ART REVIEW : Symbols, Philosophy of ‘Zen’ at Pomona

Rule No. 1 in The Sensitive Person’s Guide to Art Appreciation: Look at the art and not the labels.

The rule is worth breaking for fascinating labels written by Bruce Coats for “Zen Through the Ages: Paintings from the Sanso Collection,” at Pomona College’s Montgomery Gallery (to Feb. 14). Coats, a professor of Asian art at neighboring Scripps College, delves into symbolism, Zen philosophy and Japanese variations on a style of painting that came from China. He also translates passages of calligraphy that might otherwise be passed off as pretty squiggles.

We’d be rather dense not to guess that the scowling, bushy-eyebrowed fellow who concentrates so furiously in paintings is Bodhidharma, the first patriarch of Zen Buddhism who preached about enlightenment through intuition. But without Coats’ help, we might forget the practices of his disciples, some of whom retreated to mountainous areas and meditated for years at a time.

Fugai Ekun (1568-1654), one of the artist-monks represented, is said to have hung paintings outside his cave when he was hungry. Watchful villagers would exchange food for artworks that chronicled his moods through the faces of his subjects.

One label explains that a “Monk’s Staff and Fly Whisk” is a certificate of enlightenment, granted to a Zen disciple who has solved the famous koan, “What is the sound of one hand clapping?” Another tells us that a “Blind Man With a Lantern” by Sengai Gibon represents people who have knowledge but lack true wisdom.

A rice threshing mill on a painting by Hakuin Ekaku symbolizes Zen’s sixth patriarch and that accompanying text recounts his visit to a whorehouse. Racy stuff, but it is the nature of Zen to be surprising; lessons of the faith often come from unexpected sources.

The grinning fools who turn up in some works are revered “eccentrics” who transcend the mundane world shunned. One particularly charming character, called Pu-tai, appears as the original bag person in a work by Fugai Ekun. According to legend, Pu-tai roamed the country stuffing every appealing oddment into a bag far bigger than he was.

The 39 ink paintings (executed during the 14th through 19th centuries) are mounted on long, vertical scrolls of patterned paper and silk. They come from a vast private collection whose owner requests anonymity.

While the images and text reveal fascinating tenets of faith and philosophy, the show also offers information on the development of an imported art form.

The Buddhist sect of Zen (a Japanese term for meditation) is said to have originated in India. Bodhidharma, an Indian monk, is credited with introducing Zen to China in AD 520. A purist sect that rejected ceremonies, scriptures and trappings of other Buddhist groups, Zen flourished in China from the 7th through the 15th centuries and infiltrated Japan around the 12th Century.

In China and Japan, Zen followers advocated enlightenment as an individual quest, insisting that insight arrives in intuitive flashes. Likewise, the art we now associate with Zen consists of a few inspired brush strokes, set down quickly after a period of silent concentration.

About half the works exhibited at Pomona College conform to this notion. But others are far more painterly--softly graded in tone, delicately detailed and set forth in complicated compositions. In short, they look like Chinese paintings. There are misty landscapes, depictions of a “White-Robed Kannon” (a deity identified with compassion and mercy) and formal portraits of Chinese monks who moved to Japan during the 17th Century. They and their predecessors spread not only their faith but a form of painting that provided decoration for Japanese temples and visual documentation of spiritual understanding.

Montgomery Gallery, at 333 College Way in Claremont, is open daily, 1-5 p.m. Information: (714) 621-8283.