Far from being frowned upon as uncreative, in China, Korea, and Japan, copying has long been considered a valuable practice. Through works of art spanning ancient to contemporary times, Copies and Invention in East Asia challenges our understanding of originality, and presents copying as an act of imaginative interpretation. The exhibition includes burial goods that conjure a world for the deceased; Buddhist sculptures produced in multiples to amplify religious experience and meaning; paintings in which a master’s brushstrokes are faithfully duplicated as a way of shaping the self; and contemporary works that address multiplicity and duplication in the modern world.
Lead support is provided by the University of Michigan Office of the Provost, Michigan Medicine, Lieberthal-Rogel Center for Chinese Studies, Center for Japanese Studies, Nam Center for Korean Studies, School of Information, and College of Engineering. Additional generous support is provided by the University of Michigan Fabrication Studio at the Duderstadt Center, Department of Asian Languages and Cultures, and SeeMeCNC 3D Printers.
Images
Yamamoto Baiitsu, Blossoming Prunus Branch, after Wang Mien, 1847, hanging scroll, ink on paper. University of Michigan Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. C.D. Carter, 1970/2.156
Five Attendants and Carrier, China, 1368-1644, earthenware with glaze and mineral pigment. University of Michigan Museum of Art, Gift of Jiu-Hwa Lo Upshur, 2008/2.275.1-5
Twelve Zodiac Animals: Pig, Korea, 20th century, ink on paper. University of Michigan Museum of Art, Transfer from the Slide and Photograph Collection, Department of the History of Art, UA 1980.49.12
The Military Door God Yuchi Gong, China, 20th century, woodblock print on paper. University of Michigan Museum of Art, Gift of Willard A. and Marybelle B. Hana, 1989/2.152
Miniature jar with cover, decorated with figures of boy acrobats, China, 1825 - 1912, porcelain with blue underglaze painting. University of Michigan Museum of Art, Gift of Mr. Robert W. Coggan, 1980/2.160
Seifû Yohei III, White teapot and sencha pitcher with stamped dragonfly designs, circa 1893-1914, porcelain with clear glaze. University of Michigan Museum of Art, Bequest of Margaret Watson Parker, 1954/1.512 and 503
Imperial winter dragon robe, China, early 19th century, embroidered silk. University of Michigan Museum of Art, Gift of Elizabeth Henshaw Gasper Brown in memory of Horace, William and Helen Lou, 1989/1.34
XU ZHEN ® Eternity-Aphrodite of Knidos, Tang Dynasty Sitting Buddha, 2014, glass fiber-reinforced concrete, marble grains, sandstone grains, mineral pigments, steel. Courtesy of James Cohan Gallery, New York ©Xu Zhen