Bamboo and Rocks, Okada Beisanjin

Exhibition Label: "Nature/Natural," Jul-2014, Kris Ercums In this painting, bamboo and rocks stand paired in harmony. The long black leaves of bamboo are brushed with bold strokes, while the rocks are textured with grey diagonal strokes which echo the leaves. The coupling of bamboo and rocks was favored in East Asian painting because bamboo stays fresh and green through the harsh winter, and rocks symbolize resilience and solidity, thus representing literati ideals of perseverance over adversity. Okada Beisanjin was a major Japanese nanga 南画 painter, aspiring to incorporate Chinese literati values and principles into his art and life. Although Beisanjin made his living as a rice merchant, he was well-regarded as a Confucian scholar, versed in Chinese literature and history. In this painting, Beisanjin demonstrates his mastery of brush and ink, expressing the resilience and solidity that bamboo and rocks symbolize. Archive Label date unknown: Beisanjin, who was a self-taught poet, calligrapher, and painter from Osaka, brushed this bamboo in his final year. Bamboo is admired for its endurance, and Beisanjin has emphasized its strength by painting the long black leaves with bold slashes of the brush. The rocks are textured with grey diagonal strokes echoing the leaves. Above he has inscribed the following poetic couplet: The wind comes to stir the bamboo And whisks the rocks clean of dust. The reference to dust is common in Zen-flavored East Asian poetry, suggesting that worldliness must be avoided in order to view life clearly.