Ca’ Foscari Japanese Studies

L’estetica del vuoto: l’universo in un cerchio

crossmark logo

Abstract

The definition of the ‘aesthetics of emptiness’ could be problematic in itself and, perhaps, even misleading, since it is based on some assumptions that are almost taken for granted in the West but which have no correspondence in the East and, above all, in the Chinese and Japanese contexts. The problem derives, first of all, from considering aesthetics as a specific philosophical discipline in its own right. This idea is not at all confirmed in Japan since a distinction has never been made between theory and practice. So why do we talk about the aesthetics of emptiness? And, above all, in what forms and with what tools has Japan answered this question? This paper tries, through some specific examples, to address these issues and to propose some possible answers.


Open access | Peer reviewed

Submitted: Nov. 24, 2022 | Accepted: Jan. 24, 2023 | Published April 21, 2023 | Language: it

Keywords Japanese ink painting (sumie) • Aesthetics • Architecture and emptiness • Emptiness • Calligraphy-painting

Copyright © 2023 Silvia Vesco. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/978-88-6969-701-2/009


read this chapter