De-Creation in Japanese Painting: Materialization of Thoroughly Passive Attitude

This paper demonstrates the method and meaning behind the argument that contemporary philosophers have found the key to “de-creation” in potentiality by implementing it in artwork. While creation in the usual sense seems to imply an active attitude, de-creation implies a passive attitude of simply w...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Kyoko Nakamura
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-04-01
Series:Philosophies
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/2409-9287/6/2/35
Description
Summary:This paper demonstrates the method and meaning behind the argument that contemporary philosophers have found the key to “de-creation” in potentiality by implementing it in artwork. While creation in the usual sense seems to imply an active attitude, de-creation implies a passive attitude of simply waiting for something from the outside by constructing a mechanism to set up the gap to which something outside comes. The methods of de-creation are typically found in representations of reality using “<i>Kakiwari</i>,” which is commonly observed in Japanese art. <i>Kakiwari</i> was originally a stage background and has no reverse side; that is, there is no other side to the space. Mountains in distant views are frequently painted like a flat board as if they were <i>Kakiwari</i>. It shows the outside that is imperceptible, deviating from the perspective of vision. The audience can wait for the outside without doing anything (“prefer not to do”) in front of <i>Kakiwari</i>. It is the potentiality of art and it realizes de-creation. This paper extends the concept of de-creation by presenting concrete images and methods used in the author’s own works that utilized <i>Kakiwari</i>. This orients to the philosophy of the creative act by the artist herself.
ISSN:2409-9287