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Chinese Art and Reference Books
| Cloud Gate Song The Verse of Tang Poet Jhang Ji translated by Jonathan Chaves 2006 176 pp., 12 line drawing & woodblock illus., 21 x 14 cm. Softcover. ISBN 1-891640-44-5 $19.95 ISBN-13: 978-1-891640-44-5 In this first published translation in a Western language of the verse of major Tang poet Zhang Ji (c. 766-c. 830), 300 poems demonstrate the remarkable range of the poet's stylistic choices: from atmospheric landscape quatrains, evoking vast scenes with just a few brilliantly chosen words, to folk-style "Music Bureau" poems conjuring up the impact on ordinary people of great historical events, such as the Tibetan invasions of China that took place during Zhang's lifetime. Particularly unusual is that for the first time, the works of a major Chinese poet are rendered in rhymed, or half-rhymed translations, tracking the original rhyme-schemes that play such an important role in Chinese poetics. An in-depth introduction by Professor Chaves analyzes the two reasons- linguistic and stylistic-previous translators have tended to avoid rhyme in their English versions, and shows why both barriers can and should be overcome. He further places his translations in the context of the important Neo-formalist movement in contemporary American poetry. |
| Daoism in China: An Introduction by Wang Yi'e; translated by Zeng Chuanhui 2006 192 pp., 96 photos, 21 x 14 cm. Softcover. ISBN 1-891640-39-9 $19.95 ISBN-13: 978-1-891640-39-1 Daoism is perhaps the least understood of the world's major religions. Although millions of readers are familiar with one of the seemingly endless translations of the Daode Jing (aka Tao Te Ching), most assume that Daoism refers chiefly to a philosophy based on naturalism and spontaneity. However, Daoism is vastly richer than that, its roots steeped in many strands of Chinese philosophy, religion, and folklore, including Buddhism and Confucianism. Indeed, these other belief systems, even Chinese culture itself, cannot be understood without some basic grasp of Daoism. Here, for the first time, is a concise introduction to Daoism. Beginning with a discussion of spirituality in early China, it moves on to describe the rise of Daoist masters, lineages, and sects, and introduces and explains key deities, temples, and sacred places, as well as Daoism's core texts and scriptures. It concludes with an overview of Daoism in modern China and its organizations worldwide. Written for the lay reader by a noted Chinese Daoist scholar, this is an essential text for anyone interested in Chinese culture or curious about one of the world's important belief systems. |
| Modern Chinese Scholars' Rocks A Guide for Collectors by Kemin Hu 2006 128 pp., 150 colour illus., bibliography, notes, 26 x 18 cm. Softcover. ISBN 1-891640-34-8 $29.95 ISBN-13: 978-1-891640-34-6 Chinese scholar's stones, also called "viewing stones/' "spirit stones/' and "respect stones, (gongshi)" have been appreciated and written about in China for more than a millennium. The increasing popularity of these wonderful objects, both there and now in the West, has caused many more exciting stone types to become available, and at more modest prices. All the would-be collector needs is a good eye and the basic information about stone types and characteristics that this book provides. Through descriptions and color photographs, the book introduces over 40 stone types, including their mineral compositions, typical colors, hardness on the Mohr scale, and where they are found or quarried. The qualities for which they are valued are explained, as are other features for the stone connoisseur to look for. Separate chapters explain how to display stones to their best advantage and how to make display stands. This modest, straightforward, and informative volume will engage readers in the exciting world of appreciating and collecting these natural art objects. |
| Pacing the Void: T'ang Approaches to the Stars by Edward H. Schafer 368 pp., softbound, 25 x 18 cm. ISBN 1-891640-14-3 $50.00 ISBN-13: 978-1-891640-14-8 In the author's own words, this work attempts "to recreate, for the 20th-century reader, the sky and the apparitions that ornament it as they were conceived, imagined, and reacted to by the men of T'ang-dynasty China-that is, to suggest what the medieval Chinese . . . thought they saw in the night sky, and how they treated those magic lights in their active lives, their private commitments, and their literary fabrications. Inevitably, this enterprise meant the exploration of the borderlands where science, faith, tradition, invention, and fantasy overlap." Armed with the new awareness that this fascinating work provides, we can better understand the great legacy of art and literature of this important era in Chinese history. Edward H. Schafer, until his untimely death in 1991, was Agassiz Professor of Oriental Languages at the University of California, Berkeley. His scholarship was devoted to the T'ang dynasty, from the 8th to the 10th centuries, which saw the greatest cultural flowering in Chinese history. With the reprinting of the title, Floating World Editions inaugurates the reissue of all the out-of-print works of this great sinologist. When possible, the reprinted works will incorporate the corrigenda compiled by Professor Schafer, and the series will include a complete bibliography of his published work. |
| Tu Wan's Stone Catalogue of Cloudy Forest: a commentary and synopsis by Edward H. Schafer 160 pp., softbound, 23 x 15 cm. ISBN 1-891640-15-1 $40.00 ISBN-13: 978-1-891640-15-5 Although Chinese sources as early as the first millennium BCE had mentioned stones as objects of value or aesthetic merit, this 12th-century catalogue is the first whole work in Chinese literature devoted to the subject. By this date the appreciation of viewing stones in gardens and in the studios of scholars had ignited a craze, and Du Wan, a stone collector and descendent of the great T'ang poet Tu Fu, recorded his travels in search of interesting specimens and how and why he acquired them. Professor Schafer discusses the Chinese taste in stones, Tu Wan and the history and nature of his catalogue, and the technology and petrology of the 12th century. His synopsis of the Chinese text describes 144 types of stones with translated abstracts of each, material of great interest to modern collectors of "scholar's rocks." Edward H. Schafer, until his untimely death in 1991, was Agassiz Professor of Oriental Languages at the University of California, Berkeley. His scholarship was devoted to the T'ang dynasty, from the 8th to the 10th centuries, which saw the greatest cultural flowering in Chinese history. With the reprinting of the title, Floating World Editions inaugurates the reissue of all the out-of-print works of this great sinologist. When possible, the reprinted works will incorporate the corrigenda compiled by Professor Schafer, and the series will include a complete bibliography of his published work. |
| The Birth of Form: Early Chinese Ceramics at the Museum of Applied Arts, Frankfurt by Stephan Graf von der Schulenburg and Rainald Simon 518 pp., 78 color and numerous b&w photos, 374 color images on CD-ROM, appendixes, maps, chronology, bibliography, Chinese word list, hardbound, 18 x 17 cm. ISBN 1-891640-21-6 $50.00 ISBN-13: 978-1-891640-21- Although the Museum of Applied Arts, Frankfurt (MAK) holds one of the finest collections of Chinese ceramics in Europe, its early wares have remained mostly unpublished. This catalogue introduces a total 419 early Chinese ceramics, described in 374 catalogue entries covering a time span of more than 6000 years. Because of the large number of non-Germans among museum visitors (some 30%) and the international community of collectors, the catalogue is published in a bilingual edition (German and English) with brief entries and glossary in Chinese. Some 80 of the ceramics appear in color plates, while all 374 entries are included in an accompanying CD-ROM that provides detailed descriptions of all exhibits, including a brief Chinese description. The CD further includes details of designs and inscriptions whenever useful, and inter-active information on the geographical setting, historical sequence of cultures, and production centers in ancient China. Dr. Stephan von der Schulenberg is curator for East Asian art at the MAK, Frankfurt; Dr. Rainald Simon is a Frankfurt-based Sinologist. |
| Western Books on China Published up to 1850 by John Lust 352 pp., hardbound, 23 x 17 cm. ISBN 1-891640-22-4 $50.00 ISBN-13: 978-1-891640-22-3 This catalogue describes some 900 works published from 1550 to 1850, as well as 300 additional items reprinted in collective works, all in the library of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. It therefore covers the first great phase of Western involvement in China, ranging from reports of envoys to khans of the medieval period down to the writings of diplomats, merchants, military figures, missionaries, and so on of the early 19th century. As might be expected, many rare editions are included, for example, a handful of those rarest of prints, the xylographs published in Macao or Beijing in the 17th century. The catalogue is classified by subject area of publication, and includes indexes of authors and titles, as well as a supplementary subject index, and Chinese title index. John Lust, now retired from the library at SOAS, is well known for his bibliographic compilations, including the Index Sinicus 1920-1955, a catalogue of periodical articles relating to China. |
| An Index of Early Chinese Painters and Paintings: T'ang, Sung, Yuan by James Cahill 402 pp., softbound, 25 x 18 cm. ISBN 1-891640-10-0 $50.00 ISBN-13: 978-1-891640-10-0 First published in 1980, James Cahill's Index is the most comprehensive English-language compilation available on Chinese painters and their works from the late 6th through the mid-14th century. Incorporating the work of Ellen Johnston Laing and Osvald Siren, whom Professor Cahill studied under as a graduate student, the Index includes biographical details of the artists, their "style" and "studio" names, where their works are located or have been published, and information on materials, signatures, seals, and inscriptions. An extensive bibliography focuses on reproductions of the works in Chinese, Japanese, and Western publications, making the Index is an essential research tool for all students, collectors, and connoisseurs of Chinese art. James Cahill, Professor Emeritus, University of California, Berkeley, has also held the positions of Charles Eliot Norton Professor of Poetry, Harvard University, and Curator of Chinese Art, Freer Gallery of Art, Washington. His publications include the widely read Chinese Painting (Skira, 1960), and numerous other books, exhibition catalogues, and articles on Chinese and Japanese painting. |
| Substance and Symbol in Chinese Toggles: with a Catalogue of the C.F. Bieber Collection by Schuyler Cammann 256 pp., 186 monochrome illustrations, glossary, index, softbound, 25 x 18 cm. ISBN 1-891640-30-5 $50.00 ISBN-13: 978-1-891640-30-8 Athough the Japanese belt ornaments known as netsuke have long been poplar with collectors and much written about, the Chinese toggles which preceded them have gone little noticed. Professor Cammann's long out of print work was the first book in any Western language to discuss them. Using examples from the C.F. Bieber collection and other private and museum collections, Professor Cammann discusses every aspect of these toggles, from the selection of materials through the methods used to make them and choices of motif and decoration. Edward H. Schafer, until his untimely death in 1991, was Agassiz Professor of Oriental Languages at the University of California, Berkeley. His scholarship was devoted to the T'ang dynasty, from the 8th to the 10th centuries, which saw the greatest cultural flowering in Chinese history. With the reprinting of the title, Floating World Editions inaugurates the reissue of all the out-of-print works of this great sinologist. When possible, the reprinted works will incorporate the corrigenda compiled by Professor Schafer, and the series will include a complete bibliography of his published work. |
| Europe Studies China Papers from an International Conference on the History of European Sinology edited by Ming Wilson & John Cayley 352 pp., 35 monochrome illustrations, bibliographies, hardbound, 25 x 18 cm. ISBN 1-891640-27-5 $50.00 ISBN-13: 978-1-891640-27- This outstanding work reviews Sinological studies in most European nations from their inception through the late 20th century, reported by the most eminent Sinologists of that latter date. Although the conference was held in 1992, the work stands as the best single-volume history of European Sinology available, with reviews of the contributions of pioneers in the field from many countries, including Henri Maspero and Paul Demiéville in France, the Italian Jesuits, Schlegel and Duyvendak of the Dutch Replubic, V.M. Alekseev of Russia, Sirén and Karlgren of Sweden, and others. Additional articles review the history of China studies in specialized fields, including art, literature, Tun-Huang studies, Taoist studies, and so on. The book shows Sinology in Europe to be a rich tapestry of research initiated by various countries, institutions, and individuals, and is fascinating reading for anyone interested in Chinese studies. Contributors include Herbert Franke, Jacque Gernet, Wilt L. Idema, Vladislov F. Sorokin, Lothar Ledderose, Cyril Birch, Edwin G. Pulleyblank, Kristofer Schipper, Jean-Pierre Drege, N. Goran D. Malmqvist, Roderick Whitfield, and many others. |
| Taoism Under the T'ang: Religion & Empire During the Golden Age of Chinese History by T.H. Barrett 112 pp., hardbound, 20 x 13 cm. ISBN 1-891640-25-9 $19.95 ISBN-13: 978-1-891640-25-4 This excellent essay was originally prepared at the request of Denis Twitchett, editor of the Cambridge History of China, in anticipation of publication in the second volume of that work to be devoted to the T'ang dynasty (618-907). While that project was experiencing delays, the essay became widely circulated among those interested in the history of Taoism, and has subsequently been published independently. The work sheds light on Taoism, China's great indigenous religion (if we see Confucianism as ethics and Buddhism as imported) during this vibrant and glorious period of Chinese history; without these insights, we can have only limited understanding of an important aspect of China's social, political, and of course, religious life. T .H. Barrett has been professor of East Asian history at the School or Oriental and African Studies, University of London, since 1986; he previously lectured at Cambridge. Professor Barrett publishes widely on East Asian history and religion, particularly Taoism and Zen. |
Japanese Art and Reference Books:
| Japanese Names and How to Read Them: A Manual for Art Collectors and Students by Albert J. Koop and Hogitaro Inada 572 pp., softbound, 25 x 18 cm. ISBN 1-891640-13-5 $75.00 ISBN-13: 978-1-891640-13-1 Long out of print, the pioneering work of Koop and Inada remains an important and fundamental reference for those wishing to master the pronunciation of Japanese names. The central feature of the 572-page work is a dictionary of kanji used in writing Japanese names, categorized by stroke count, with a complete index cross-referencing characters by pronunciation Also are included are useful auxiliary references such as the Genji symbols, reign periods and dates, personal names and titles, and typical signatures. With copies of the original 1923 edition commanding from $200 to $800, this essential tool for students, scholars, connoisseurs, and collectors is now available in a reasonably priced, soft-cover format. Albert J. Koop was Keeper in the Department of Metalwork in the Victoria and Albert Museum, honorary editor of the journal Transactions of the Japan Society, London, and author of the seminal Early Chinese Bronzes. Sword scholar and translator Hogitaro Inada was co-author, with Henri Joly, of The Sword and Samé. |
| Japanese Names: A Comprehensive Index by Characters and Readings by P.G. O'Neill 376 pp., includes more than 36,000 entries, softbound, 20 x 18 cm. ISBN 1-891640-18-6 $25.00 ISBN-13: 978-1-891640-18-6 As the author states in his introduction, "There is no final or complete solution to the problem of reading Japanese names written in Chinese characters." Such characters often have special readings as names which are distinct from their usual readings and therefore have to be learned separately. This comprehensive dictionary of 36,000 Japanese names is divided into two parts, the first organized by stroke count, to facilitate the search for readings when the characters are known, and also alphabetically by romanized reading, to facilitate finding the characters for names whose pronunciations are known. Included are the names of more than 7,000 individuals of literary, historical, or artistic importance, while multiple readings are listed in descending order from most to least likely. P.G. O'Neill was Professor of Japanese at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. His publications include Essential Kanji, A Guide to Noh, Early Noh Drama, An Introduction to Written Japanese (with S. Yamada), and A Programmed Introduction to Literary-Style Japanese. |
| A Dictionary of Japanese Artists: Painting, Sculpture, Ceramics, Prints, Lacquer by Laurance P. Roberts 312 pp., includes over 3000 artists born prior to 1900 softbound, 25 x 19 cm. ISBN 1-891640-19-4 $50.00 ISBN-13: 978-1-891640-19-3 This is a limited-edition reprint of the most comprehensive and authoritative dictionary of Japanese artists yet published. The pertinent facts related to approx-imately 3000 painters, printmakers, sculptors, potters, and lacquerware makers born before 1900 are concisely listed, including their art names (in kanji and romanized), brief biographies, descriptions of their work, collections in which their work is included, and books and periodicals in which their work is discussed or illustrated. Extensive appendixes, glossary, bibliography and complete indexes-including artists by alternate names and Japanese characters-make this an essential reference for all those interested in Japanese and East Asian art. Laurance P. Roberts, a specialist in the art of East Asia, held positions at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Brooklyn Museum of Art, and the American Academy in Rome. |
| Japanese Art Signatures: A Handbook and Practical Guide by James Self and Nobuko Hirose 400 pp., thousands of b&w illustrations, softbound, 25 x 18 cm. ISBN 1-891640-09-7 $50.00 ISBN-13: 978-1-891640-09-4 The most comprehensive, authoritative, and easy-to-use tool for reading Japanese art signatures is again available, in a limited-edition reprint. Designed for both layman and scholar, its simplified approach allows users to find and identify over 11,000 names of Japanese artists and craftspeople, from all periods and in all media. Includes a sections on reading dates, a list of 300 modified and debased characters, and an index of provinces and place names, plus reproductions of date and censor seals on woodblock prints, publishers' trademarks and seals, and actors' and Genji mon. Indispensable for the scholar or collector of Japanese art. James Self has been involved with Japanese art for many years, both as a collector of swords and as a consultant to one of Britain's largest companies specializing in the valuation of antiques. Nobuko Hirose holds an MA in Japanese Art History from SOAS, University of London, and is author of Immovable Wisdom, on the teachings of Zen Master Takuan Soho. |
| Japanese Marks and Seals: In Literature and the Arts by James Lord Bowes 380 pp., softbound, 25 x 18 cm. ISBN 1-891640-11-9 $50.00 ISBN-13: 978-1-891640-11-7 This extremely valuable reference work remains a fundamental resource for all students, scholars, connoisseurs, and collectors of Japanese art and literature. First published in London in 1882, it is divided into three parts: 1) pottery; 2) illuminated manuscripts and printed books; and 3) lacquer, cloisonné enamels, metal, wood, and ivory. Containing over one thousand illustrations of marks and seals in its 380 pages, it includes charts of both zodiacal cycles and reign periods. With original copies commanding from $400 to $1200, this essential tool for collectors and specialists is now available in a reasonably priced, soft-cover format. James Lord Bowes was a noted Japan scholar and art collector, President of the Liverpool Art Society, and co-author, with architect George A. Audsley, of Keramic Art of Japan. |
| The Noh Theater: Principles and Perspectives by Komparu, translated by Jane Corddry and Stephen B. Comee 400 pp., 60 monochrome photos, numerous charts and diagrams, glossary-index, softbound, 23 x 15 cm. ISBN 1-891640-17-8 $50.00 ISBN-13: 978-1-891640-17-9 The Noh theater of Japan is without question one of the most refined dramatic arts in the world. Originating in dance and music performed at sacred rituals and festivals, it was developed and brought to maturity in the 14th and 15th centuries by Kan'ami Kiyotsugu and his son, Zeami Motokiyo, two great dramatists who distilled the crude entertainments of the open fields into a predominately tragic drama of illusion played upon an empty stage. This volume, first published in 1983 and long out of print, is the first work in either English or Japanese to offer a comprehensive explanation and analysis of the principles of the Noh theater. The author was an active practitioner of the art, representing the 22nd generation in a direct line of Noh performers. His book painstakingly outlines both physical and intellectual aspects of Noh-its technical principles and its philosophical perspectives-on a scope hitherto unknown. An invaluable tool for the student of any aspect of drama, it offers as well deeper insights into Japanese history and culture. Kunio Komparu (1926-83), a direct successor of Zeami, graduated from Tokyo University of Art. A professional performer of the Komparu school of taiko payers, he was also director of the Noh Research Center |
| Pars Japonica The First Dutch Expedition to Reach the Shores of Japan by William de Lange 268 pp., 36 b & w illus., notes, sources, index, hardbound, 24 x 16 cm. ISBN 1-891640-23-2 $35.00 ISBN-13: 978-1-891640-23-0 This is the harrowing account of arguably the most ill-fated expedition in the long maritime history of the Low Countries. At the end of the 16th century five heavily armed ships sailed from the port of Rotterdam under the command of men who had never set foot on a seagoing ship. The terrible hardships suffered in the course of the subsequent two years became an almost biblical trial of the officers and crew-a trial the outcome of which seemed to scorn the ships' talismanic names: Faith, Hope, Love, Fidelity, and The Gospel. Instead, treachery, betrayal, mutiny, and mayhem were the grim rewards of this fateful journey. Of of the five hundred men who sailed, only a hundred survived and only a handful of those were ever to return home. One ship did pass the test, but not in the way its owners had foreseen. It was through the offices of an English pilot that the Love reached the as yet largely unknown islands of Japan and that the outcome of an otherwise so disastrous expedition was miraculously reversed. The pilot's name was William Adams, the near mythical yet real-life figure who became the hero of James Clavel's best-selling novel Shogun. |
| The Traditional Theater of Japan by Yosunobu Inoura and Toshio Kawatake 2006 272 pp., 130 b&w photos, appendices, index, 23 x 15 cm. Softcover. ISBN 1-891640-40-2 $50.00 ISBN-13: 978-1-891640-40-7 This is the first book in English to present a comprehensive history of Japanese theater. Beginning with ritualistic Kagura, a theatrical art developed around Shinto shrines well before the 6th century, the discussion proceeds to Gigaku, which originated in China and had Buddhist associations, moves on to Gagaku and Bugaku (court music and dance), and then to Sarugaku and other prototypes of Noh. Due attention is given the several early phases of Noh, as well as its emergence as a true classical theater and its comic interludes of Kyogen. The discussion continues with the origins and history of the puppet theater Bunraku and the popular theater Kabuki. Each dramatic art is thoroughly explained and copiously illustrated with monochrome photographs of performances, costumes, masks, and implements. The result is an absorbing panorama in which the history of the Japanese theater comes to life. |
| A Dictionary of Japanese Idioms by William de Lange 224 pp., over 6,000 entries, 2-color printing, thumb index, softbound, 20 x 13 cm. ISBN 1-891640-24-0 $24.95 What student of Japanese has not grappled with the amazing diversity and elusive nuances of its idioms? One would not want to confuse, for example, ki ga mawaru (to be considerate) with ki o mawasu (to be suspicious). And it would be useful to know whether your boss is really hara ga tatsu (angry) or merely ki ga tatsu (irritable). Indeed, even a single idiom can have a bewildering number of meanings depending on context; te o ireru, for instance, can mean fixing up (as a house), asking someone to investigate secretly, or making a raid. This dictionary offers the most comprehensive compilation and English translation of those idiomatic expressions that so enrich the Japanese language but fail to find their way into conventional dictionaries. It presents more than 6000 idiomatic phrases under 1000 main entries, including several thousands of idioms never presented and explained in English before. Multiple definitions are given for each entry, and furigana allows even beginning students to pronounce correctly and to use the expressions immediately. A thumb index and two-color printing, with all kanji and kana in red, make entries exceptionally easy to access. William de Lange studied Japanese language and culture at the University of Leiden and at Waseda Univerity in Japan. He is active as a translator and interpreter in a variety of capacities in the Netherlands, Germany, and Japan. |
| Japanese Papermaking: Traditions, Tools, and Techniques by Timothy Barrett 328 pp., 91 monochrome photos, 75 line drawings, appendixes, glossary, bibliography, softbound, 25 x 18 cm. ISBN 1-891640-26-7 $50.00 This most comprehensive book on the subject sheds light on every facet of a time-honored craft and offers complete instructions on how to duplicate its exquisite results in the West. Part 1, "The Craft in Japan," draws on the author's experience learning to make paper in Japan and documents Japanese papermaking as it has been practiced for centuries. Part 2, "The Craft in the West," gives step-by-step instructions for the two methods of Japanese papermaking Every aspect of papermaking is explained in depth, including cultivation of paper mulberry in the West, weaving the flexible mold surface (su), and evaluation of the finished paper. A chapter on variations answers many common questions asked about the process, covering watermarking, making laminations with leaves and other natural materials, using Western equipment in Japanese processes, and making paper for printmaking, book conservation, and other specific uses. A substantial bibliography and glossary further supplement the text. Timothy Barrett is a paper specialist and research scientist at the University of Iowa Center for the Book, and an internationally recognized scholar, lecturer, and practitioner in the field of Japanese handmade paper. He is author also of Nagashizuki: The Japanese Craft of Hand Papermaking. |
South Asian Art / Literature:
| Gitanjali: Offerings of Song and Art by Rabindranath Tagore; paintings by Mark W. McGinnis 128 pp., 103 original color paintings, hardbound, 23 x 13 cm. ISBN 1-891640-28-3 $19.95 Poet, playwright, and novelist Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941) was one of the towering cultural figures of modern India, winning the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913. Of his many works, the most enduringly popular has been Gitanjali, or Song Offerings, likely due to the honesty with which these verses articulate the poet's personal, and humanity's eternal, spiritual quest. Although steeped in Hindu roots, the poems are universal in their appeal, reflecting an ecumenical passion for and joy in a union with the divine; they have the capability of bringing together compassionate, seeking minds of all faiths. Certainly they are worth reading and rereading in these times of troubling religious strife. When artist Mark W. McGinnis came to read Gitanjali in the summer of 2001, he immediately dropped what he was working on and began a series of paintings inspired by the work. The results are 103 exquisite nine-by-nine-inch paintings, after the fashion of Indian Kangra style paintings of the late 18th century. During the course of the project McGinnis submerged himself in Tagore's world, reading widely in and studying all areas of the poet's diverse and creative career. His paintings are intended not simply to be illustrations of Tagore's verses but images inspired by them and the artist's understanding of the creative mind behind them. Both songs and paintings are here brought together in a deluxe gift edition, with laid-on cover print and ribbon marker. It is the artist's hope that this work will help more people to know the work of one of the great minds of the modern era. Rabindranath Tagore, through his multi-faceted cultural activities, has become for the world the voice of India's spiritual heritage. Mark W. McGinnis is an artist and educator whose interdisciplinary projects have been featured in over 110 solo exhibitions nationwide. His previous publications include Buddhist Animal Wisdom Stories (Weatherhill), Lakota and Dakota Animal Wisdom Stories (Tipi Press), and Elders of the Benedictines (Blue Bridge Publishers |
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