Japanese Design: Art, Aesthetics & Culture

Japanese art aficionado Graham’s (Tea of the Sages: The Art of Sencha) overview of Japanese design tracks the evolution of Japanese art in this lavish, eloquent, and succinct four-color album. Opening with a visual survey of the culture’s aesthetics, Graham defines basic terms associated with the understated style, such as wabi-sabi, which refers to a rustic, withered aesthetic that first captivated Westerners nearly a century ago, or ma, which is used to describe the elegance of empty space. Next, Graham delves into the ways in which religious values inform design elements. She concludes her inquiry on an international note with 28 pithy bios of the early promoters of Japanese aesthetics who helped import and popularize the style in the West. Among those profiled are journalists, art critics, art dealers, and artists, such as architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The book covers a wide spectrum of examples—from 16th-century folding screens and the Katsura Imperial Villa near Kyoto to contemporary resin installations and hotel interiors—and offers a valuable primer on the range of Japanese style. 160 color photos. (Nov.)