“A CONSTANT FLOW OF LIGHT”: The Influence of Asian Art on the work of Colin McCahon

Abstract

This thesis aims to assess the extent of the influence of Asian art on the work of New Zealand artist Colin McCahon (1919-1987). What began as a general exploration into links between McCahon and Japanese artist Tomioka Tessai (1837-1924) has gradually expanded to an analysis into what kinds of Asian art McCahon was exposed to throughout his artistic career and whether an argument can be sustained that an Asian influence is detectable in his works throughout the decades following. McCahon’s sources of influence are identified in the existing scholarship as being mainly Western with the notable exception of a 2012-2013 article “Reticence Despite Ratification: McCahon’s Take on Tessai,” written by a postgraduate student at the University of Otago, Matthew Larking. This Eurocentrism is largely due to McCahon’s work not being well-known outside English-speaking countries and Europe, and as a result McCahon scholarship is largely dominated by Western writers who ignore or undermine the influence of Asian art on McCahon’s work. In order to establish the full extent of the influence of Asian art on McCahon’s work, this thesis details the kinds of Asian art which were on display in New Zealand during McCahon’s early artistic career, both in public galleries and museums, before shifting to discuss the circumstances in which McCahon and other New Zealand artists working contemporaneously were exposed to these works. In addition to engaging with a wide range of authoritative secondary sources on McCahon, this thesis proves that McCahon’s style shifted upon his return to New Zealand as a result of his engagement with the Asian art he saw in the United States. This thesis concludes by analysing how McCahon interacted with Asian art in the 1960s and 1970s, during his years teaching at Elam and then when he finally worked as a full-time artist, and argues that McCahon maintained a strong interest in Asian art which is reflected in his work.