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<div class="gmail_default">In East Asia, calligraphy has been hailed as the highest of all art forms for more than 15 centuries. It’s not hard to understand why: With more than 80,000 Chinese characters and infinite graphic variations, the expressive potential is unlimited. The results, as seen in this exhibition, speak for themselves. Each work is a unique expression of the artist’s personality, offering a glimpse into the culture that held calligraphy in such high esteem.</div>
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<div class="gmail_default" style="margin-bottom: 30px">The Japanese writing system was adopted from Chinese characters; given the Japanese reverence for Chinese artistic traditions, these works explore the full range of scripts possible with these characters: seal script (tensho), running script (gyosho), cursive script (sosho), clerical script (reisho), and standard script (kaisho). Calligraphy’s emphasis on movement and timing suggests dancing, and each script has its own rhythm, from the formal strictness of seal script to the wild dance of cursive writing.</div>
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This exhibition will be presented in three rotations: 
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<li>Rotation 1: August 1, 2020 &#8211; June 6, 2021.</li>
<li> Rotation 2: June 19, 2021 &#8211; April 10, 2022.</li>
<li> Rotation 3: April 23, 2022 &#8211; April 19, 2023.</li>
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<div style="margin-top: 40px"><a class="link-fade-in-brdr" href="https://lume.space/mia/group/20-dances-japanese-calligraphy-then-and-now"><button class="background-black">Explore the art in this exhibition from home.</button></a></div>
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<div id="attachment_84774" style="width: 510px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-84774" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-84774 size-full" src="https://images.artsmia.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/20092611/mia_6017324_Crop-e1595273207135.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="479" />Maki Ryōkō, 1787–1833, Lu Tong&#8217;s Tea Song, 19th century (detail), hanging scroll; ink on silk, Gift of Stephen Addiss and Audrey Yoshiko Seo, 2013.63.19</div>
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Clerical Script 
隸書 (Jp.: reisho; Ch.: lishu) 
Clerical script was the starting point for stylized calligraphy: curved lines were straightened, radicals (graphic components that indicate the meaning of the character) were simplified and merged, the number of strokes were reduced. The script developed in China around 300 BCE and became increasingly important during the Han Dynasty (206 BCE–220 CE) as the territory expanded and an increasing number of imperial edicts needed to be copied and distributed across the country. This job fell to the official clerics, and was made possible with the advent of paper and silk as substrates, rather than stone or bamboo strips. 
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<div id="attachment_84775" style="width: 426px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-84775" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-84775 size-full" src="https://images.artsmia.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/20092832/mia_6017309_Cropped-e1595273349404.jpg" alt="" width="416" height="500" />Nakai Tōjū, 1608–48, Bring the Qin, 17th century (detail), hanging scroll; ink on paper, Gift of Stephen Addiss and Audrey Yoshiko Seo, 2013.63.24</div>
Seal Script 
篆書 (Jp: tensho; Ch: zhuanshu) 
Seal script reflects the earliest form of Chinese calligraphy. It developed during the Zhou Dynasty (c. 1045–256 BCE) and was standardized around 300 to 200 BCE. Ultimately the script fell out of favor due to its linearity, which did not lend itself to the fluid strokes of the calligrapher’s brush. It did, however, continue to be used for seal carvings, which were generally made of stone and were used to apply an individual’s official signature or identifying mark to a document or other object. 
The script underwent a revival from around 1600 to 1900 CE, and was used as visual shorthand for archaism, a reference to the ancient world. It was especially favored by scholars interested in Chinese antiquity. 
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<div id="attachment_84776" style="width: 510px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-84776" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-84776 size-full" src="https://images.artsmia.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/20093050/mia_8010159_Detail-e1595273480871.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="428" />Suda Kokuta, 1906–90, Words Concerned with Existence, 1984 (detail), ink on paper, Gift of the Clark Center for Japanese Art &amp; Culture, 2013.29.1337.1-2, © Suda Kokuta</div>
Standard Script 
楷書 (Jp: kaisho; Ch: kaishu) 
The next step in calligraphy’s innovation was the development of a standard script. Standard or regular script is used when clarity is of the utmost importance, such as for formal documents, books, etc. It was also the script most commonly used for mass printing, which was first invented in China around 800 CE, while movable type developed around 1000 to 1100 CE. 
Though standard script’s crisp lines would seemingly require less skill, such regularity requires a steady hand and an understanding of how much ink to load onto the brush to achieve a consistent stroke—any error or irregularity would be glaringly obvious. 
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<div id="attachment_84777" style="width: 510px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-84777" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-84777 size-full" src="https://images.artsmia.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/20093208/mia_6017316_Cropped_Detail-e1595273559782.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="347" />Ōtagaki Rengetsu, 1791–1875, Letter to Tomioka Tessai, 19th century (detail), Ink on paper, Gift of Stephen Addiss and Audrey Yoshiko Seo, 2013.63.6</div>
Cursive Script 
草書 (Jp: sōsho; Ch: caoshu) 
Similar to Western shorthand, cursive script may have appeared as early as 200 BCE out of a need for a rapid, simplified way of writing clerical script. Cursive script was used chiefly for private and informal communications as well as for poetry. 
The shapes of the characters are greatly abbreviated and sometimes altered to such an extent that they do not resemble the standard forms. Brush strokes are wave-shaped and made rapidly. The difficulty of reading this fluid script is further increased because several characters are often vertically connected without interruption. 
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<div id="attachment_84778" style="width: 510px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img aria-describedby="caption-attachment-84778" loading="lazy" class="wp-image-84778 size-full" src="https://images.artsmia.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/20093330/mia_6017329_Cropped-e1595273637706.jpg" alt="" width="500" height="396" />Ema Saikō, 1787–1861, On Becoming Fifty, 1836 (detail), hanging scroll; ink on paper, Gift of Stephen Addiss and Audrey Yoshiko Seo, 2013.63.37</div>
Running Script 
行書 (Jp: gyōsho; Ch: xingshu) 
Running or semi-cursive script is an intermediate form between standard script and cursive script. As it is not as abbreviated as cursive script it can be read by most people who can read standard script. 
Developed before 100 CE, it became the usual style of handwriting. 
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20 Dances: Japanese Calligraphy Then and Now

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<div style="margin-bottom: 50px">In Renaissance Florence, artists saw art anew, inspired by ancient marbles and myths as well as the humanism of ruler and patron Lorenzo de’ Medici. At the center of it all was Sandro Botticelli (1445–1510), whose genius for transforming classical themes into wholly original art inspired new ideals of beauty. Now, in a remarkable partnership with the Uffizi Galleries, Mia is hosting a major exhibition exploring the fevered creativity that defined this time and place. Paintings, sculptures, and prints from Mia’s collection will be shown alongside masterworks from the Uffizi, including rare paintings and drawings by Botticelli, such as his masterful Pallas and the Centaur (c. 1482); works by his teacher (Fra Filippo Lippi) and colleagues (Domenico Ghirlandaio, Cosimo Rosselli, Perugino); and ancient Greek and Roman marbles that the Florentine artists saw and studied. Mia is privileged to be the single stop for this exhibition, an enviable opportunity to see Uffizi stars that rarely travel outside Italy.</div>

Mia director Katie Luber, Uffizi director Eike Schmidt, and scholars Roberta Bartoli and Rachel McGarry will guide you through the exhibition and discuss the historical context and themes surrounding the artworks. Bring your own device and headphones to listen along in the galleries.
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Use this guide to facilitate conversations in your classroom before a museum tour or between chaperones and students on self-guided visits.
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In the mid-1800s, many French and Belgian artists rejected grandiose images of mythology and history to focus on everyday lives, especially those of rural folk, laborers, and the disaffected—people most vulnerable to the whims of the powerful. These artists called themselves Realists. Their social concerns, artistic talent, and frequently journalistic approach resonated with University of Minnesota Professor Gabriel P. Weisberg and his wife, Yvonne. Fifty years ago, they engaged in deep, original research into the Realists, often rediscovering significant but neglected artists. They began to collect drawings and small paintings by these Realists, later adding examples of Symbolism and Art Nouveau. The result is a fascinating, irreplaceable collection that the Weisbergs have designated as a promised gift to Mia. Come celebrate their generosity and explore these intimate works of art.
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Generous support for MAEP provided by: 
<img loading="lazy" class="alignnone wp-image-69432 " src="https://live-artsmia.pantheonsite.io/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/McKnight_logo_whtonblk_rgb-1.png" alt="" width="300" height="54" srcset="https://images.artsmia.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/01101456/McKnight_logo_whtonblk_rgb-1.png 800w, https://images.artsmia.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/01101456/McKnight_logo_whtonblk_rgb-1.png 768w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" />
Additional support provided by RBC Wealth Management.

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In the Making: Modern and Contemporary Fiber Art New Acquisitions

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Ongoing Exhibitions

20 Dances: Japanese Calligraphy Then and Now

Botticelli and Renaissance Florence: Masterworks from the Uffizi

The Poetic Abstractions of Maki Haku: Prints from the Kimm-Grufferman Collection