Ensō - Zen Circles of Enlightenment by Audrey Yoshiko Seo
THE ENSO, or “Zen circle," is one of the most prevalent images of Zen art, and it has become a symbol of the clean and strong Zen aesthetic - to the point where one sees ensos on everything from screensavers to restaurant menus to print and web advertising. Regardless of how it is interpreted, the ensó is above all an expression of the mind of the artist who brushes it. It is said that the state of the practitioner can be clearly read in the manner of execution of the circle.
Audrey Yoshiko Seo brings together a collection of the best examples of enso art to show the wonderful variety of the form and its variations, from the seventeenth century to the present. Each piece occupies an entire page, with commentary on the facing page. Seo's commentary focuses on the meaning of the art and the historical context in which it was brushed, and provides analysis of each artist's technique. Also included are biographies of the artists, many of whom are important Japanese Zen teachers.
AUDREY YOSHIKO SEO, PhD, teaches Japanese art and culture at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. She is a specialist in Zen brushwork and twentieth-century Japanese art. She is also the author of Zen No Sho: The Calligraphy of Fukusbima Keido Rosbi and (with Stephen Addiss) The Art of Twentieth-Century Zen. Cover art: Autumn Moon by Inzan len (1754-1817).
2007 Softcover
ISBN: 978-1-59030-608-6
Condition: As New
MB (Religion)
THE ENSO, or “Zen circle," is one of the most prevalent images of Zen art, and it has become a symbol of the clean and strong Zen aesthetic - to the point where one sees ensos on everything from screensavers to restaurant menus to print and web advertising. Regardless of how it is interpreted, the ensó is above all an expression of the mind of the artist who brushes it. It is said that the state of the practitioner can be clearly read in the manner of execution of the circle.
Audrey Yoshiko Seo brings together a collection of the best examples of enso art to show the wonderful variety of the form and its variations, from the seventeenth century to the present. Each piece occupies an entire page, with commentary on the facing page. Seo's commentary focuses on the meaning of the art and the historical context in which it was brushed, and provides analysis of each artist's technique. Also included are biographies of the artists, many of whom are important Japanese Zen teachers.
AUDREY YOSHIKO SEO, PhD, teaches Japanese art and culture at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. She is a specialist in Zen brushwork and twentieth-century Japanese art. She is also the author of Zen No Sho: The Calligraphy of Fukusbima Keido Rosbi and (with Stephen Addiss) The Art of Twentieth-Century Zen. Cover art: Autumn Moon by Inzan len (1754-1817).
2007 Softcover
ISBN: 978-1-59030-608-6
Condition: As New
MB (Religion)
THE ENSO, or “Zen circle," is one of the most prevalent images of Zen art, and it has become a symbol of the clean and strong Zen aesthetic - to the point where one sees ensos on everything from screensavers to restaurant menus to print and web advertising. Regardless of how it is interpreted, the ensó is above all an expression of the mind of the artist who brushes it. It is said that the state of the practitioner can be clearly read in the manner of execution of the circle.
Audrey Yoshiko Seo brings together a collection of the best examples of enso art to show the wonderful variety of the form and its variations, from the seventeenth century to the present. Each piece occupies an entire page, with commentary on the facing page. Seo's commentary focuses on the meaning of the art and the historical context in which it was brushed, and provides analysis of each artist's technique. Also included are biographies of the artists, many of whom are important Japanese Zen teachers.
AUDREY YOSHIKO SEO, PhD, teaches Japanese art and culture at the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia. She is a specialist in Zen brushwork and twentieth-century Japanese art. She is also the author of Zen No Sho: The Calligraphy of Fukusbima Keido Rosbi and (with Stephen Addiss) The Art of Twentieth-Century Zen. Cover art: Autumn Moon by Inzan len (1754-1817).
2007 Softcover
ISBN: 978-1-59030-608-6
Condition: As New
MB (Religion)