Andrew's Theory and Methods Blog

(Benjamin talks about historical objects and landscapes as having auras. Can we include other things as having auras? How so (or not)?) Yamaki Pine, Pinus parviflora "Miyajima," Yamaki Family , 1625-Present,   National Bonsai and Penjing Collection, Japanese Collection (Bicentennial Gift)      This is the Yamaki Pine from the National Bonsai and Penjing Collection. It was given as a gift to the United States for its Bicentennial celebration. This is probably the most famous of the Japanese Collection. It has been in cultivation for about 400 years and is the oldest tree in their collection. Its story is among one of the most interesting.     Originally, the full story hadn't been known. The Yamaki Pine was just an ancient tree, trained for an exceptionally long time (it began training in 1625). In 2001, the grandsons of Masaru Yamaki, the bonsai master that gifted the tree in 1975, revealed its story.     The Yamaki family had been in possession o...

( Although the article was written in the 1980s, tokenism is still a huge problem. How can white-dominated institutions and groups, exhibitions, conversations include and amplify the voices of others without falling into tokenism? What are some pitfalls and solutions? Is this even possible? Is it what we should be attempting to do? Is this the question we should be asking or is there a better question?)      The most insidious thing about tokenism is how easy it is to fall into. When an author or film writer has a single character of nebulous race and ethnicity, it's easy to stack a bunch of stereotypes and call it a character. Mostly these problematic origins are restricted to background characters in books and media. Here are four characters that are often considered token minorities. Cho Chang, Played by Katie Leung, Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,  J. K. Rowling, 2005.      First up, we have Cho Chang from J. K. Rowling's Harry Potter Series....

(Is there a way to make a definition of universal beauty that isn't ethnocentric, elitist, racist, sexist etc? How so?)      I don't believe so.      As a whole, the "Idea of Beauty" is different between cultures. It also is based in the idea of "haves" and "have-nots." Finally, it's not concrete-- it's definition and features it values are ever changing. Furyu Goyo no Matsu(Maid Passing a Letter), Kitagawa Utamaro, Woodblock Print, 1797-1798 CE, Image by Museum of Fine Arts via Ukiyo-e Search The Birth of Venus, Sandro Botticelli, Tempera on Canvas, 1484-1486 CE, Image by Google Art Project, Altered (Value Corrected) by Wikimedia Mrs. Jessica Rabbit, Tim Rogerson, Painting. 2000's CE, Image by Heritage Auctions     Utamaro's Furyu Goyo no Matsu shows an image of a maid passing a letter to her lady. The letter is probably a love letter from one of the lady's suitors. The lady's facial structure and color were considered beau...

    It is impossible to separate a person from their experiences. There is a reason why Buddhist hymns in Japanese shouldn't be translated by white Christians. Their experiences color the wording used into something that can't have the same meaning. It's a very western and exclusion based way of thinking.      As a kid, I remember singing those hymns in the children's services and not really giving a second thought about the strange wording. "Glory to Lord Buddha, Glory to his name." This is the exact wording of the hymn, 'In Lumbini's Garden,' used by Jodo-Shinshu Buddhists across the nation. In high school, I found the wording of this song to be really uncomfortable because I wasn't Christian, yet I was being forced to conform to their words, their idea of reverence. "Glory to" or "Praise to" are Abrahamic religion based wordings.  Image from 'Home of the Brave', Allen Say, Print, 2002 CE.     Much like translation...