Artists reinterpret ancient tea ritual<\/p>\n
Carla Bianpoen, Contributor, Jakarta<\/p>\n
There has been much talk about culture and tradition, and the
\ndebate on the pros and cons remains central despite these
\nuncertain times.<\/p>\n
More constructive and effective, perhaps, are efforts
\nexploring transcendental values that enrich contemporary life in
\na universal manner.<\/p>\n
This is what the fascinating exhibition, The New Way of Tea,
\nin New York is apparently all about. Organized by the Asia
\nSociety and the Japan Society in collaboration with the
\nInternational Chadou Cultural Organization, and displayed until
\nMay 19 at two locations, the exhibition explores the Japanese tea
\nceremony from a contemporary perspective.<\/p>\n
To this end, traditional concepts are juxtaposed with
\ncontemporary designs.<\/p>\n
Displays at the Japan Society show traditional teahouses,
\nutensils and calligraphic screens, while those at the Asia
\nSociety focus on contemporary perspectives.<\/p>\n
If it was not for Chinese emperor Shen Nong 5,000 years ago,
\nthe world may never have had any notion of tea today. As legend
\nhas it, in 2737 B.C. some tea leaves accidentally blew into a pot
\nof boiling water prepared for the emperor and his entourage who
\nwere resting in a forest.<\/p>\n
Instead of throwing it away and filling the pot with fresh
\nwater, the emperor felt an urge to try some of the liquid that
\nhad taken a brownish color. And behold! The emperor felt so
\nrefreshed, he recommended everyone take a sip.<\/p>\n
Since then, the drink we now call tea, has spread not just
\nthroughout Chinese culture but around the world. And what is
\nmore, tea was found to enhance religious meditation, and became a
\nmeditative aid, particularly in Zen Buddhism.<\/p>\n
It was this form of tea ceremony that Zen Buddhist
\nmissionaries would later introduce to imperial Japan.
\nInstrumental to this was monk Esei, the founder of Japan's Rinzei
\nsect of Zen Buddhism, who in the late 12th century returned from
\nChina and brought tea plants to Japan, where it received almost
\ninstant imperial sponsorship. The drink spread rapidly from the
\nroyal court and monasteries to other sections of Japanese
\nsociety.<\/p>\n
The practice of drinking tea rose to the fore, evolving from
\njust a pastime among the aristocracy and military elite into a
\nritualized event, an art form and cultural event that became
\nknown as Cha-no-yu (the hot water for powdered tea), considered
\nto recharge both one's body and soul.<\/p>\n
Harmony, respect, purity and tranquility are important
\nelements. The basic philosophy of Cha-no-yu was class-defying and
\nwas, therefore, also practiced by warriors and merchants.<\/p>\n
A tearoom is a physical representation of this cultural
\nsphere. In its traditional format, a tearoom consists of a small
\ncottage constructed mainly of wood and bamboo.<\/p>\n
A small room, with space for no more than five guests, it has
\nalmost no permanent ornamentation. All architectural elements --
\na lattice window, bamboo beams, an exposed natural wood column,
\ntatami straw mats, and so forth -- are basic and simple.<\/p>\n
The host of the tea gathering ceremony prepares everything in
\nadvance to \"set the stage\". The purification of all elements that
\nenter the world of tea, including the garden with the roji (a
\nnarrow path leading to a tearoom), the tearoom, and the tea
\nutensils, is the most important part of preparation.<\/p>\n
Defined by the environment and inseparable from the myriad of
\nmeanings embodied within various elements that surround it, the
\ntearoom invites the guest to rid one's self of worldly concerns
\nthrough the roji. In this transitional space one leaves behind
\nall the stifling conventions that obstruct one's experience of
\nlife at its fullest.<\/p>\n
Atsushi Kitagaware conceived the display at the Asia Society.
\nA tunnel made from rice paper at the entrance to the exhibition
\nshows the way of tea. It's an abstraction of the traditional
\nnotion of the pathway to the teahouse.<\/p>\n
The exhibition comprises one tea space and four teahouses of
\ncontemporary design, of which the tea space and one teahouse are
\nspecially commissioned for the Chinese avant-garde artist Wenda
\nGu and Korean artist Jae Eun Cho.<\/p>\n
Reinterpreting the concepts of the tea ritual suggests a
\nthorough knowledge of the culture and the philosophy behind the
\ntea ceremony. In a fascinating manner, each has taken a specific
\nfocus.<\/p>\n
Kitagawara's Mid air House, for instance, articulates the
\nmetaphysical, omitting all forms but using such untraditional
\nmaterials as Plexiglas and wires in addition to wood.<\/p>\n
Conventionally, the spiritual exchange between the host and
\nthe guest rely on certain forms -- the formality of the utensils,
\nornamentation, and the gestures -- to be manifested.<\/p>\n
In Kitagawara's interpretation, however, omitting forms leads
\nto the thorough contemplation of the exchange process itself.<\/p>\n
Both the meditation and the value of the actual exchange are
\nalso highlighted in the late Ikko Tanaka's Long Abode, which
\ntransforms the table space into a bridge that organically unites
\nthe space of the host and that of the guest.<\/p>\n
In the artist's vision, the meditative atmosphere inside the
\ntearoom allows the guest to imagine and contemplate on the life
\ncycle of a fallen tree in the deepest of woods.<\/p>\n
Takashi Sugimoto's Tea House uses scrap metal from factories
\nin Japan and England. Although following the traditional system
\nof a tea house, its material and punctured walls make it appear
\nlike an iron cage.<\/p>\n
The work of Jae Eun Cho, the Korean artist living in Japan,
\nwho is known for her installation works that draw on traditional
\ngarden designs and ikebana (the Japanese art of flower
\narranging), refers to contemplations during the process toward
\nthe tea ceremony.<\/p>\n
Her gravity-defying design constructed of Plexiglas and sand
\nembodies the image of water in constant flow. Forms of eddying
\nwater emerge through arranging the walls at asymmetrical angles,
\nwhile a vase in the center of the tearoom evokes Lao-tzu's image
\nof a vase filled with water.<\/p>\n
\"Treat the fullest vase as empty, and it will not dry in use,\"
\nsays Lao-tzu in The Book of Change.<\/p>\n
Installation artist Wenda Gu's Tea Alchemy work, however, is a
\ncomplete re-invention of the tea culture, a process likening a
\n\"reincarnation\". In an interview with Melissa Chiu, Gu says his
\nwork attempts to reveal the mystery of tradition. Perhaps we
\nshould add \"and the thrill of the future\".<\/p>\n
Black lacquered fine bamboo screens used to make paper with
\nsubtly visible Chinese characters build up a temple-like
\nstructure. Each embroidered Chinese character on the bamboo
\nscreens is formed from two characters cha (tea) and shu (alchemy)
\nwhich makes the watermarks in the tea paper. This is only visible
\nwhen standing in front of the installation.<\/p>\n
Visitors are not allowed to walk inside, but a large opening
\nin the screen allows the audience to see the work.<\/p>\n
Classical re-colored accordion books made with tea leaves
\ncover the floor except for a central space where green tea powder
\nfalls from the mechanical sifter on the ceiling. Tea in this
\ninstallation goes through different stages of transformation:
\nfrom powder falling from above to a mound forming on the floor,
\nfrom the embroidered characters to the grain of the paper, and
\nfrom a visible green substance to invisible fragrance. In each
\nstate of being, the identity of tea is traceable.<\/p>\n
Although visitors can only have a peep inside the space, they
\nare spiritually inspired as the solemn mood and the overwhelming
\ntea fragrance takes hold of them.<\/p>\n
Gu used a staggering 30,000 sheets of tea (rice) paper made
\nout of 4,000 ponds of green tea and 100 ponds of green tea powder
\nfor his installation.<\/p>",
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