RICHMOND, VA.- The Joel and Lila Harnett Museum of Art presents 77 Dances: Japanese Calligraphy by Poets, Monks, and Scholars, 1568-1868, through December 10, 2006. , 77 Dances: Japanese Calligraphy by Poets, Monks, and Scholars, 1568-1868, presents seventy-seven hanging scrolls, fan paintings, albums, poem cards, and ceramics, that examine the flowering of the art of writing during Japan’s early modern period. Each piece communicates the traditional belief that freedom of the brush is a true revelation of one’s personality and a means of individual _expression while allowing the viewer a glimpse into the culture that held calligraphy in such high esteem. 77 Dances: Japanese Calligraphy by Poets, Monks, and Scholars, 1568-1868, presents to Western audiences, for the first time, a full range of early modern Japanese calligraphy.

In East Asia, calligraphy has been considered the highest of all forms of art for more than fifteen centuries. Represented in this exhibition is artwork created during the Momoyama and Edo periods (1568-1868) when Japan was ruled by powerful shoguns, the arts flourished, and the interest in calligraphy was revitalized. During this early modern period, peace and prosperity replaced civil warfare, thus artistic production and patronage was greater than ever. The appreciation of calligraphy is due, in part by the noble position held by the scholar-artist and the expressive potential of more than fifty thousand characters written in six different forms of scripts with an infinite number of graphic variations. Calligraphy was practiced by classical and Chinese-style poets, Confucian scholars, literati artists, Zen monks, devotees of courtly waka poetry, and haiku. Although scripts and styles may be viewed in historical and cultural contexts, the primary focus of the exhibition revolves around an understanding of the works as individual dances of line and form in space.

Organized by the University of Richmond Museums, the exhibition was curated by Stephen Addiss, Tucker-Boatwright Professor in the Humanities-Art and Professor of Art History at the University of Richmond. The exhibition and publication are made possible in part with the generous support of The Blakemore Foundation, The Metropolitan Center for Far Eastern Art Studies, with additional funding from the University of Richmond’s Cultural Affairs Committee and the Louis S. Booth Arts Fund. An illustrated exhibition catalogue, published by Shambhala Publications, is available for purchase at the University of Richmond Museums. 77 Dances: Japanese Calligraphy by Poets, Monks, and Scholars, 1568-1868 will travel to the Birmingham Museum of Art, Alabama; the Herbert F. Johnson Museum of Art, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York; and the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens, Delray Beach, Florida.