[Deep Looking] A morning in Tokyo

As I write in my book [Deep Looking], I spent a morning looking at art works to train my deep looking muscles. I went to my favorite museum, the Asia Gallery (Toyokan) at The National Museum. Straight up to the fourth floor to the Chinese painting gallery. There is a good exhibition showing hanging scrolls from the Sung period. A scroll work depicting five horses by Li Gonglin (1049–1106) caught my attention, and I spent a long time slowly shuffling sideways to gaze at the picture.

Krishna and Radha Looking at Each Other, C19th, Kangra School, India

As usual, after this I went down to the B1 floor by elevator to see the Indian miniatures. The current selection is showing pictures of Krishna and Radha. These small pictures are just breath-taking. Each image invites you in, and manages to hold your attention. They seem simple, but emit a cosmic joyousness through patterns and earthy pinks and yellows. On this session I decided to listen to an alap (opening section of a raga) by the great Zia Mohiuddin Dagar playing the ancient Rudra Vina instrument. Its deep, slow sounds perfectly accompanied the deep looking experience.

Krishna and Radha Looking at Each Other, C19th, Kangra School, India

I was transported to a time beyond 'clock time', and experienced what the philospher Henri Bergson called 'duration' - a flowing, intermingling time when pasts mix with the present. Listening to music when looking at Indian miniature paintings is actually not unusual. The practice of looking at 'Ragamala' pictures was also accompanied by music and poetry, probably while enjoying food, drinks and the company of friends. The Indian miniatures gallery is a little hidden at the rear of a textiles gallery. It is one of the ‘hidden gems’ of Tokyo museums.

The Indian miniatures gallery at Toyokan, National Museum Tokyo.