日本美術展

承前*1

Arthur C. Danto Mysticism and Morality: Oriental Thought and Moral Philosophyの”Acknowledgment”に曰く、

In the conciliatory period of the late 1940s, the Japanese Government sent an exhibition of art to America which was to have an impressive effect upon American painting in the decade that followed. In my own case, I recall the almost cleansing impact of those clear forms and pure designs and light, unlabored atmospheres. I also recall the almost visceral revulsion I felt for the canvases of the High Venetian period I walked past upon leaving the Japanese show: they seemed indecently fat. This was a translation into aesthetic terms of a conflict in perspectives which motivates the present book. In any event, my interest in the Orient dates from then. (p.xiii)

1940年代後半といえばまだ日本は占領中だった筈だが、日本政府が米国で日本美術展をやっていたことは知らなかった。どんな作品を出展したのだろうか。鈴木大拙がコロンビアで教えて、それがジョン･ケージなどに影響を与えたというのは、この少し後？