Art Market Monitor

Global Coverage ~ Unique Analysis

  • AMMpro
  • AMM Fantasy Collecting Game
  • Podcast
  • Contact Us

Mono-ha to McLaughlin

March 22, 2012 by Marion Maneker

Christopher Knight draws a bright line between the Japanese school of Mono-ha works, Lee Ufan and the work of John McLaughlin by calling attention to a new show at Blum & Poe in Los Angeles of authorized reconstructions of lost Mono-ha works:

Mono-ha, roughly translated as “School of Things,” is hardly known in the United States. But the art, which is mostly sculptural, transforms a profound Japanese aesthetic into a contemporary idiom that was also essential to the Californian’s earlier work. McLaughlin lived in Japan, China and India for many years before moving to L.A. in 1946 and starting to paint, and he bought and sold Japanese prints for much of his life.

Mono-ha is characterized by artists making worldly refinements rather than withdrawing into tradition’s  cloistered realm. Materials are ordinary or industrial — dirt, water, stone, paper; steel, lumber, concrete and glass. Nature and industry often collide. For the generation following World War II’s devastating blow to national identity, the friction is unsurprising. By the ’60s, the stresses of explosive reconstruction were felt.

Artists used simple systems to establish an equivalency among the art object, the viewer and the site in which the encounter between them happens. Geometry removes personal expressions of gesture. Impermanence is prized — although impermanence often happened to the art merely as a result of general indifference toward the Japanese avant-garde among private and institutional art collectors. Sculptures were either  tossed out after a show or disappeared over time.

John McLaughlin’s paintings meet Mono-ha sculptures (Los Angeles Times)

More from Art Market Monitor

  • Flashy Venice Biennale Artists AnnouncedFlashy Venice Biennale Artists Announced
  • Sotheby’s Old Masters Market Shows Buyers from 75 Countries, 15% New BiddersSotheby’s Old Masters Market Shows Buyers from 75 Countries, 15% New Bidders
  • The NYTimes Takes A Swing at Old Masters Market, Bendor Grosvenor Counterpunches with StatisticsThe NYTimes Takes A Swing at Old Masters Market, Bendor Grosvenor Counterpunches with Statistics
  • Salaam TokyoSalaam Tokyo
  • Gorky Sparks InterestGorky Sparks Interest
  • Christie’s Presents Plenty of Evidence for Barbara Johnson’s VermeerChristie’s Presents Plenty of Evidence for Barbara Johnson’s Vermeer

Filed Under: Artists

About Marion Maneker

LiveArt

Want to get Art Market Monitor‘s posts sent to you in our email? Sign up below by clicking on the Subscribe button.

  • About Us/ Contact
  • Podcast
  • AMMpro
  • Newsletter
  • FAQ

twitterfacebooksoundcloud
Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
California Privacy Rights
Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Advertise on Art Market Monitor
 

Loading Comments...