The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Talks, activities for ‘The Way of Tea’
MIDDLETOWN — Wesleyan University’s College of East Asian Studies Gallery’s exhibit “Chado: The Way of Tea,” is curated by Stephen A. Morrell and supported by a grant from the Freeman Foundation.
“For more than a century, American artists, architects and landscape designers have been inspired by the beauty, simplicity and underlying philosophy of traditional Japanese arts. The aesthetic characteristics that inform these arts and the underlying spiritual basis can be traced back to monasteries in China and Japan, where they have evolved for over 1,000 years in the arts of Zen,” according to a news release.
The exhibition explores the prominent role and significance of the tea ceremony as an art and spiritual practice in China and Japan. Objects displayed have been selected from the Wesleyan collection and loaned by tea enthusiasts in the Wesleyan community. Several media are represented, including ceramics, lacquer ware, bamboo, wood, iron, textiles and calligraphy. In addition, photographs from National Geographic photographer Michael Yamashita ’71 will be featured, the release said.
Tea from Uji, Japan, served during exhibition programs, is provided by, Great Eastern Sun, Asheville, N.C.. Related events are free and open to the public.
Oct. 1: Film screening: “Rikyu” (1989), directed by Hiroshi Teshigahara, 4:30 p.m., Seminar Room, Mansfield Freeman Center
Oct. 13: Gallery talk with Morrell, 2 p.m., College of East Asian Studies Gallery, Freeman Center
Oct. 17: Lecture by Assistant Professor of Art History Talia Andrei: “Tea Culture and Japanese Aesthetics,” 4:30 p.m., Seminar Room, Freeman Center
Nov. 3: Tea ceremony with Ikumi Kamanishi and Morrell, 2 p.m., College of East Asian Studies Gallery
Nov. 6: Sung poetry and tea with Assistant Professor of East Asian Studies Ao Wang and Morrell, 4:30 p.m., College of East Asian Studies Gallery
The show continues through Nov. 30. For information, call 860-685-2330.