The Work of Elizabeth Keith a Painting Named the Cock Fight - Personal Statement Example

Michelle Wong ARTH. 438 Profeor Melia Belli November 3, 2008 Mueum Paper I viited the Aia Pacific mueum, which i one of the four mueum in the country, which pecialize in the art and culture of Aia and the Pacific region .the mueum contain a lot of art work from variou artit of Aia and Pacific region. The miion of the mueum i to make people aware and to teach them about the culture and art of the region, which i not well known to them (herman, 77-99) and the one that repreent the culture of Eat and Pacific region. I choe the work of Elizabeth Keith, a painting named, "The Cock Fight", which wa made in China in 1925. Thi paper preent the analyi of the painting called The Cock Fight. Thi painting i a depiction of lower cla Chinee culture during the early twentieth century. It depict one of the only form of entertainment available to the poor during thi period. Thi how their own way of enjoying the "blood port", which eem to be the only way to get their anger out, which wa building in them due to their failure of being the diadvantage cla of the ociety. Art repreent the hitory and culture of the region, and by diplaying the artwork of the artit from Aia and Pacific region they are actually demontrating the culture and hitory of the region. The mueum contain a lot of intereting and beautiful art piece by variou artit. The culpture are amazing, becaue they gave a good view of the culture and art of the region, and I aw many culpture of Buddha, made in Bronze, Gold etc. Elizabeth Keith 1887-1956 Elizabeth Keith wa born in cotland, and i known to be a great artit (Helen, 66). Her iter married an Englih publiher, who lived in the Aia and Pacific region and work in Japan at that time. Elizabeth went to Japan to meet her iter in1915, and tayed there for quiet a long time. he thought to explore the region and viited the neighboring countrie, uch a China, Korea and Philippine. he pent her time in water painting the intereting and facinating cene, which he witneed. he made quiet a number of painting in that time and when he came back in Japan to her iter, he wa able to hold an exhibition of her painting. After looking at her painting, the entrepreneurial Japanee print publiher, Watanabe chozaburo, peruaded her to move further on thi regard. He convinced her that hi carver and printer would produce woodblock print for ome of her watercolor painting and thi will enhance her work a an artit. Thi idea facinated Elizabeth Keith and he prolonged her tay in Japan, and tarted learning woodblock printing. Her work wa highly appreciated and he met ucce in Japan and her publiher wa ure that he would get a huge repone in Europe and America a well. (Waton, 54) Fritz Capelari, who wa an Autralian artit, influenced Elizabeth Keith work and Watanabe alo publihed hi work. Elizabeth Keith traveled a lot in Aia and epecially in Eat Aia and produced number of painting, which reflect the culture of the region. Her painting are very popular in United tate and European countrie and are counted a an important work when talked about the Aian and Pacific Art (herman, 11). Mot of her work wa diplayed in Watanabe tudio and wa detroyed in the earthquake, which hit Tokyo in 1923. he went to France to tudy art and tayed for almot ix year, but her love for the Eatern region made her come back to Japan and he tayed there for few year, until the World War II tarted. he came to United tate of America, where he completed the remaining year of her life and held an exhibition in Tokyo in her lat year. Cock Fight I aw her painting "The Cock Fight", in the mueum, which wa made in China, in 1925. It i a port in China, which i alo known a a blood port. It i a fight between two rooter, and i held in the ring, which i like a wretling ring, and thi ring i known a a cockpit. The owner of the cock, et pair of bird to fight, and gambling i a major factor in the fight. The term cockpit, wa alo ued in the ancient time, a in 16th century, it wa ued a a place, which wa ued for the entertainment purpoe and alo for the frenzied activity. We can ee the ue of thi term by the famou poet, William hakepeare, in Henry V, where it wa ued to decribe an area around the tage of the theater, which alo mean the place of entertainment. In the time of Tudor, the term, "cockpit" wa ued for a place, which wa in the "Palace of Wetminter", and it wa generally known a the "Cockpit-in-court". (Helen, Fred, Chritin and Mamiya, 33-42) The game of cockfighting i aid to begin back in the Indu Valley Civilization a long a 2000 BC. Thi game wa popular in India, China, Peria and other Aian countrie. Later it wa introduced in Greek, Europe, in the time of Themitocle (c. 534-460 BC), and became popular in other part of Europe a well. It wa popular in icily and Rome, and people like to pend their time in the port, which make them excited and enthuiatic. (Helen, Fred, Chritin and Mamiya, 33-42) When Elizabeth Keith aw cockfight in China, he liked the idea and her painting how not only the cock but alo the owner of the cock and the crowd. When looking at the crowd. It became clear that they are not rich people, they are the ordinary people, who came for thi entertainment after working for the whole day and there eem to have no other ource of entertainment for them. The owner of the cock are tanding with their cock and are repreenting their cock or may be encouraging them by making ound and action. There i a third peron tanding near them and it eem that he i a referee, who will make the deciion about the winner and the looer and will take appropriate action, if any injutice will take place from any ide. There i alway a chance that one of the owner can try to do omething againt the rule and referee will take action in thi cae. It i a mall hall, where the competition i being held and eem to be an old place a well. Thi how that cockfight wa a game of poor people and they enjoy it a lot. People are not only on the eat of the hall but alo in the gallerie too. The Crowd i chanting excitedly and they would definitely upporting one of their favorite cock. China ha alway been an overpopulated country and the people, hown in the painting do not eem like happy and rich people. Thee people look poverty tricken and deperate to have ome fun. It eem like the only entertainment of thee poor people, and they are aggreive a well. Their aggreivene might be a reult of their being deprived of baic neceitie of life and their right in their live. The people are taking out their aggreivene in thee violent game and are upporting cock to hit the other a trong a it can. It i the ign that thee people are the underprivileged cla of the ociety and are not given any right. Thee are the people who fight on mall thing and like to take out their anger in any way that they can. It i a poibility that the cockfight i followed by another fight between the two owner or the upporter of the both ide, a people can get eriou and violent if their cock looe the fight or any kind of injutice happen by the referee. Hitorical etting The Chinee revolution, particularly the revolution of 1925-27, i one of the greatet event in the whole hitory of mankind. Here wa a people kept virtually at the level of pack animal, the mot depied element a far a imperialim wa concerned, who did the work of beat, and were conidered very often to be of le value than beat. Yet it wa thee people who tepped onto the cene of hitory in a magnificent movement between 1925 and 1927, which if ucceful would have tranformed China and aved the Chinee people the agonie of the following 22 year. It would in turn have altered the whole face of the globe. World hitory would have taken an entirely different coure. On the eve of the revolution of 1925-27, China wa an extremely backward ociety that had not completed what Marxit call the tak of the capitalit revolution: i) a thoroughgoing land reform giving land to the peaant, which in turn could create an internal market; ii) the freeing of the productive force from the tranglehold exercied over the colonial and emi-colonial world by imperialim; iii) the unification of the country and development of the nation along modern line. Thee are the tak of the capitalit democratic revolution which were carrie out in Britain in the 17th century, and completed in the advanced capitalit world roughly between 1779-1879. China and mot of the colonial and emi-colonial world had not been able to carry through thee tak. China in 1925 wa a nation of 400-500 million people with the great majority of the population living off the land. Fifty-five percent of the population wa landle laborer. About 20 percent had narrow trip of land from which it wa impoible to get any real living. On the other hand, about 65 percent of the cultivatable land wa poeed by between 10 percent and 19 percent of the population. In early 1927 China wa poied on the brink of revolution. In the countryide, million of peaant had thrown the landlord out of their village and were haring out the land. In city after city, trade union and worker' militia were taking control. A nationalit army wa weeping acro outhern China, bruhing aide the old warlord. Yet that army turned on the worker and peaant who had enured their victory, drowning the revolution in blood. The econd half of 1927 aw a wave of repreion unleahed on all thoe who had dared to radically challenge the old order. Anyone upected of being a union member, peaant activit or left winger wa murdered or jailed. All hope of change eemed cloed off. The urviving member of the Chinee Communit Party (CCP) fled to remote mountain to hide. The repercuion of the repreion had an immene international effect. The revolution' defeat confirmed the iolation of Ruia, which had een a ocialit revolution in 1917. It helped enure the rie of Joeph talin to abolute power and the victory of hi counter-revolution in Ruia. 1927 wa one of the turning point of the lat century. A victory, which wa entirely poible, would have had a maive impact on the world. The revolution, which began in 1919, wa at firt a nationalit one, caued by the impact of imperialim on China over the previou 70 year. Beginning with the Opium War of the 1840 and 1850, European power and Japan took control of huge part of China. They built "conceion" in every major city - zone where foreign law, not Chinee, ruled. Ma import of manufactured European good ruined old indutrie. Fat changing pattern of trade devatated many area that had become dependent on ingle crop. The enormou upheaval greatly weakened the Chinee imperial government. In 1911 it imply fell apart. There wa no force that could replace it, and the country fell under the control of competing warlord, whoe battle only added to China' intability. The revolution of 1919 began with tudent demontration againt Japanee colonialim. Thi bloomed into a ma boycott of Japanee good in the citie. When hundred of tudent were arreted, ten of thouand of hanghai worker went on trike demanding their releae. Worker built ma trade union, which fought and won trike after trike. hanghai' cotton worker' wage roe by over 10 percent in the two year after 1919. Other group of worker did even better. In the 1920, un Yat-en etablihed a revolutionary bae in outh China and et out to unite the fragmented nation. With oviet aitance, he organized the Kuomintang (KMT or "Chinee Nationalit People' Party"), and entered into an alliance with the fledgling Chinee Communit Party (CCP). After un' death in 1925, one of hi protg, Chiang Kai-hek, eized control of the KMT and ucceeded in bringing mot of outh and central China under it rule. In 1927, Chiang turned on the CCP and executed many of it leader. In 1915, at age 28, Elizabeth traveled to Japan where he remained for nine year. When he left England, he had no idea that he would return nine year later. Her iter had married an Englih publiher living in Tokyo and her trip wa planned a a hort vacation. Elizabeth wa kept by the charm of Japan and the Aian culture and art. In her firt year in Japan, Elizabeth had a mall exhibition with caricature of foreign reident in Tokyo. From a trip to Korea he brought ome watercolor back. Watanabe, the hin Hanga publiher aw thee at an exhibition and convinced Elizabeth to tranform one into a woodblock print - a view of the Eat Gate in eoul. At that time he had never done a woodblock before. Although he did not perform the carving or printing herelf, he wanted to have a baic undertanding to upervie the proce. o for the next two year he learned the Japanee woodblock printmaking technique. Over the year Watanabe publihed more than hundred woodblock print by Mr. Keith. Her firt print were quite ucceful and he had exhibition not only in Japan, but in London and New York. In 1924 Elizabeth returned to England. Here he tarted learning color etching. Elizabeth wa back in Aia and Japan from 1932 to 1933 and again in 1935. In 1936 and 1937 he had exhibition in the UA. With World War II on the horizon, Elizabeth omehow got mentally caught between Eat and Wet. In 1956, the year of her death, he had a olo exhibition in Tokyo with 59 woodblock print and 8 color etching. Elizabeth Keith print are both rare and expenive. Price tart at around U$1,000. The reaon i imple. The number of printed copie were mall. At lifetime he could not ell higher edition. ome of her print were publihed in number of only 30 or 50 copie. Her portfolio conit of more than hundred woodblock print and about a dozen color etching. All of her print are igned in pencil. In thi he followed Wetern cutom. Japanee ukiyo-e artit igned their print uually in the block with ome exception in the twentieth century. Alo the Wetern habit of a limited edition wa unknown to Japanee printmaker. They produced a many print from one woodblock a they could poibly ell. And when the block wa ued up by too many impreion, a new woodblock wa carved - provided there wa enough demand from the market for new copie. Change in China Elizabeth prided herelf on being elf-taught, and wa a keen oberver and tudent who learned from everyone he met. In 1919 he exhibited her Korean watercolor and they caught the eye of hozaburo Watanabe who urged her to tranlate them into print form. With Watanabe' help, he produced over one hundred igned print which were very ucceful in Japan, London and Pari. Keith returned to England in 1924 where he tudied color etching. In 1927 her watercolor entitled, Korean Bride wa exhibited at the Royal Academy. In 1932 Keith returned to Japan where her iter, Jeie, helped to promote her work. With the war looming, Keith returned to England in 1936 and then had old-out exhibition in America in 1937. The outcome in 1927 proved him right. But it alo cemented talin' hold on power, eeming to prove that other revolution were impoible. In 1927 Chinee worker and peaant fought heroically againt all thoe who oppreed and exploited them. The tragedy of the Chinee revolution wa that the CCP miled and diarmed the worker and peaant in the interet of "national unity". Intead it hould have baed it trategy on the ditinct cla interet of the exploited againt all exploiter, whether foreign or Chinee. Concluion Elizabeth Keith wa a wetern women and thi cene would have inpired her a lot. The wetern countrie, at that time, were in a far better condition than the eatern countrie and for women like Elizabeth Keith, who wa enitive and in a habit of thinking deeply, thi cene touched her and he decided to paint her, o that he can how it to her countrymen and to the people in the other region, that how the people in Eat pent their time and what kind of entertainment do they have. he might be touched with the enthuiam and chanting of the crowd, which how their excitement about the game. he wa howing the cultural difference, which he dicovered in her trip and wa ready to hare it with the people in her part of the world. Work Cited herman, David M. Tending Animal in the Global Village. Blackwell Publihing. 46, (2002). Helen Gardner, Fred Kleiner, Chritin J. Mamiya, Gardener Art Though The Age, Thomon/Wadworth, 2004 Waton, W., The Art of China to AD 1900 (Yale Univerity Pre, 1995). herman, David M. (2002). Tending Animal in the Global Village. Blackwell Publihing. 46. Read More