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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (July 19, 1960)
TUESDAY, JULY 19, 1960 Summer Nebraskan Page 3 Eastern The influence of one art or culture on another is a confir mation rather than an affir mation, according to Dr. Pru dence R. Myer of Tulane Uni versity. Dr. Myer is a guest on the University of Nebraska cam pus through the summer pro gram of the Far Eastern In stitute. Seek First Speaking Monday evening on the "Western Image of Eastern Art," Dr. Myer ex plained that to be influenced by the art of another culture, one must first be searching for something. The seeking may or may not be conscious, she ex plained. It may be conscious, but not explainable unjil the sought becomes the found. But it must be sought, Dr. Myer emphasized. What makes people seek other cultures? One reason for the quest, according to Dr. Myer, is the "cult of conformity." When everything begins to be too much alike, she ex plained, people seek valid parts of other cultures. Search for Validity Thus, she said, we learn about other ways of life, other forms of art, other religions than those to which we are ac customed and try to bring what seems valid from them into our own lives and cul tures. There are other reasons as well for an awakening inter FINE FOODS Nebraska' 8 Largest Caterers Catering to Banquets, Parties and Picnics Office Phone ID 4-1413 SI J V l.....iu.uxjj-u.lt imi"'Uiiuii mmiiiujLg Seniors Faculty j ! RESERVE 3; - . 3 : CAP&G0WN I -now Sj FOR j j JULY COMMENCEMENT j MOHAWK CAP & GOWN CO. 1125 R St. UPSTAIRS 4 DOORS WEST NEBR. B00KST0K Art Sought est in the Orient and especi ally in Japan, she said. Mysterious Land One reason is the aura of mystery which surrounded Japan until it was "opened" for trade in the last century. Before and immediately after trade commenced, she ex plained, the "naivete" of the Western world about Japan was amazing. "The awareness of the East has expanded just incredibly in the last century," she said "It is a cliche tcay so, it is so obvious," Dr. Myer added. Common knowledge about Japan today, information known even to small children in modern America, was mys terious and unknown a cen tury ago. A book on Japanese art written in 1897, for example, had to devote considerable space to describing the slid ing paper walls of Japanese homes and to explaining the now-familiar ricksha, she ex plained. Knowledge Abounds Today, she said, "Just keeping one's eyes open one can acquire a considerable amount of knowledge" about Japan and the other Oriental nations. Popular magazines carry frequent articles on Oriental art and culture, Dr. Myer noted. Valuable information can be gleaned from articles on major acquisitions of mu seums, from descriptions of Golds OF NEBRASKA .MAGNIFICENT PAISLEY PRINT BY COQUETTE 5.98 Dark, Glowing Tonet For the Casual Look of Summer Into Fall The ever popular modi fy shirtdress in red or rreen paisley print. Sizes 10-20. EKSS35Jf GOLD'S House & Town Shop . . . Second Floor PLUS: S&H GREEN STAMPS w to hi C special art exhibits of Jap anese work, from news, fea ture and depth articles writ ten in and about Japan. Books that would have cost her $15 to $25 when she was in college, containingv prints of Japanese art, are sold to day in paperback from for $1.25, Dr. Myer said. "There is no excuse," with the possible exception of time, for any interested per son being unable to become informed about Oriental art and culture today, she said. Varied Influenced 'Beyond art, examples of Japanese and Oriental cul ture are all around us, she said, especially in home dec orations. "Every furniture manufac- turer in Grand Rapids mates a line of Japanese or Chi nese furniture," she com mented. Willoware Is an example of the Chinese influence in china, she said. Made in Eng land, Willoware shows a strong Eastern influence in its design. Today, she laughed, we can buy inexpensive imi tations of Willoware made in Shoji screens, familiar to most readers of home and women's magazines, are an other example of Japanese culture used widely in mod ern America. And what of the Japanese people? Is the influence two edged? In modern Japan "bright young things" work as secre taries and in stores, wearing the trimmest of Western sheaths, elegant in Western chemises' she said. . The Old: Elegant "The most sophisticated, Indifference to the East No Longer Feasible: Houn "An indifference to the de velopments in the Far East is no longer possible in the interest of peace for the world today," said Franklin W. Houn. , Houn is a guest lecturer in the Far Eastern Institute at the University this sum mer and will stay on next fall, he said. This summer Nehrankan Want Ails 5 cents a word; $1.00 mini mum. Ads to be printed in the classified section of tiie Sum mer Nebraskan must be ac companied by the name of the person placing: said ad. 't reward for return of 10-inch Dlwa lll.lt rule. Call OR 7-9724. Billfold, Ion In vicinity of the chem istry bl'lg. or the I'nion. If found nieafte return to Krancta Wlese, 1227 N IN -17T. I Fast Dependable s' i I One-Day , i Laundry and Cleaning Laundry and Gleaners 239 No. 14th KEN-EDDY'S DRIVE IN FOOD and FOUNTAIN SERVICE One of the Nation's Finest Drive In's 48th and "0" Street in Battle Against Conformity the most eleeant" of the mod em women of Japan, how ever, blend the East and the West, Dr. Myer said. They retain the Japanese lines of coiffure without the Old, lac quered look, she said, and are "simply elegant" in silk kimonos. This is the "ideal" use of another culture, she .added. The trend to adopt, then adapt the Western culture is typical of the Japanese adop tion and later adaptation of continental culture during and after the Buddhist mis sionary "movement of the 6th and 7th centuries, Dr. Myer explained. That missionary movement, similar in many aspects to the Christian missionary movement today, moved from India to China to Japan, she explained, and brought Chinese influence to Japan's culture as a whole and to Japanese art. Twin Streams Since that time, she said, Japanese and Chinese art forms have progressed like "two separate streams," moving together .than apart, always similar, always dis tinct. ( And always, when two cul tures influence each other, Dr. Myer added, the influ ence depends on what is be ing sought. w Zen and Zen The Western concept of Zen Buddhism was one example Dr. Myer used to show how the influence depends on the seeker and what is being sought. Much touted by modern Beatniks, Zen is, to them, ad mirable for its spontaneity he is teaching Far Eastern Politics and a seminar in in ternational relations. Raised in China Born and educated in China, he worked in the presidential office in China until 1948, when he came to the United States, he said. "It is important for Ameri cans as well as the people of other countries to have an understanding of the Far East today," Houn said. "The world is becoming smaller," Houn said, "a n d these countries are no longer so far off." "The rise of these countries in the Far East has made an understanding of Far Eastern politics more im portant to us," he added. "Communist China especi ally, is becoming a world power and its activities vit- HE 2-5262 1 Lincoln, Nebraska and inti!:iveness, she said. To her it is a great discipline. "You can't say that either view is wrong or that either is right," she said with a smile. "But they are differ ent." It would be as hard for her to understand Beatnik Zen as for Beatniks to understand her idea of Zen, she said, although both views derive from the same subject. Time Variations And what the 19th century impressionist painters, among the first to bring Japanese art to the West, sought and found there is different from what most modern artists find in the Japanese culture, she "said. Going to the s ame seg- meat of another culture at different times, people dis cover different facets of the same thing, she said. And at different times, people go to different segments of the same culture, depending upon what they are seeking. Art as a Confirmation Someone who experiments with an art form from an other culture, be it painting, sculpture, music or litera ture, is confirming his own ideas, not drawing upon something totally new to him, she said. Totally disparate ideas can not be combined, she ex plained. First some idea, con scious or not, must be held in common to be developed by mingling. Ideas Develop And knowledge, of course, develops ideas. Familiarity helps make ideas recogniz able and enables the mingling which brings varieties of cul ture together. ally affect us," Houn said. Communist China and Rus sia are attempting to separ ate the communist countries from the non-communist countries of the world, and their menace has become greater, Houn said. It is important that the non communist countries under stand the communist move ment, he said. Without this understanding it will not be possible to solve our prob lems in this area, he added. "In the past there has been indifference," Houn said. In difference or ignorance of the developments in the Far East is no longer possible 'if prob lems are to be solved and peace maintained, Houn ex plained. "We must be informed on Communist affairs in the world today," Houn said. Studied Red China After receiving his doctor ate, Houn did research work at the Library of Congress in Washington, he said. At Stan ford University Hdun con tinued his research on Com munist China, he added. He taught at Michigan State Uni versity, before going to Dubu que University in Iowa, he said. During the last ten years Houn has continued his study of Communist China, he said. He has had numerous books and articles published on this subject, he said. His forth coming book is entitled Pro paganda and Indoctrination in Communist China. One of his earlier books, published in 1957 and entitled Central Government of China 1912-1928, dealt with the Chi nese people's unsuccessful at tempt to develop a democracy patterned after those of. the West in the third decade of this century. i mm r w WUWDBID WORTH OF PERSONALITY" TOR. OWUY 9?4 V -Y "I "Almost every time I lec ture on Japanese art," Dr. Myer said, "someone says to me later, 'My father or my brother or my fiance' brought this back from Japan or from Korea." Thus increasing knowledge of Japan creates interest in Japanese culture. And inter est brings out new facets of Japanese culture. It is extremely interesting to follow the changes in the Eastern influence on Western art in the last century, Dr. Myer said, as the culture of the East moved from the mysterious unknown to the familiar. Servicemen Help A large part of the aver age American's knowledge of the East, she said, probably comes from returning serv icemen. How are Americans, who defeated, then occupied Ja pan received? Dr. Myer admitted she had "heard" of Japanese resent ment toward Americans, of rejection of the American way of life because of Amer ica's own unsolved problems. But "I have never talked with anyone who felt it in Japan," she added quickly. Dr. Myer explained that the word most frequently used to describe the Japanese by those who have visited Japan is "charming." Great Courtesy The Japanese people are I RUSS' SNACK BAR WELCOMES YOU Homemade Rolls Soft Drinks Pitt Cakaa 1227 R St. I if you h II wear J II i shoes . IJfH- jj ...Novs the time to jj jj complete your shoe j! jj wardrobe and save! jj II Choose from several hundred pairs of famous I I I I name Accent and Sandler heels. Many fashion- ! able styles in favorite colors. . j j Originally 12.95 NOW $7 j j I I For casual stepping choose from 400 pairs of 1 1 Accent, Sandler and Gem flats. 1 j Originally 6.95 to 10.95 NOW $5 j CAREER SHOE SHOP 1 1 I I FIRST FLOOR 1 1 Community Savings Stamp I II Shop daily 9:30 a 5:30, Thursdays 10 1:30 j j pi Ralphs Ralph J BEAUTY SALON . n11n,n o o SPECIAL o o ivith this coupon 20 Discount on MONDAY TUESDAY Pcrmancnts $10 rP Wednesday Phone HE 2-3444 1209 M Street "extremely courteous," she said. "If it is only superficial courtesy, it is well con cealed," she added. Dr. Myer should know. Her doctoral theisis, "Pre-Islamic Religious Architecture in Bihar and Bengal," is only a sampling of her study of the East. She has received awards from the American Council of Learned Societies, the Ameri can Association of University Women, the American Philos ophical Society and the Tu lane University Council on Research. Studied in Japan In 1957-58 she was granted a Senior Research Fellowship under the Fullbright program. Dr. Myer is a graduate of Oberlin College and has done graduate work at the New York University Institute of Fine Arts and Radcliffe Col lege. She has held staff and facul ty positions at the Cleveland Museum of Art, Mills College, Wellesley College, Mount Holyoke College, Smith Col lege and Newcomb College of Tulane University, where she is assistant professor of Art. Dr. Myer is the author of articles in "Artibus Asiae" and "The Art Bulletin." She has reviewed books for the "Journal of Aesthetics, Arti bus Asiae, Journal of the Society of Architectural His torians" and "Journal of Asian Studies." Air Conditioned Mutak WO WEST "O'ST, LINCOLN.NlEoH. vri i iTfiTrriTTi itii in m I r i rirrrn. IWMMSmMIM
