Japanese Paintings: Paths to Enlightenment

When
Thursday, April 12, 2012
Location
LACMA (Los Angeles, CA)

Takuma Tametō (attributed to) Japan, active 1132-1174 Kongōbu Bosatsu, Kamakura period, 12th century. Hanging scroll, ink and color on paper. Image: 9 7/8 x 5 3/8 in. (LACMA, Anonymous Gift)

Opens April 12, 2012

Pavilion for Japanese Art, East Wing

Los Angeles County Museum of Art

5905 Wilshire Boulevard, Los Angeles, CA 90036

This installation of paintings from LACMA's permanent collection presents the uniquely blended mix of religions in Japan, whose populace was historically offered a variety of paths to spiritual understanding or deliverance from damnation.

Zen patriarchs, including the historical Buddha (Shaka in Japanese, Sakyamuni in Sanskrit), portray the individual's struggle and success in their quest for enlightenment.

Esoteric Buddhas embody a small portion of their giant cosmos, which would be more fully represented by hundreds of individuated Buddhas as manifestations of a great cosmic deity.

Daoism, with its ultimate goal of achieving immortality, emphasized physical and psychic disciplines, alchemy and astronomy to produce mystical powers in its strongest adherents.

These complex religious practices of Buddhism and Daosim were complemented in Japan by an underlying faith in the power of nature deities, as understood in the practice of Shinto, or the "Way of the Gods".

Museum hours: Monday, Tuesday and Thursday noon - 8pm; Friday noon - 9pm; Saturday and Sunday 11am - 8pm; Closed Wednesdays.

For further information about Japanese art exhibitions at LACMA, call (323) 857-6565. www.lacma.org

tel (310) 965-9050 fax (310) 965-9010 email info@jas-socal.org