Patrick Lennox Tierney

Patrick Lennox Tierney (1913- ) is a Japanologist academic in the field of art history, an emeritus professor of the University of Utah, a former Curator of Japanese Art at the Utah Museum of Fine Arts, [http://www.alumni.utah.edu/u-news/november06/mention.htm "Honorable Mention — Achievements of U of U Faculty, Staff, and Students,"] U-News & Views." November 2006.] a former Director of the Pacific Asia Museum, and a former Commissioner of Art and Monuments during the Allied occupation of Japan (1945-1952).Consulate General of Japan, Los Angeles: [http://www.la.us.emb-japan.go.jp/e_web/e_news_14.htm Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon (3rd class).] ]

In the Fall of 2007, the Japanese government acknowledged Tierney's life's work by conferring the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Neck Ribbon. Accompanying the the badge of the Order was a certificate explaining the award as recognition of the extent to which Tierney has "contributed to introducing Japanese fine arts." [Japan, Ministry of Foreign Affairs: [http://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/gaiko/protocol/pdfs/h19_au.pdf "2007 Autumn Conferment of Decorations on Foreign Nationals," p. 3.] ] The efforts of a lifetime have assisted in the propagation of better understanding of traditional Japanese culture in the United States. His visits to Japan every year have cumulatively contributed to exchanges in the art field between the United States and Japan. [see above] ]

Education and Academic Life

Tierney earned an undergraduate degree in Japanese Art at the University of California, Los Angeles; and he was awarded a Master of Arts degree from Columbia University. [see above] ]

He became a Professor in the Art Department at Pasadena City College. Later, he taught at the University of Utah, where he is today included amongst the faculty as an emeritus professor. [see above] ]

Commissioner of Art and Monuments

As Representative Commissioner of Art and Monuments for General Headquarters during the Allied Occupation of Japan, Professor Tierney was responsible for organizing and overseeing the repair and preservation of cultural sites, art, and monuments bombed and destroyed in Japan during World War II. [see above] ] After the end of his military service, Tierney stayed in Japan. In addition to engaging in research on Japanese art, he guided American schools in the study of art, which helped promote better understanding of Japanese history and culture amongst American children residing in Japan. [see above] ]

In the years which followed the war, Tierney would find himself disagreeing with the conventional assessment that Douglas MacArthur should be seen as an expert in Japanese culture. Based on his experiences working with MacArthur, Tierney would many years later assess MacArthur as culturally insensitive. [http://hnn.us/roundup/archives/41/2006/12/#32723 "MacArthur aide: U.S. must learn from errors,"] "Salt Lake Tribune." December 7, 2006.]

howa apology rebuffed

Toward the end of the occupation of his nation, Japanese Emperor Hirohito let it be known to SCAP that he was prepared to apologize formally to U.S. Gen. Douglas MacArthur for Japan's actions during World War II -- including an apology for the December 7, 1941 attack on Pearl Harbor. [see above] ]

As a staff officer working for the Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers (SCAP), Gen. Douglas MacArthur, his was a somewhat unique perspective on the occupation of Japan and on the events which unfolded in SCAP headquarters. His office was on the fifth floor of the Dai-Ichi Insurance Building in Tokyo, the same floor where MacArthur's suite of offices was located. He was there on the day the Emperor came to offer this apology; but when the emperor arrived, MacArthur refused to admit him or acknowledge him. Many years later, Tierney made an effort to explain the significance of what he had witnessed: "Apology is a very important thing in Japan. With us, we don't apologize unless we get caught with our hand in the cookie jar, but for the Japanese, there is a very strong sense of what an apology means." [see above] ]

Japanese Art

Across the span of decades, Tierney delved deeply into Japanese Art. The University of Utah's Marriott Library today holds close to 75,000 photographs taken by Professor Tierney -- all related to the art and architecture of the Far East, Southeast Asia, and especially Japan. [University of Utah: [http://www.lib.utah.edu/spc/photo/p479/p479.html Lennox Tierney Collection, PO479.] ] He has also donated close to 1500 books related to Japanese art history and Japanese art to the Clark Center for Japanese Art and Culture. This gesture was consistent with a lifetime of contributions towards the development of understanding amongst students and United States citizens towards Japanese art. As one of the pioneers in California engaged in the study of Japanese art, Professor Tierney's achievements in the propagation of Japanese art are notable. [see above] ]

Japanese Garden

Professor Tierney was a member of the San Diego Japanese Garden Reconstruction Committee, and is currently serving on the Board of Directors of Japanese Friendship Garden at San Diego. [Japanese Friendship Garden: [http://www.niwa.org/display/BoardofAdvisors.asp Directors] ] His participation has contributed to the preservation and maintenance of the garden. He involvement has helped introduce the beauty of the Japanese garden to those who visit the Japanese Friendship Garden at San Deigo's Balboa Park. [see above] ]

He continues to be active at age 93, teaching Ikebana at the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute in Bountiful, Utah (Spring 2008). [Osher Institute: [http://continue.utah.edu/dl/osher.pdf Ikebana, Spring 2008.] ]

elected works

* Tierney, Lennox. (1975). "Chanoyu as a Form of Non-Literary Art Criticism," [http://www.urasenke.or.jp/texte/study/book/image/chanoyu-quarterly.pdf "Chanoyu Quarterly,"] No. 11, pp. 12-16.
* _______________. (1962). [http://www.jstor.org/pss/3186678 "Double Image Slide Projection Technique,"] "Art Education," Vol. 15, No. 8, pp. 17-28.
* _______________. (1945) "Japan". Tokyo: [http://www.icf.or.jp/english/icf/index.html International Communications Foundation] , [http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000SN9RXA ASIN: B000SN9RXA] [reprinted 1961, [http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0007E4CIK ASIN: B0007E4CIK]
* _______________. (1999). [http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0879058498?p=S00A "Wabi Sabi: A New Look at Japanese Design."] Layton, Utah: Gibbs Smith Publishers. 10-ISBN 0-879-05849-8; 13-ISBN 978-0-879-05849-4 (cloth)

Honors

* 2007 -- Order of the Rising Sun. [see above] ]
* 2006 -- Reischauer International Education Award, Japan Society of San Diego and Tijuana (JSSDT) [see above] ]

References

Further Reading

* American Commission for the Protection and Salvage of Artistic and Historic Monuments in War Areas. (1946). "Report of the American Commission for the Protection and Salvage of Artistic and Historic Monuments in War Areas." Washington D.C.: U.S. Government Printing Office.
* Lee, Sherman E. (1997). "My Work in Japan: Arts and Monuments 1946-48," in "The Confusion Era: Art and Culture of Japan during the Allied Occupation 1945-52," ed. Mark Sandler. Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution.
* U.S. Department of State. "Foreign Relations of the United States" (FRUS) [NB. This is a publication of the State Department that serves as a key finding aid because the documents selected for printing include the source file designation.]
**__________________. (1944). "Interest of the United States in measures for the protection and salvage of artistic and historic monuments in war areas," "FRUS." (Vol. II, pp. 1031-1068.
**__________________. (1945). "Interest of the United States in measures for the protection and salvage of artistic and historic monuments in war areas," "FRUS." (Vol. II, pp. 933-957.

External links

* Japan, Ministry of Foreign Affairs: [http://www.mofa.go.jp/ICSFiles/afieldfile/2007/11/08/2007AutumnConfermentofDecor.pdf "2007 Autumn Conferment of Decorations on Foreign Nationals," p. 3 (in English)]
* Japan, Ministry of Foreign Affairs: [http://www.mofa.go.jp/mofaj/gaiko/protocol/pdfs/h19_au.pdf "2007 Autumn Conferment of Decorations on Foreign Nationals," p. 3 (in Japanese)]
* United Nations Association of Utah: [http://unau.org/page.html?article_id=153 "Arts & Culture in post-WWII Japan]