design terminology, including the origins as well as the uses and misuses through the decades of terms like wabi sabi and shibui is essential reading for anyone interested in Japanese art." --Janice Katz, Roger L. Weston Associate Curator of Japanese Art, Art Institute of Chicago

"In this beautifully illustrated book, Patricia Graham extracts the overarching visual characteristics of Japanese design sensibilities and shows how deeply they are rooted in their cultural, spiritual, and social backgrounds--something none of the existing textbooks of Japanese art history do satisfactorily." --Mikiko Hirayama, Associate Professor and Director of Museum Studies, Art History/School of Art, College of Design, Art, Architecture & Planning, University of Cincinnati

"In this unprecedented work, the underlying aesthetic and cultural roots that are essential for an understanding of Japanese design are explained engagingly and accessibly by Graham...A must-read for designers, artists, connoisseurs and scholars of Japanese art and culture, and many others." --Andreas Marks, Head of the Department of Japanese and Korean Art and Director of the Clark Center at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts

"This book is a must read for anyone who likes Japan and its arts! Even a long-term collector like myself finds new delights in its illustrations and text. It is a winner! Don't miss the chance to acquire it as I know you will truly enjoy it." --Bill Clark, Japanese art collector and founder of the Clark Center for Japanese Art, Hanford, California

"This handsome, authoritative, and highly engaging book is essential reading for anyone interested in the culture of Japan." --Sylvan Barnet, author of A Short Guide to Writing About Art

"This splendid book stimulates the mind and delights the eye in equal measure. It will engross the art historian as well as the art lover. Graham's elegantly concise exploration of some key aesthetic principles, social contexts, and modern interpreters of Japanese design recalls many of the works beautifully illustrated here." --Kendall H. Brown, Professor of Asian Art, School of Art, California State University, Long Beach

"This well-formatted and illustrated handbook with clear explanations of modern concepts of Japanese design, their cultural sources, along with biographies of Euro-American promoters of the Japan idea, will provide a welcome guide for students and travelers." —Christine Guth, Royal College of Art and Victoria and Albert Museum, London

About the Author

Patricia J. Graham, Ph.D serves as a consultant and appraiser of Asian art for institutions, businesses and collectors, and lectures on the subject throughout the U.S.--from the Smithsonian and Metropolitan Museum of Art to Columbia University and U.C. Berkeley. She has an M.A. in Asian art history and a Ph.D in Japanese art history from the University of Kansas. Dr. Graham has worked in numerous art museums throughout her career and has also taught everything from art and cultural history to museum studies at the university level. She is the recipient of several prestigious fellowships, including from the Japan Foundation Center for Global Partnership, the Asian Cultural Council, the Fulbright Program and the National Endowment for Humanities, among others. She lives in the Denver area. www.patriciagraham.net