THE ART OF SUMI-E: APPRECIATION, TECHNIQUE, AND APPLICATION by Shozo SatoReview by: Nancy S. AllenArt Documentation: Journal of the Art Libraries Society of North America, Vol. 4, No. 1(Spring 1985), p. 31Published by: The University of Chicago Press on behalf of the Art Libraries Society of NorthAmericaStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/27947401 .

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Art Documentation, Spring, 1985 31

the inevitable result of increasing suburbanization. He pays no more attention to Gustav Stickley who popularized the Crafts man ethos and the bungalow style, than he does to Wright and the Greenes, an omission which leaves the reader with the

impression that the market for bungalows was created largely by later advertising agents and song writers, rather than given its form by designers.

This is all the more troublesome because the aspects of bun galow design which are thereby neglected are precisely those which had the greatest effect on subsequent architecture, such as open interior planning. King explores the implications of the single story or one-and-a-half story house, while largely ignoring those of this kind of interior planning. This innovation, usually credited to Wright, may have had precedents in Indian and Eng lish bungalow design, but was certainly an advance over the open plans of Shingle Style houses, while the American cottage of this height has predecessors in almost every American hous ing type since the founding of the earliest colonies. Wright's open plan was a crucial influence upon the development of Interna tional Style architecture in Europe and was widely imitated by later American housing designers, whether they were developers

or architects.

King's book is divided into an introduction and eight chapters. The introduction and the final chapter treat the international his tory of this popular housing type; the chapters deal with specific geographic areas. Single chapters are devoted to India, North America, Africa, and Australia, while Britain is accorded three, interspersed in roughly chronological order through the book.

The book contains an eighteen-page select bibliography, which will be invaluable to those who continue to explore the topic. The 146 black-and-white photos do not directly refer to the text, but act as an effective visual, if slightly supplemental, addition to it. The figures, of which there are sixty-one, are line drawings drawn

largely from architecture magazines. Unfortunately, one must return to the magazines to learn the names of most of the archi tects for these projects.

The Bungalow is a scholarly book and one with a British rather than an American focus. It is unlikely to appeal to the broad audience, enervated by the historic preservation movement, who read general books about American architecture. It will open up new paths for those who are studying the domestic architecture of the countries which it treats, and to those who seek to tighten the ties between economic and architectural history. It also pro vides a valuable paradigm for a cross-cultural approach to archi tectural history.

Kathleen James Brown University

THE ART OF SUMI-E: APPRECIATION, TECHNIQUE, AND APPLICATION/Shozo Sato.-Tokyo: Kodansha, c 1984.-332 p.-ISBN 0-87011-570-7; LC 82-48788: $34.95.

Yet another book on the art of Japanese ink painting, you wisely ask. The affirmative answer belies author-artist Shozo Sato's intention to present comprehensive information on sumi-e, which is too often given in isolated accounts of its philosophy and history or of its techniques.

The first section, 'Appreciating Sumi-e," provides a brief his

tory of the art from its origins in seventh-century China to Jap anese sumi-e of the modern period. This discussion is illustrated by selected classical masterpieces for which an explanation of the significance of the work is given. A valuable analysis of the technical and compositional principles is augumented by dia grams showing the dominant, subdominant, and subordinate ele ments in each painting. The use of such diminutive illustrations as a three-and-three-quarter-inch reproduction to represent a screen painting over five feet in height is, however, a lamentable hindrance to finding in these great works the technical, emo tional, and spiritual qualities Sato seeks to convey. In addition, the use of only black-and-white illustrations denies the power of works in which black ink is played against highly selective use of color and gold ink wash. Allowing a few illustrations to bleed into the gutter is surprising for a publisher such as Kodansha, whose production standards normally insure the highest quality of art publication.

"Fundamental Elements" the second section of the book, presents a discussion of the brushes, ink, paper, sizing, washing bowls, and seals used in sumi-e, and the quality of its line and use of space. Illustrations of proper posture and brush angle accompany graded, step-by-step instructions for each of the basic strokes. Although this sounds like mere "how-to" fare, the section includes information on techniques such as tarashikomi and nijimi which will enrich the understanding of Japanese paint ing for art historians and painters alike.

Part III attempts to join sumi-e's past and present practices through the almost sacred Chinese compendium, The Mustard Seed Garden. The original text, which consisted of thirteen books, deals with the experience, wisdom, and techniques of master painters from the ninth century and embodies the disci pline and philosophy of sumi-e. Sato presents a full picture of the text to correct the inadequacies of other books on sumi-e tech

nique, which he believes draw on material from The Mustard Seed Garden but barely acknowledge the source. While the 170 page coverage of technique wedded to the Manual text is unique and highly desirable in the absence of other sumi-e books, the fine translation of The Mustard Seed Garden noted by Sato in his text (Mai-mai Sze, trans. The Mustard Seed Garden. Princeton

University Press : Princeton, N.J.), might be thought to eliminate the need for such an inclusion in The Art of Sumi-e.

In "Sumi-e Today," the final section of the book, the work of contemporary artists, mostly Jpanaese, is introduced along with an extensive section on the work of the author. Here the writing has an anecdotal quality which may lack complete objectivity but does offer unique information on some artists who are little documented in the art literature of the West.

The primary strength of the book is a lucid, well-illustrated explanation of technique which is backed up historically through translation of the Chinese text, The Mustard Seed Garden. Libraries which already have adequate coverage of the art of sumi-e technique will be able to pass up this one, but those libraries which need a single book on the topic and those which require comprehensive coverage of the topic will find this a solid, responsible book.

Nancy S. Allen Museum of Fine Arts, Boston

THE GOLDEN AGE OF BRITISH PHOTOGRAPHY, 1838-1900/ edited and introduced by Mark Haworth-Booth. ? (s.l.) : Aperture in association with the Philadelphia Museum of Art and the

Victoria and Albert Museum, 1984.-192 p. : ill.-ISBN 0-89381-144-0 ; LC 84-70357 : $40.00.

Victorian Britain was witness to an era of exploration and dra matic change. The borders of science, art, literature and industry were rapidly expanding in what was indeed a "Golden Age." Introduced to the public in 1839 by its inventor William Henry Fox

Talbot, photography became.part of this adventurous time,

involving both science and art in myriad ways. As a new tech

nique it was unbounded by any existing framework and thus was free to develop in many directions. The techniques and themes investigated during the period covered by this book, 1838-1900, are a chronicle not only of a developing art form but of a scientific curiosity and technology coupled with a changing view of the world. The photographer captured a view of nature as truth and goodness in early Romantic tradition, but he also recorded the face of a countryside rapidly altered by the industrial revolution. The nostalgia for the past was being recorded by the technology of the future. The vast reaches of the Empire, the exotic tours of world travellers, the soldiers of the Queen far from home, were but a few of the images captured by these pioneering artists.

This most elegantly produced book is important in many ways. Published to coincide with an exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum which will travel to a number of museums in the United States in 1984-1986, it is both a visual delight and a scholarly treat.

With essays written by Mark Haworth-Booth, Assistant Keeper of Photographs at the Victoria and Albert Museum, and five other experts on British photography, the book explores the work of the practitioners of the new art form. The introductory chapter deals with the relationship of photography to the Victorian Age. It

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