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Contemporary Ikebana and the Potential of Art History at the Boundary of Art

Noriko Murai 1

1Temple University

Accredited

ABSTRACT

Contemporary ikebana is a vibrant, challenging visual form that defies many of the popular assumptions held with regards to ikebana or the Japanese flower arrangement. Contemporary ikebana is not always bound by the traditional framework of ikebana, and as such, calls for a different kind of critical language. More specifically, the theory, practice, and institution of non-traditional ikebana reveal a series of interesting parallels to and divergences from those of art. The modern discourse of ikebana has been ambivalent vis-à-vis the discourse of art, simultaneously aspiring to yet distinguishing itself from the modern European-derived notion of “art.” In this respect, a historical analysis of ikebana in the modern period is relevant for the critical re-examination of Japanese art history since to think about ikebana inevitably leads one to think about the boundary of art. This essay proposes to situate contemporary ikebana at the boundary of art by considering issues such as the binarism of the amateur and the professional, the tension between autonomy and context, and the relationship between process and outcome in creative act. The participation of contemporary ikebana in the 2009 Echigo-Tsumari Art Triennial provides a concrete case study through which to examine these issues.

Citation status

* References for papers published after 2023 are currently being built.