eat this and drink some tea

2014
240 pages
£85 + shipping

To coincide with a September 2014 exhibition in New York, Sydney L. Moss Ltd has published a beautiful book detailing 49 works of art related to Huangbo, in Japanese Ōbaku, Zen calligraphy, with several related paintings and a large teapot also making appearances to further underline the significance of these works. Professor Steve Addiss has contributed a very fine essay, as well as a few memorable stars from his own collection, last shown in his 1978 Ōbaku exhibition and publication.  Patricia Graham has contributed a comprehensive essay on Ōbaku and sencha (the Chinese-style steeped tea ceremony, effectively introduced to Japan by these selfsame immigrant Chinese calligrapher monks); and Paul Moss adds a more personal introduction, setting out his ideas of what Chinese calligraphy in Japan in the seventeenth century was all about.  The hardback book comprises 240 pages, with 121 colour illustrations, a seals appendix, a comprehensive bibliography and more.  Its state-of-the-art presentation is such that even non-enthusiasts will begin to get an appreciative clue of what the powerful dynamics and modulated subtleties of old Chinese-Japanese calligraphy entail.