Podcasts about Edo period

Period of Japanese history

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Best podcasts about Edo period

Latest podcast episodes about Edo period

Engines of Our Ingenuity
The Engines of Our Ingenuity 2441: Temple Geometry

Engines of Our Ingenuity

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 27, 2025 3:50


Episode: 2441 Temple Geometry: Sacred Mathematics in Japan's Edo Period.  Today, temple geometry.

The Unfinished Print
Karen Kunc : Printmaker - Concepts of Distance

The Unfinished Print

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 10, 2025 57:32


Mokuhanga can be a standalone medium or combined with other artistic practices, offering endless opportunities for experimentation and creative exploration. In this episode of The Unfinished Print: A Mokuhanga Podcast, I speak with printmaker Karen Kunc, who has worked with mokuhanga for many years. She integrates it into her broader printmaking practice, which includes book arts, mixed media, letterpress, Western woodblock, and more. We discuss her early encounters with mokuhanga, her travels to Japan, and her experience printing with Akira Kurosaki. Karen also shares how nature influences her work, the importance of taking creative risks, and her perspective on mokuhanga today. Plus, we talk about her own Constellation Studios and its role in her artistic journey. Please follow The Unfinished Print and my own mokuhanga work on Instagram @andrezadoroznyprints or email me at theunfinishedprint@gmail.com Notes: may contain a hyperlink. Simply click on the highlighted word or phrase. Artists works follow after the note if available. Pieces are mokuhanga unless otherwise noted. Dimensions are given if known. Print publishers are given if known. Karen Kunc - website, Instagram  Aqua Alta - 26" x 72", woodcut Jocelyn Art Museum - is a fine arts museum located in Omaha, Nebraska, USA. The museum was opened in 1931. More info, here. The Agony and The Ecstasy   - is a biographical novel by the American author Irving Stone (1903-1989). It goes into detail of the life of Michelangelo Buonarroti (1475-1564). The novel was published in 1961.  Awaji Island - located in Japan's Seto Inland Sea, has a rich history dating back to ancient times. According to the Kojiki(Records of Ancient Matters), it is considered the birthplace of Japan—the first island created by the gods Izanagi and Izanami in Japanese mythology. Historically, Awaji played a vital role as a strategic hub for maritime trade and travel, connecting the Kansai region with Shikoku and Kyushu. During the Edo period, it was governed as part of the Tokushima Domain under the Hachisuka clan. Today, Awaji is renowned for its natural beauty, traditional industries such as Awaji Ningyō Jōruri (puppet theater), and its connection to mainland Japan via the Akashi Kaikyō Bridge—the world's longest suspension bridge. Kyoto Seika University - located in Kyoto, Japan, is a leading private institution specializing in art and design education. It offers undergraduate and graduate programs in fields such as painting, sculpture, graphic design, and manga. Known for its rigorous curriculum, Kyoto Seika emphasizes both practical skills and creative expression. With a strong tradition of nurturing talented artists and designers, the university fosters a dynamic environment that encourages innovation and artistic growth. Akira Kurosaki (1937-2019) - was one of the most influential woodblock print artists of the modern era. His work, while seemingly abstract, moved people with its vibrant colour and powerful composition. He was a teacher and invented the “Disc Baren,” which is a great baren to begin your mokuhanga journey with. At the 2021 Mokuhanga Conference in Nara, Japan there was a tribute exhibit of his life works. Azusa Gallery has a nice selection of his work, here. Aurora - 13" x 17" colour woodcut (1982)  ukiyo-e - is a multi colour woodblock print generally associated with the Edo Period (1603-1867) of Japan. What began in the 17th Century as prints of only a few colours, evolved into an elaborate system of production and technique into the Meiji Period (1868-1912). With the advent of photography and other forms of printmaking, ukiyo-e as we know it today, ceased production by the late 19th Century.  Utagawa Kuniteru (1808-1876) Sumo Wrestler (1861) Peter Max - is an American artist who is associated with the American Pop Art movement of the 1950's and 1960's. He used vibrant colours in his work. Max's art was seen on posters, paintings, even running shoes. More info, here.  Outer Spectrum - serigraph 8.75" x 12.5" (1978)  Mary Brodbeck - is a mokuhanga printmaker, based in Kalamazoo, Michigan. She has been producing mokuhanga for nearly 25 years. Her work refelcts nature, and the power it contains. Mary's interview with The Unfinished Print can be found, here.  GAZE - 10" x 14"  MI Lab - is a mokuhanga artists residency located in Awatabe Town, Echizen City, Fukui, Japan.  More info can be found, here.  Center For The Science of Human Endeavor - also known in Japanese as 一般社団法人産業人文学研究所  is a program to "research, study, design for a life style in the 21st Century," and is associated with MI Lab.  There is a brick and mortar gallery located in Shinbashi, Tōkyō.  McClains Woodblock Print Supply Co.  - based in Portland, Oregon, McClain's is the go-to supplier of woodblock print tools in the United States. Their website can be found here. The Unfinished Print: A Mokuhanga Podcast interview with Daniel Jasa of McClain's can be found here. nishinouchi paper - is a Japanese washi which is produced in Nishinouchi Kami no Sato, located in Hitachiomiya City, Ibaraki, Japan. More info can be found, here.  The Japanese Paper Place- is a Toronto based Japanese paper store servicing the mokuhanga and arts community in Toronto and around the world for many years. Nancy Jacobi of The JPP and her interview with The Unfinished Print: A Mokuhanga Podcast can be found,  here. Constellation Studios - is the studio of Karen Kunc located in Lincoln, Nebraska, USA. More info can be found, here.  Penland School of Craft - is a school which welcomes students from all over the world. Located in North Carolina, the school offers eight-week workshops in many different types of mediums. More info, here.  Anderson Ranch Arts Center - since the 1960s, Anderson Ranch Arts Center, located in Colorado, has been a beacon for the arts in the United States. The Ranch offers master classes, workshops, artist-in-residence programs, and more. For additional information, please click here. Virginia Center for the Creative Arts (VCCA) - founded in 1971, is located at Mt. San Angelo in Amherst, Virginia. It provides residency opportunities for artists and writers across various disciplines, offering a supportive environment for creative work. More info can be found, here.  Wayne Crothers - is an Australian mokuhanga printmaker, curator and artist who lives in Japan.  Patricia Olynyk - is a Canadian multimedia artist, photographer,  who resides in The United States. Patricia's work explores the way " social systems and institutional structures shape our understanding of our place in the world." More information can be found, here.  Oculus - digital sculpture  Ralph Kiggell (1960-2022) -  was one of the most important mokuhanga practitioners. Originally from England, Ralph lived and worked in Thailand. Ralph pushed the boundaries of mokuhanga with extremely large pieces, jigsaw carving, and by using fantastic colour. He also worked with the International Mokuhanga Conference to promote mokuhanga around the world. He will be greatly missed. Ralph's work can be found, here. His obituary in The Guardian can be found, here. His interview with The Unfinished Print: A Mokuhanga Podcast can be found, here. Park Winter Tuula Moilanen - is a Finnish mokuhanga printmaker and painter based in Finland. She lived and studied in Kyōto from 1989 to 2012, where she learned her printmaking at Kyōto Seika University and from printmaker Akira Kurosaki (1937–2019). Her work can be found here. Her interview with The Unfinished Print: A Mokuhanga Podcast can be found here. Daizuyama - 23cm x 34cm (2009)  Kari Laitinen - is a Finnish artist and printmaker based in Finland. His works explore colour and dimension. More information can be found, here. He helped write, with Tuula Moilanen, the book Woodblock Printmaking with Oil-based Inks and the Japanese Watercolour Woodcut. It was published in 1999. Dimensions VII - 48cm x 76cm (2017) Venice Printmaking Studio - is a printmaking residency located in Murano, Italy. Malaspina Printmakers - is a printmaking residency located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. MNmore info, here.  Annu Vertanen - is a Finnish printmaker who has used mokuhanga in her work. Annu is currently a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts, University of the Arts Helsinki.  Aspect Guanlan I - 95cm x 65cm  © Popular Wheat Productions Opening and closing musical credit - Bruce Springsteen, Atlantic City (1982). From the album Nebraska (Columbia Records) logo designed and produced by Douglas Batchelor and André Zadorozny  Disclaimer: Please do not reproduce or use anything from this podcast without shooting me an email and getting my express written or verbal consent. I'm friendly :)  Слава Українi If you find any issue with something in the show notes please let me know. ***The opinions expressed by guests in The Unfinished Print podcast are not necessarily those of André Zadorozny and of Popular Wheat Productions.***          

La Guerra Grande
(SPECIALE) Ascesa e guerre del Giappone Imperiale II (La guerra contro la Cina e la nascita dell'imperialismo)

La Guerra Grande

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 9, 2025 47:27


In questo secondo episodio speciale, vedremo come l'Impero nipponico, per la prima volta dopo la modernizzazione, abbia gettato uno sguardo oltre i propri confini. Per ottenere il predominio in Asia Orientale ed essere trattato alla pari dalle potenze occidentali, il Giappone dovrà confrontarsi militarmente con la Cina.Seguimi su Instagram: @laguerragrande_podcastSe vuoi contribuire con una donazione sul conto PayPal: podcastlaguerragrande@gmail.comScritto e condotto da Andrea BassoMontaggio e audio: Andrea BassoFonti dell'episodio:Michael R. Auslin, Toshihiko Kishi, Hanae Kurihara Kramer, Scott Kramer, Barak Kushner, Olivia Morello, Kaoru (Kay) Ueda, Fanning the Flames: Propaganda in Modern Japan, 2021 Rosa Caroli, Francesco Gatti, Storia del Giappone, Laterza, 2007 Chonin, Encyclopaedia Britannica L. M. Cullen, A History of Japan, 1582–1941: Internal and External Worlds, Cambridge University Press, 2003 Giuliano Da Frè, Storia delle battaglie sul mare, Odoya, 2014 John W. Dower, War Without Mercy: Race and Power in the Pacific War, Pantheon, 1986 Peter Duus, Modern Japan, Houghton Mifflin, 1998 Peter Duus, The Abacus and the Sword: The Japanese Penetration of Korea, University of California Press, 1998 Bruce Elleman, Modern Chinese Warfare, 1795–1989, Routledge, 2001 Gabriele Esposito, Japanese Armies 1868–1877: The Boshin War and Satsuma Rebellion, Osprey Publishing, 2020 David Evans, Mark Peattie, Kaigun: strategy, tactics, and technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887–1941, Naval Institute Press, 1997 Allen Fung, Testing the Self-Strengthening: The Chinese Army in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895, Modern Asian Studies 30, 1996 Hane Mikiso, Modern Japan: A Historical Survey Sue Henny, Jean-Pierre Lehmann, Themes and Theories in Modern Japanese History: Essays in Memory of Richard Storry, A&C Black, 2013 James Huffman, Modern Japan: An Encyclopedia of History, Culture, and Nationalism, Garland Reference Library of the Humanities, Routledge, 1997 Marius Jansen, The Making of Modern Japan, Harvard University Press, 2002 Kim Jinwung, A History of Korea: From "Land of the Morning Calm" to States in Conflict, Indiana University Press, 2012 Philip Jowett, China's Wars: Rousing the Dragon 1894–1949, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2013 Donald Keene, Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World, 1852-1912, Columbia University Press, 2002 Liu Kwang-Ching, The Cambridge History of China, Late Ch'ing, 1800–1911, Cambridge University Press, 1978 James McClain, Japan, a modern history, Norton, 2001 Naotaka Hirota, Steam Locomotives of Japan, Kodansha International Ltd, 1972 Piotr Olender, Sino-Japanese Naval War 1894–1895, MMPBooks, 2014 Christopher Paik, Abbey Steele, Seiki Tanaka, Constraining the Samurai: Rebellion and Taxation in Early Modern Japan, International Studies Quarterly 61, 2017 Sarah Paine, The Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895: Perceptions, Power, and Primacy. Cambridge University Press, 2003 Pebrina, Treccani Christian Polak, Silk and Light: 100-year history of unconscious French-Japanese cultural exchange (Edo Period – 1950), Hachette, 2001 Richard Ponsonby-Fane, Kyoto: the Old Capital of Japan, 794–1869, 1956 Mark Ravina, To Stand with the Nations of the World: Japan's Meiji Restoration in World History, Oxford University Press, 2017 Edwin Reischauer, Storia del Giappone, Bompiani, 2013 Chris Rowthorn, Giappone, EDT, 2008 Michael Seth, A History of Korea: From Antiquity to the Present, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2010 John Sewall, The Logbook of the Captain's Clerk: Adventures in the China Seas, Chas H. Glass & Co., 1905 Lawrence Sondhaus, Naval Warfare, 1815–1914, Routledge, 2001 Henry Van Straelen, Yoshida Shoin Forerunner Of The Meiji Restoration, Brill, 1952 Conrad D. Totman, Japan before Perry: a short history, University of California Press, 1981 Trudy Ring, Robert M. Salkin, Paul E. Schellinger, Sharon La Boda, Noelle Watson, Christopher Hudson, Adele Hast, International Dictionary of Historic Places: Asia and Oceania, Taylor & Francis, 1994 Jacopo Turco, Come ha fatto il Giappone a diventare così ricco?, Nova Lectio, 2024 Howard Van Zandt, Pioneer American Merchants in Japan, Tuttle Publishing, 1984 Arthur Walworth, Black Ships Off Japan: The Story of Commodore Perry's Expedition, Read Books, 2008In copertina: Nessun nemico resiste dove noi ci rechiamo: la resa di Pyongyang, stampa di  Migita Toshihide, 1894, Metropolitan Museum of ArtIshikari Lore di Kevin MacLeod è un brano concesso in uso tramite licenza Creative Commons Attribution 4.0. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/Fonte: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100192Artista: http://incompetech.com/

The Unfinished Print
Toyohara Kunichika (1835-1900) - with Dr. Monika Hinkel

The Unfinished Print

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 28, 2025 91:51


Toyohara Kunichika (1835-1900) is considered one of the last great ukiyo-e print designers of Japan. His evocative works helped shape some of the most significant prints from the latter era of ukiyo-e and burgeoning Meiji nishiki-e. I welcome back to the show Dr. Monika Hinkel, Lecturer in the Arts of East Asia at SOAS (the School of Oriental and African Studies) at the University of London and an Academic Member of the Japan Research Centre where we explore Kunichika's life and career. We discuss Kunichika's upbringing in Edo-period Japan (1603–1868), his training at the Utagawa School, and his evolution as an ukiyo-e artist. We discuss Kunichika's creative process, the woodblock production methods of the Edo and Meiji periods, and his favoured themes—kabuki actors, and beautiful women. We also discuss how Kunichika subtly incorporated Japan's emerging modernity into his designs. Lastly, Dr. Hinkel and I share our personal stories about why we have such an affinity for Toyohara Kunichika and his work. Please follow The Unfinished Print and my own mokuhanga work on Instagram @andrezadoroznyprints or email me at theunfinishedprint@gmail.com  Notes: may contain a hyperlink. Simply click on the highlighted word or phrase. Artists works follow after the note if available. Pieces are mokuhanga unless otherwise noted. Dimensions are given if known. Print publishers are given if known. Ichikawa Sandanji I (1842-1904) as Akiyama Kiimori from New Plays for the Meiji Theatre (1894) Published by Akiyama Buemon ukiyo-e - is a multi colour woodblock print generally associated with the Edo Period (1603-1867) of Japan. What began in the 17th Century as prints of only a few colours, evolved into an elaborate system of production and technique into the Meiji Period (1868-1912). With the advent of photography and other forms of printmaking, ukiyo-e as we know it today, ceased production by the late 19th Century.  Utagawa School - was a school of print designers starting with Utagawa Toyoharu (1735-1814). He employed one point perspective (vanishing point) in his print designs, being influenced by Western perspective. The influence of the Utagawa school goes far in Japanese print history and one of its most successful. This schools print designs of kabuki portraits, beautiful women (bijin-ga), and landscapes are excellent. Some famous names attributed to the Utagawa school are Utamaro (1753-1806), Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865), and Ando Hiroshige (1797-1858). A fine description of this school can be found, here at Artelino.  Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1798-1861) - is considered one of the last “masters” of the ukiyo-e genre of Japanese woodblock printmaking. His designs range from landscapes, samurai and Chinese military heroes, as well as using various formats for his designs such as diptychs and triptychs.   The Mirror of Women of Wisdom and Courage - Princess Chujo (1843) Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865) is widely regarded as one of the most significant woodblock print designers in Japanese history. His diverse portfolio includes prints ranging from landscapes and books to erotica and sumo. Kunisada worked during the vibrant era of nishiki-e alongside notable artists such as Andō Hiroshige (1797-1858), Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849), and the aforementioned Kuniyoshi. This period represents a rich and abundant chapter in Japanese woodblock print history. Beauty in a Mirror - Beauty Applying Perfume On Her Neck (date unknown)  Kobayashi Kiyochika (1847-1915) - was a painter and woodblock print designer famous for his war prints on the First Sino-Japanese War (July 25, 1894- April 17, 1895). Kiyochika captured the transitional period in Japanese history as the country underwent rapid modernization and Westernization during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.   Light House at Kudan On A Rainy Night ca. 1930's   Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839-1892) -  was a mokuhanga designer who is famous for his prints depicting violence and gore. His work is powerful, colourful, and one of the last vibrant moments of the ukiyo-e genre of woodblock prints. More information about Yoshitoshi's life and his copious amount of work can be found, here.     Rising moon over Mount Nanping - Cao Cao (1885)   nishiki-e (錦絵) - is the Japanese phrase for multi-colour woodblock prints, otherwise known as brocade pictures. Usually attributed to the Meiji period (1868-1912).   © Popular Wheat Productions opening and closing credit - Evening Chimes in Japan logo designed and produced by Douglas Batchelor and André Zadorozny  Disclaimer: Please do not reproduce or use anything from this podcast without shooting me an email and getting my express written or verbal consent. I'm friendly :)  Слава Українi If you find any issue with something in the show notes please let me know. ***The opinions expressed by guests in The Unfinished Print podcast are not necessarily those of André Zadorozny and of Popular Wheat Productions.***  

The iServalanâ„¢ Show
Sex It Up, A History of Erotic Art by Sarnia de la Maré FRSA Chapter 2 #arthistory

The iServalanâ„¢ Show

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 27, 2025 10:02


 https://www.iservalan.com https://www.taletellerclub.comChapter 2: Classical Antiquity – Pleasure, Power, and Myth(Greece, Rome, India, China, Japan)Erotic Art in the Classical World: Sensuality, Divinity, and the Human FormThe civilizations of Greece and Rome profoundly shaped Western attitudes toward eroticism, beauty, and the human body. Meanwhile, in Asia, India, China, and Japan developed their own rich traditions of erotic art, where sexuality was intertwined with spirituality, aesthetics, and philosophy. Across these cultures, erotic imagery was not just about desire—it was deeply connected to mythology, religious devotion, and social identity.The Greek Celebration of the Nude and the DivineAncient Greek art (c. 800–146 BCE) is renowned for its idealized representations of the human form, including sensual and erotic depictions. Unlike later Western traditions, which often moralized sexuality, the Greeks saw eroticism as an essential aspect of life, closely tied to their gods, heroes, and social structures.The Male Nude and Homoeroticism in Greek ArtGreek sculptures and vase paintings frequently depicted the nude male body as a symbol of beauty, strength, and divine perfection. The kouroi (statues of young men) and later the works of sculptors like Phidias, Polykleitos, and Praxiteles showcased a balance of realism and idealism.Homoeroticism played a significant role in Greek culture, particularly in the institution of pederasty, where older men (erastai) mentored and formed relationships with younger men (eromenoi). While controversial today, these relationships were embedded in Greek education, social bonding, and military camaraderie. Erotic vase paintings and sculptures, such as those on the Warren Cup, openly depicted same-sex relationships without stigma.Aphrodite and the Feminine EroticThe goddess Aphrodite, associated with love and beauty, was a central figure in Greek erotic art. The first known fully nude female sculpture, Aphrodite of Knidos by Praxiteles (c. 360 BCE), marked a shift in the portrayal of female sensuality. While earlier depictions of women were clothed, this work introduced the eroticized nude female body as an artistic norm in Western art.Rome: Eroticism, Excess, and Moral ContradictionsThe Romans inherited much from Greek artistic traditions but added their own flair for luxury, satire, and explicit eroticism. Roman erotic art ranged from refined frescoes in wealthy villas to bawdy graffiti in brothels, revealing a culture that embraced sexuality in both elite and everyday contexts.Pompeii and Herculaneum: A Window into Roman EroticismThe eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 79 CE preserved vast amounts of erotic art in Pompeii and Herculaneum, offering an unparalleled glimpse into Roman attitudes toward sexuality. Frescoes from the Villa of the Mysteries and Lupanar (brothel) depict explicit scenes, suggesting that sexuality was not hidden but woven into public and private life.One of the most famous artifacts, the Priapus fresco, shows the god Priapus weighing his exaggerated phallus against a bag of money—a humorous but symbolic image of fertility and prosperity. Romans often associated large phallic imagery with protection, luck, and virility.Satire and Social Commentary in Roman EroticaWhile erotic art was common, Rome also saw moral pushback against sexual excess. Writers like Ovid (Metamorphoses, Ars Amatoria) celebrated love and seduction, while others, like Juvenal, satirized the decadence of Roman society. The Augustan moral reforms (1st century BCE) attempted to impose sexual restraint, yet erotic art continued to flourish, reflecting the contradictions within Roman attitudes toward pleasure.Erotic Art in Ancient India: The Sacred and the SensualEroticism in ancient India was deeply entwined with spirituality, particularly through Hinduism and Tantra. Unlike in the West, where sexuality was often seen in opposition to religious purity, Indian art frequently depicted sensuality as an extension of divine energy.Temple Eroticism: Khajuraho and KonarkThe Khajuraho temple complex (c. 950–1050 CE) and the Konark Sun Temple (c. 13th century CE) feature intricate sculptures of deities, lovers, and erotic acts. These reliefs, far from being mere decoration, reflect the Hindu belief that sexual union mirrors cosmic unity and divine creation.The Kama Sutra and Indian Erotic TextsAttributed to Vātsyāyana, the Kama Sutra (3rd century CE) is one of the most famous texts on love and eroticism. Contrary to its popular perception as a sex manual, it is a sophisticated treatise on pleasure, relationships, and aesthetics. Accompanying illustrations in later manuscripts helped visualize its teachings, making it one of the most influential works of erotic literature.Erotic Art in Ancient China: Daoism and Sensual BalanceIn China, erotic art was shaped by Confucian ideals, Daoist philosophy, and later Buddhist influences. While Confucianism promoted restraint, Daoism embraced sexuality as a path to harmony and longevity.Daoist Sexual Arts and Painted ScrollsDaoist texts, such as the "Art of the Bedchamber", describe sexual practices believed to extend life and health. Erotic scroll paintings from the Tang (618–907 CE) and Song (960–1279 CE) dynasties often depicted intimate scenes with poetic inscriptions, emphasizing sensuality rather than crude explicitness.Later, during the Ming (1368–1644) and Qing (1644–1912) dynasties, erotic books known as "spring pictures" (春宫图) became popular among the elite, blending humor, philosophy, and eroticism.Japan's Shunga: The Floating World of SensualityJapanese erotic art, or Shunga (春画), flourished during the Edo period (1603–1868). These woodblock prints, created by masters such as Hokusai and Utamaro, depicted erotic encounters with both aesthetic refinement and explicit detail. Unlike in the West, where erotic art often faced suppression, Shunga was widely enjoyed across social classes.Shunga as Art, Satire, and InstructionShunga prints were not just pornographic; they served multiple purposes, including sexual education, humor, and even political satire. Some depicted fantastical elements, such as Hokusai's famous "The Dream of the Fisherman's Wife", blending eroticism with mythology.Conclusion: Classical Eroticism as a Reflection of CultureThe erotic art of classical antiquity reveals a diversity of attitudes toward sexuality:Idealized beauty and divine connection – Greek and Roman art celebrated the nude as an emblem of perfection.Religious and cosmic symbolism – Hindu and Daoist traditions saw sexuality as a path to spiritual enlightenment.Humor and satire – Roman and Japanese art often infused eroticism with wit and social commentary.While some traditions embraced erotic art as sacred, others saw it as a source of indulgence or controversy. The tension between openness and censorship would continue to shape erotic art in the centuries to come.The Warren Cup (1st century CE, Roman) A silver drinking cup featuring detailed homoerotic scenes, the Warren Cup provides insight into Roman attitudes toward male-male relationships. Hidden for centuries, it is now a key artifact in LGBTQ+ art history.Khajuraho Temple Reliefs (10th–11th century CE, India)These intricate sculptures depict a range of erotic acts, reinforcing the Hindu belief in sexuality as a divine force. Unlike Western art, which often separated the sacred from the sensual, Khajuraho integrates both seamlessly.The Frescoes of the Villa of the Mysteries (1st Century BCE, Pompeii, Roman Empire)The Villa of the Mysteries in Pompeii contains one of the most famous and enigmatic fresco cycles from ancient Rome. While not explicitly erotic, many scholars believe the images depict a Dionysian initiation ritual, potentially related to sacred sexuality and mystery cults. The frescoes feature semi-nude figures, suggestive interactions, and themes of divine ecstasy, linking sexuality to spiritual transformation. This example highlights how Romans often blended eroticism with religious and ritualistic themes rather than treating it as purely physical pleasure.Shunga by Kitagawa Utamaro (1753–1806, Edo Period, Japan)Kitagawa Utamaro, one of the most celebrated ukiyo-e artists, created numerous Shunga (春画, "spring pictures"), which depicted intimate encounters with exquisite detail and elegance. His prints, such as Poem of the Pillow, emphasized the sensuality of touch, fabric, and movement, offering a refined and almost poetic take on erotic imagery. His work also often featured women's pleasure and agency, making it a significant contribution to the study of feminine desire in erotic art.#stencilart #originalart #investment art #blinkfrictionart #blinkfrictionfashion #reclaimart #reclaimfashion

Krewe of Japan
Lafcadio Hearn: 2024 King of Carnival (A Mardi Gras Super-Sized Special)

Krewe of Japan

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 7, 2025 72:20


2024 was a special year for Carnival and the Japan-New Orleans connection! Lafcadio Hearn's life & works inspired the theme for Rex Parade 2024: "The Two Worlds of Lafcadio Hearn - New Orleans & Japan". But why Hearn? What went into the float design? What other ways has Hearn left a lasting impact on both New Orleans & Japan? Find out today with a super-sized special Mardi Gras bonus episode, featuring insights from Rex historian/archivist Will French & historian/archivist emeritus Dr. Stephen Hales, Royal Artists float designer/artistic director Caroline Thomas, Lafcadio Hearn's great grandson Bon Koizumi,  legendary chef John Folse, Captain of the Krewe of Lafcadio John Kelly, JSNO's resident Lafcadio Hearn expert Matthew Smith, and even the Mayor of Matsue Akihito Uesada! Get ready for Mardi Gras 2025 by reflecting on this unique connection between New Orleans & Japan!------ About the Krewe ------The Krewe of Japan Podcast is a weekly episodic podcast sponsored by the Japan Society of New Orleans. Check them out every Friday afternoon around noon CST on Apple, Google, Spotify, Amazon, Stitcher, or wherever you get your podcasts.  Want to share your experiences with the Krewe? Or perhaps you have ideas for episodes, feedback, comments, or questions? Let the Krewe know by e-mail at kreweofjapanpodcast@gmail.com or on social media (Twitter: @kreweofjapan, Instagram: @kreweofjapanpodcast, Facebook: Krewe of Japan Podcast Page, TikTok: @kreweofjapanpodcast, LinkedIn: Krewe of Japan LinkedIn Page, Blue Sky Social: @kreweofjapan.bsky.social, & the Krewe of Japan Youtube Channel). Until next time, enjoy!------ Music Credits ------Background music provided by: Royalty Free Music by Giorgio Di Campo for Free Sound Music http://freesoundmusic.eu FreeSoundMusic on Youtube  Link to Original Sound Clip------ Audio Clip Credits ------Thanks to Dominic Massa & everyone at WYES for allowing us to use some of the audio from the below Rex Clips:Segment about Royal Artist & Float DesignFull 2024 Rex Ball Coverage (Krewe of Lafcadio/Nicholls State segment)Thanks to Matsue City Hall & Mayor Akihito Uesada for their video message below:Message from Matsue Mayor Akihito Uesada------ Support the Krewe! Offer Links for Affiliates ------Use the referral links below & our promo code from the episode!Support your favorite NFL Team AND podcast! Shop NFLShop to gear up for football season!Zencastr Offer Link - Use my special link to save 30% off your 1st month of any Zencastr paid plan! ------ Past KOJ Hearn/Matsue/History Episodes ------Foreign-Born Samurai: William Adams ft. Nathan Ledbetter (Guest Host, Dr. Samantha Perez) (S5E17)Foreign-Born Samurai: Yasuke ft. Nathan Ledbetter (Guest Host, Dr. Samantha Perez) (S5E16)Explore Matsue ft. Nicholas McCullough (S4E19)Jokichi Takamine: The Earliest Bridge Between New Orleans & Japan ft. Stephen Lyman (S4E13)The Life & Legacy of Lafcadio Hearn ft. Bon & Shoko Koizumi (S1E9)Matsue & New Orleans: Sister Cities ft. Dr. Samantha Perez (S1E2)------ Links about Rex ------2024 Rex Parade/Float PDF with Full DesignsCaroline Thomas's Website------ JSNO Upcoming Events ------JSNO Event CalendarJoin JSNO Today!

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La Guerra Grande
(SPECIALE) Ascesa e guerre del Giappone Imperiale I (Dalla società tradizionale a quella moderna)

La Guerra Grande

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 6, 2025 45:50


Il Giappone rappresenta un esempio unico di come un paese possa modernizzarsi in un lasso di tempo estremamente breve e senza grandi sconvolgimenti all'interno della propria società. In questo primo episodio speciale, vediamo quali sfide il paese del Sol Levante abbia dovuto affrontare a partire dal XIX secolo, a causa della penetrazione delle potenze occidentali.Seguimi su Instagram: @laguerragrande_podcastSe vuoi contribuire con una donazione sul conto PayPal: podcastlaguerragrande@gmail.comScritto e condotto da Andrea BassoMontaggio e audio: Andrea BassoFonti dell'episodio:Michael R. Auslin, Toshihiko Kishi, Hanae Kurihara Kramer, Scott Kramer, Barak Kushner, Olivia Morello, Kaoru (Kay) Ueda, Fanning the Flames: Propaganda in Modern Japan, 2021 Rosa Caroli, Francesco Gatti, Storia del Giappone, Laterza, 2007 Chonin, Encyclopaedia Britannica L. M. Cullen, A History of Japan, 1582–1941: Internal and External Worlds, Cambridge University Press, 2003 Giuliano Da Frè, Storia delle battaglie sul mare, Odoya, 2014 John W. Dower, War Without Mercy: Race and Power in the Pacific War, Pantheon, 1986 Peter Duus, Modern Japan, Houghton Mifflin, 1998 Peter Duus, The Abacus and the Sword: The Japanese Penetration of Korea, University of California Press, 1998 Bruce Elleman, Modern Chinese Warfare, 1795–1989, Routledge, 2001 Gabriele Esposito, Japanese Armies 1868–1877: The Boshin War and Satsuma Rebellion, Osprey Publishing, 2020 David Evans, Mark Peattie, Kaigun: strategy, tactics, and technology in the Imperial Japanese Navy, 1887–1941, Naval Institute Press, 1997 Allen Fung, Testing the Self-Strengthening: The Chinese Army in the Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895, Modern Asian Studies 30, 1996 Hane Mikiso, Modern Japan: A Historical Survey Sue Henny, Jean-Pierre Lehmann, Themes and Theories in Modern Japanese History: Essays in Memory of Richard Storry, A&C Black, 2013 James Huffman, Modern Japan: An Encyclopedia of History, Culture, and Nationalism, Garland Reference Library of the Humanities, Routledge, 1997 Marius Jansen, The Making of Modern Japan, Harvard University Press, 2002 Kim Jinwung, A History of Korea: From "Land of the Morning Calm" to States in Conflict, Indiana University Press, 2012 Philip Jowett, China's Wars: Rousing the Dragon 1894–1949, Bloomsbury Publishing, 2013 Donald Keene, Emperor of Japan: Meiji and His World, 1852-1912, Columbia University Press, 2002 Liu Kwang-Ching, The Cambridge History of China, Late Ch'ing, 1800–1911, Cambridge University Press, 1978 James McClain, Japan, a modern history, Norton, 2001 Naotaka Hirota, Steam Locomotives of Japan, Kodansha International Ltd, 1972 Piotr Olender, Sino-Japanese Naval War 1894–1895, MMPBooks, 2014 Christopher Paik, Abbey Steele, Seiki Tanaka, Constraining the Samurai: Rebellion and Taxation in Early Modern Japan, International Studies Quarterly 61, 2017 Sarah Paine, The Sino-Japanese War of 1894–1895: Perceptions, Power, and Primacy. Cambridge University Press, 2003 Pebrina, Treccani Christian Polak, Silk and Light: 100-year history of unconscious French-Japanese cultural exchange (Edo Period – 1950), Hachette, 2001 Richard Ponsonby-Fane, Kyoto: the Old Capital of Japan, 794–1869, 1956 Mark Ravina, To Stand with the Nations of the World: Japan's Meiji Restoration in World History, Oxford University Press, 2017 Edwin Reischauer, Storia del Giappone, Bompiani, 2013 Chris Rowthorn, Giappone, EDT, 2008 Michael Seth, A History of Korea: From Antiquity to the Present, Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2010 John Sewall, The Logbook of the Captain's Clerk: Adventures in the China Seas, Chas H. Glass & Co., 1905 Lawrence Sondhaus, Naval Warfare, 1815–1914, Routledge, 2001 Henry Van Straelen, Yoshida Shoin Forerunner Of The Meiji Restoration, Brill, 1952 Conrad D. Totman, Japan before Perry: a short history, University of California Press, 1981 Trudy Ring, Robert M. Salkin, Paul E. Schellinger, Sharon La Boda, Noelle Watson, Christopher Hudson, Adele Hast, International Dictionary of Historic Places: Asia and Oceania, Taylor & Francis, 1994 Jacopo Turco, Come ha fatto il Giappone a diventare così ricco?, Nova Lectio, 2024 Howard Van Zandt, Pioneer American Merchants in Japan, Tuttle Publishing, 1984 Arthur Walworth, Black Ships Off Japan: The Story of Commodore Perry's Expedition, Read Books, 2008In copertina: suonatrici tradizionali, fotografia di Felice Beato, anni '60 del XIX secolo, colorizzata a mano.

The Unfinished Print
Jacek Machowski : Printmaker - On The Edge Of Abstraction

The Unfinished Print

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 31, 2024 58:07


When it comes to immersing oneself in the understanding of mokuhanga, Jacek Machowski is dedicated to constantly deepening his knowledge and practice of the art form. His exploration of mokuhanga is both inspiring and dynamic, as he continually shares, creates, and evolves his expertise and approach to this wonderful art form.   I speak with mokuhanga printmaker, educator, and mokuhanga explorer Jacek Machowski. Jacek's work is a blend of experimentation, tradition, and excitement. We discuss his journey into mokuhanga, his deep dive into its history, techniques, and philosophies, and how he has dedicated himself to uncovering the intricacies of the art form. Jacek also shares insights into his process of making and testing his own tools, continually pushing their boundaries. Additionally, we explore his own mokuhanga prints, the choices behind his artistic methods, and the workshop he leads.   I would like to thank Jacek's translator , Małgorzata Ptasiński, for her invaluable help with translation. In this episode, you'll notice that Jacek's voice is intermittent, with Gosia speaking for most of the discussion. This approach was chosen to ensure smoother listening and a better flow.   Please follow The Unfinished Print and my own mokuhanga work on Instagram @andrezadoroznyprints or email me at andrezadorozny@gmail.com Notes: may contain a hyperlink. Simply click on the highlighted word or phrase. Artists works follow after the note if available. Pieces are mokuhanga unless otherwise noted. Dimensions are given if known. Print publishers are given if known. Jacek Machowski - wesbite,  Etsy, Instagram YouTube  Sakeda - Senjafuda (2023) 1.97" x 5.90"  senjafuda - are votive slips attributed to Buddhism in Japan. This slips of paper were pasted on temples in Japan. The worshippers name was written on the senjafuda in order for people to see that they had visited said shrine. The paper senjafuda were popular in the Edo Period (1603-1868). Tokyo and Kyoto senjafuda had various differences.  ex-libris - a decorative label or stamp placed inside a book to indicate its ownership. Usually features the owner's name, initials, or a personalized design, often with artistic or symbolic elements that reflect the owner's personality, interests, or profession. MI Lab - is a mokuhanga artists residency located in Kawaguchi-ko, near Mount Fuji. More info can be found, here.  nori - is a type of paste made from starch. It is used when making mokuhanga. You can make nori from any type of material made from starch. For instance, paste can be made with tapioca,  rice, corn, even potato. You can purchase nori pretty much anywhere but making it is more environmentally friendly. Laura Boswell has a great recipe, here.  binder - refers to the substance which holds pigment particles together and adheres them to a surface, such as paper, wood, or canvas, for prints or paints. The binder transforms dry pigments into a usable medium and also makes them more durable. embossing - refers to a technique where the paper is pressed into the carved woodblocks, creating a raised or textured effect on the printed surface. This technique adds a three-dimensional quality to the print by making certain areas of the paper slightly elevated. linocut -A linocut is a relief or block print type, similar to woodblock printing. The artist carves an image into a linoleum block, printing what's left.  intaglio printing - is a printing method, also called etching, using metal plates such as zinc, and copper, creating “recessed” areas which are printed with ink on the surface of these "recesses.” More info, here. The MET has info, here.   mica - in mokuhanga, mica (kirazuri) is used to add a shimmering, reflective effect to prints. Mica powder is typically mixed with glue and applied to the surface of the print in areas where a subtle sparkle or luminous texture is desired, often to highlight details such as clothing, water, or the sky. This technique gives the print a luxurious quality and enhances the visual depth. Historically, mica was used in ukiyo-e prints to elevate the status of the work, and it continues to be used by contemporary printmakers for its unique aesthetic appeal. kirazuri -  is a technique in woodblock printing using mica to add a sheen to the print. Mokuhanga artist Marcia Guetschow has written about kirazuri on her website, here.  David Bull - is a Canadian woodblock printmaker, and educator who lives and works in Japan. His love of mokuhanga has almost singlehandedly promoted the art form around the world. His company, Mokuhankan, has a brick and mortar store in Asakusa, Tōkyō, and online, here.  Forest In Spring (2008)  Wojciech Tylbor-Kubrakiewicz - a part of the Faculty of Graphics of the Academy of Fine Arts in Warsaw. His work focuses on everyday life, travel and memory. His works are in intaglio, relief such as mokuhanga, and serigraphy.  Augenblick 70 x 100 cm (2023) linocut Tomasz Kawełczyk - is a mokuhanga artist and deputy dean at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the Academy of Fine Arts in Łódź, Poland. He is also a lecturer and organizer of workshops. Tomasz has also worked in mokuhanga as well as holding workshops accompanying the "Road to Edo," held at the National Museum in Warsaw from February 25 - May 7, 2017. His work in mokuhanga has been focused on creating prints by using local tools and materials found in Poland.  Dariusz Kaca - is a relief printmaker and professor at the Academy of Fine arts  in Łódź, Poland. He works in linocut and mokuhanga.  Nocturn I - 40cm x 40cm, linocut Marta Bożyk - lecturer and researcher at the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow, Poland.   © Popular Wheat Productions opening and closing credit -Ruby My Dear as performed by Roy Hargrove, originally by Thelonius Monk. (1990) RCA  logo designed and produced by Douglas Batchelor and André Zadorozny  Disclaimer: Please do not reproduce or use anything from this podcast without shooting me an email and getting my express written or verbal consent. I'm friendly :)  Слава Українi If you find any issue with something in the show notes please let me know. ***The opinions expressed by guests in The Unfinished Print podcast are not necessarily those of André Zadorozny and of Popular Wheat Productions.***        

A History of Japan
Clans, Corporations, and Capital

A History of Japan

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 18, 2024 26:06 Transcription Available


The early years of the Meiji period saw an explosion of economic growth as Edo Period merchant houses transformed into conglomerates called Zaibatsu.Support the show My latest novel, "Califia's Crusade," is now available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Apple Books, Bookshop.org, and many other online platforms!

The Unfinished Print
Mike Lyon : Printmaker - Layers of Meaning

The Unfinished Print

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 22, 2024 69:50


Mokuhanga can be approached in many ways. For some, a hands-on approach is the most appealing, as it places full responsibility on the artist to carefully craft each step—designing, carving by hand, and printing—to achieve the best possible result. However, other mokuhanga artists take a more experimental route, where the possibilities are limitless, and innovation leads to unique outcomes. On this episode of The Unfinished Print, I speak with printmaker Mike Lyon, who has been creating mokuhanga for nearly 30 years. We delve into his philosophy on mokuhanga, his innovative use of a CNC machine in printmaking, and his inventive spirit. We also explore his own mokuhanga prints and the Lyon Collection of Japanese woodblock prints.  This interview was conducted while Mike was at the Mokuhanga Project Space in Walla Walla, Washington, and he reflects on his real time experiences during the interview. One other note; there is reference to an accident Mike had as a young man regarding his fingers. Listeners be warned.   Please follow The Unfinished Print and my own mokuhanga work on Instagram @andrezadoroznyprints or email me at theunfinishedprint@gmail.com  Notes: may contain a hyperlink. Simply click on the highlighted word or phrase. Artists works follow after the note if available. Pieces are mokuhanga unless otherwise noted. Dimensions are given if known. Print publishers are given if known. Mike Lyon - website Shotokan Karate - is a traditional Japanese martial art that emphasizes powerful, linear movements, strong stances, and precise techniques. Developed by Gichin Funakoshi (1868-1957) in the early 20th century, Shotokan blends self-defense, physical fitness, and mental discipline. It is characterized by its deep stances, focus on kata (pre-arranged forms), kihon (basic techniques), and kumite (sparring). Practitioners strive for mastery of body and mind, aiming to improve both physical strength and inner calm through rigorous practice. Shotokan is one of the most widely practiced karate styles worldwide. Zen Buddhism - is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism that emphasizes direct experience, meditation (zazen), and mindfulness as paths to enlightenment. Originating in China as Chan Buddhism and later flourishing in Japan, Zen focuses on achieving insight into the nature of existence through meditation rather than reliance on scriptures or ritual. Central to Zen practice is the concept of "no-mind" (mushin), which seeks to quiet the mind and transcend dualistic thinking. Through sitting meditation, koans (paradoxical questions), and the guidance of a teacher, Zen practitioners aim to awaken to their true nature and the interconnectedness of all things. Hiroki Morinoue - is a mokuhanga printmaker and artist living in Holualoa, Big Island, Hawai'i. He is a co-founding member of the Holualoa Foundation For Arts & Culture, the establishment of the Donkey Mill Art Center and Studio 7 Fine Arts. Hiroki's interview with The Unfinished Print can be found, here.  Kitchen Fosit (2012)  Gotō Hidehiko (b.1953) - is a mokuhanga printmaker and tool maker based in Japan. He makes and teaches seminars about the construction of the mokuhanga tool, the baren.  From The Window (2017) 15" x 12" Anderson Ranch Arts Center - since the 1960s, Anderson Ranch Arts Center, located in Colorado, has been a beacon for the arts in the United States. The Ranch offers master classes, workshops, artist-in-residence programs, and more. For additional information, please click here. registration - there are several registration methods in mokuhanga. The traditional method is called the kentō registration, where you carve two notches, straight another an "L." There is also a "floating kentō," which is where the notches are cut in a piece of "L" shaped wood and not on the wood where you are cutting your image, hence "floating." Lastly, there are removable "pins," such as ones made by Ternes Burton.  The Fisherman and His Wife (1996) 15" x 10" International Mokuhanga Conference - is a bi-yearly conference dedicated to mokuhanga which started in 2011 by the International Mokuhanga Association. Each conference is themed. The latest conference was in 2021, delayed a year because of the pandemic. More information can be found, here. Prussian Blue - is a dark blue pigment, which has been used by painters, and mokuhanga printmakers. The pigment has been used in Europe since the 18th Century, and in Japan since around 1820, having been imported by Europeans into Japan. More information about Prussian Blue can be found in my interview with Professor Henry Smith, here.  reduction printmaking - is a process in printmaking where the printmaker cuts away on a piece of wood, or linoleum. After every carving, the printmaker makes an impression with pigments, beginning with lighter colours, gradually using darker colours. William H. Mays has a fine description of reduction on his website, here.  CNC Machine - A CNC (Computer Numerical Control) router is a machine used to cut, carve, or engrave materials like wood, plastic, metal, and foam with high precision, guided by a computer program. The router is controlled by pre-programmed software that dictates the movement of the cutting tool along multiple axes (typically three to five), allowing for complex shapes and designs to be created with great accuracy. CNC routers are commonly used in manufacturing, woodworking, sign-making, and prototyping because they can produce detailed and repetitive cuts that would be difficult to achieve by hand. Friends of Baren Forum - is a Facebook group dedicated to those interested in mokuhanga and woodblock printing in general. it can be found, here.  David Bull - is a Canadian woodblock printmaker, and educator who lives and works in Japan. His love of mokuhanga has almost singlehandedly promoted the art form around the world. His company, Mokuhankan, has a brick and mortar store in Asakusa, Tōkyō, and online, here.  River In Spring (2009)  shihan - is a title in Japanese martial arts, often translated as "master instructor." It is an honorific title given to highly skilled and experienced practitioners who have demonstrated knowledge, expertise, and commitment to a particular martial art over many years. A shihan is not only a technical expert but also a role model and leader, responsible for preserving and passing on the traditions and philosophies of the martial art to future generations. The title is typically granted in arts such as karate, aikido, judo, and kendo, and it is often reserved for senior instructors with a rank of 5th dan or higher. aizuri-e - (藍摺絵) are woodblock prints made entirely with shades of blue. This style gained popularity during the Edo Period.  yakusha-e - (役者絵) is the Japanese term for actor prints in mokuhanga.  bijin-ga - (美人画) is the Japanese term for beautiful women in mokuhanga.  Ezoshi - is a mokuhanga focused art gallery and store located in Kyoto, Japan. It was established in 1978. More info, here.  Tōshūsai Sharaku (dates unknown) - was a Japanese ukiyo-e printmaker active during the late Edo period, primarily from 1794 to 1795. He is known for his portraits of kabuki actors, capturing their dramatic expressions and movements with remarkable realism and emotional depth. Sharaku emphasized individuality and personality in his subjects, using bold colors and strong contrasts to create a distinct style. Despite his brief career, lasting only about ten months, his innovative approach had a lasting impact on the ukiyo-e tradition, making him one of the most significant printmakers of the Edo period. The true identity of Sharaku and the reasons for his sudden disappearance from the art scene are still unknown. Otani Oniji III as Edobei (1794) 14 15/16" × 9 7/8" ōkubi-e (大首絵) -  are woodblock prints of close-up human heads, which came into prominence in the late 19th Century. For me, the best mokuhanga designer of okubi-e is Toyohara Kunichika (1835-1900). His okubi-e of kabuki actors is unparalleled, showing the actors in various positions with intricate backgrounds and poses. Kamigata - is a region of Japan which refers to the area encompassing the cities of Kyoto and Osaka, located in the Kansai region. During the Edo period (1603–1868), Kamigata became a significant cultural and artistic center, known for its contributions to theater, literature, and the arts, particularly ukiyo-e  mokuhanga. The term "Kamigata," meaning "upper region," reflects its geographical position relative to Edo (modern Tōkyō), which was considered the "lower region."  Photoshop - is a powerful graphics editing software developed by Adobe Systems, widely used for image manipulation, photo editing, and digital art creation. It offers a variety of tools and features for tasks such as retouching images, creating graphics, applying effects, and designing layouts, making it an essential tool for photographers, graphic designers, and artists. Benjamin Selby - is an artist who works in mokuhanga, as well as serigraphy and installations. More information about Benjamin's work can be found, here. His interview with The Unfinished Print can be found, here.  Crushed (2024) Fudezaishiki - Hand Colored With Brush Mokuhanga 9" x 12" Mokuhanga Project Space - is a mokuhanga residency located in Walla Walla, Washington, USA. It was established in 2016 and is led by printmaker Keiko Hara. More info can be found, here.  coding - also known as programming, is the process of writing instructions for computers using programming languages. These instructions, or code, enable computers to perform specific tasks, solve problems, or automate processes. Coding involves creating algorithms, which are step-by-step procedures for carrying out a task, and translating these algorithms into a language that a computer can understand, such as Python, Java, C++, or JavaScript. Coding is essential in developing software applications, websites, and systems that power various technologies in everyday life, from mobile apps to complex databases and artificial intelligence systems. HP-25 - is a scientific calculator introduced by Hewlett-Packard in 1975. It is notable for being one of the first pocket-sized programmable calculators, featuring a unique Reverse Polish Notation (RPN) input system, which allows users to enter calculations in a more efficient manner than traditional algebraic notation. The HP-25 is equipped with a 49-step program memory, enabling users to create and store complex calculations. It has a 2-line display for showing both the program and the results, and it can perform a variety of functions, including trigonometric, logarithmic, and statistical calculations. The HP-25 is recognized for its durability, design, and the pioneering role it played in the evolution of personal computing and calculators. subroutine - also known as a function, method, or procedure, is a set of instructions designed to perform a specific task within a larger program. Subroutines allow programmers to break down complex problems into smaller, manageable pieces, promoting code reusability and organization. When a subroutine is called, the program temporarily transfers control to that subroutine, executes its instructions, and then returns control to the main program or calling code, often providing a result or output. This modular approach makes it easier to debug, maintain, and understand code, as well as to share functionality across different parts of a program or between different programs. Echizen - is a region in Fukui Prefecture, Japan, known for its long history of papermaking. The area is home to many paper artisans. One notable figure is Iwano Ichibei. He is a Living National Treasure in papermaking and the ninth generation of his family still making paper today. More information can be found here.in English, and here in Japanese.  baren - is a mokuhanga tool that typically consists of a round, flat disk with a bamboo base, covered with a layer of cord or cloth, often wrapped in a spiral pattern made from various materials such as cotton or hemp. Additionally, there are baren made from ball bearings and other materials, including plastic and metal. Linda in Black (2019) 41" x 29.5" - for more information on how this print was made you can find that on Mike Lyon's website, here.  rectangular spirals -  are a pattern which Mike Lyon uses a lot in his mokuhanga. Here is a posting on Mike's website in which Mike discusses his ideas on these spirals and how he uses them through coding. It can be found, here.  Guerra & Paint Pigment Corp. - is a brick and mortar store located in Brooklyn, New York that sells artists pigments. More info, here.  CMYK colour model - stands for Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Key which are the colours used in the printing process of whichever work you are making. More info, here.  rasters - or raster graphics, are a type of digital image composed of a grid of individual pixels, each containing colour information. This pixel-based format is commonly used in digital photography, web graphics, and image editing, with resolution defined by the number of pixels in each dimension (width x height) and measured in dots per inch (DPI) or pixels per inch (PPI). While raster images can capture detailed and complex visuals, such as photographs, they can lose quality and become pixelated when enlarged, as the individual pixels become more visible. Common raster file formats include JPEG, PNG, GIF, and BMP. Unlike vector graphics, which use mathematical equations to represent images and can be scaled infinitely without loss of quality, rasters are less suitable for images requiring resizing or scaling. Shotbot code - typically refers to programming or scripting used to automate tasks in photography, particularly in photo booths or photography studios. It may involve controlling camera settings, managing image capture, and organizing files, allowing photographers to streamline their workflows and enhance productivity. Often associated with the ShotBot app, this code enables remote triggering of cameras, capturing images at set intervals, and integrating with other software for efficient image management. By utilizing Shotbot code, photographers can achieve consistent results and improve the overall efficiency of their photography projects. Madz - Portrait of the artist Madeline Cass. 31"x32" for more information regarding the process of how this print was made can be found on Mike Lyon's website, here.  Post Digital Printmaking - is printmaking using Computer Numeric Control (CNC) devices, including laser cutters and CNC routers, that are used for matrix production in lithography, intaglio, and relief printing. closed-loop controller -is a type of control system that continuously monitors and adjusts its output based on feedback from the system it is controlling. In this system, the controller receives information about the current state or output and compares it to a desired setpoint or target value. This feedback allows the controller to make real-time adjustments to the input or control signal to minimize the difference between the actual output and the desired output, enhancing accuracy and stability. Closed-loop controllers are commonly used in applications such as industrial automation, robotics, temperature control, and motor speed regulation, and they are contrasted with open-loop controllers, which do not utilize feedback and rely solely on predefined input commands. The feedback mechanism in closed-loop systems improves performance, allowing for better handling of disturbances and changes in system dynamics. MDF - or Medium-Density Fiberboard, is an engineered wood product made from wood fibres, wax, and resin that are compressed under high pressure and temperature. It is known for its smooth surface, uniform density, and versatility, making it a popular choice for furniture, cabinetry, moldings, and decorative applications. MDF can be easily cut, shaped, and painted, allowing for intricate designs and finishes. Unlike solid wood, MDF does not have knots or grain patterns, providing a consistent appearance. It is often used as a cost-effective alternative to solid wood and plywood, although it can be more susceptible to moisture damage and may require sealing for certain applications. Foundry Vineyards - based in Walla Walla, Washington is a vineyard and art space. It has been hosting artists from all types of media such as painting and printmaking since 2010. It has exhibited The Mokuhanga Project Space, printmaker Mike Lyon,  and the International Mokuhanga Print Exhibit. More info about this space and the good it does for the art community at large can be found, here.  The Wichita Art Museum - located in Wichita, Kansas, is the largest art museum in the state. Established in 1935, it features a diverse collection of American art, with a particular focus on works from the 19th and 20th centuries. The museum's permanent collection includes paintings, sculptures, and decorative arts, highlighting notable artists such as Georgia O'Keeffe, Edward Hopper, and John Steuart Curry. In addition to its collections, the museum offers rotating exhibitions, educational programs, and community events that engage the public and promote an appreciation for the visual arts. The museum's architecture, designed by the renowned architect Edward Durrell Stone. More info can be found, here.  The International Block Print Renaissance: Then & Now - was a woodblock exhibition held at the Wichita Art Museum from February 26 - August 7, 2022. It was an exhibition which exhibited prints from around the world as well as printmakers from Wichita, Kansas, USA. It described various print making techniques from Japan, Western and Eastern Europe, as well as the United States.  Secret Garden [Clover] (2017) 36" x 36", a video on how Mike Lyon printed this particular print can be found on YouTube, here.   © Popular Wheat Productions opening and closing credit -There Is No Greater Love by Chet Baker (1928-1988) from the album City Lights (2024) UMG Records.  logo designed and produced by Douglas Batchelor and André Zadorozny  Disclaimer: Please do not reproduce or use anything from this podcast without shooting me an email and getting my express written or verbal consent. I'm friendly :)  Слава Українi If you find any issue with something in the show notes please let me know. ***The opinions expressed by guests in The Unfinished Print podcast are not necessarily those of André Zadorozny and of Popular Wheat Productions.***    

Critical Nonsense
281! Bicycle Innovation

Critical Nonsense

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 3, 2024 26:58


Can we learn about coming up with creative ideas from bikes today? This week, Jess and Joey talk about bike infrastructure, dad wagons, folding bikes, stacked bikes, e-bikes, and mobility mixes. Oddly, they don't talk about Bike Kill. references The Science of Cycology: can you draw a bicycle? Penny-farthing Tall bike Brompton Velocipede The Asahi Shimbun: High school kids build Edo Period tricycle out of home center buys Rack City, bitch The New York Times: The Hustlers Who Make $6,000 a Month by Gaming Citi Bikes Red Panda Rascal Rides: 10 Best Family Cargo Bikes For Hauling Your Kids 

Project Geekology
Shogun (2024)

Project Geekology

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 2, 2024 68:32 Transcription Available


Send us a textEver wondered how historical dramas can transport you to another era? Join us on a journey to early 1600s Japan as we break down the highly praised FX adaptation of James Clavell's "Shogun." We marvel at the series' meticulous portrayal of the samurai era. Anthony also shares his personal story of navigating a challenging job interview, underscoring the importance of resilience and the valuable lessons learned along the way.Switching gears, we geek out over the latest Overwatch 2 skins, drawing parallels to Fortnite's ever-popular cosmetic items. We dissect Blizzard's transition from loot boxes to direct purchases. Dakota's ambitious project to create a comprehensive timeline for the Avatar: The Last Airbender universe adds another layer of excitement, as we imagine the potential for historical novels and delve into the Avatar Legends role-playing game.Finally, we dissect the intricate themes and character arcs in "Shogun," from cultural clashes to power struggles and unexpected plot twists. We shine a spotlight on the series' historical accuracy, the integration of Christian sects in Japan, and the brilliant performances that earned the show a whopping 18 Emmys. As we wrap up, we put out a heartfelt call for our listeners to leave a five-star review and share their thoughts, celebrating their engagement with our deep dives into history, gaming, and personal growth.Twitter handles:Project Geekology: https://twitter.com/pgeekologyAnthony's Twitter: https://twitter.com/odysseyswowDakota's Twitter: https://twitter.com/geekritique_dakInstagram:https://instagram.com/projectgeekology?igshid=1v0sits7ipq9yGeekritique (Dakota):https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCBwciIqOoHwIx_uXtYTSEbATwitch (Anthony):https://www.twitch.tv/odysseywowVariety Article covering Emmy winners:https://variety.com/2024/tv/awards/emmys-2024-winners-list-1236142519/Support the show

The Unfinished Print
Malene Wagner - Tiger Tanuki : It's As Much To Do With History As It Has To Do With Art

The Unfinished Print

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 30, 2024 60:00


When developing a business centered around Japanese prints, there are many factors to consider: the audience, the history, and how you want to be perceived by the public. The appeal of the Japanese aesthetic, along with your own personal aesthetic and brand identity, can also be just as important to your business. On this episode of The Unfinished Print, I speak with Malene Wagner, a gallerist, curator, writer, and art historian whose business operates under the name Tiger Tanuki. Malene shares her passion for collecting and selling Japanese prints, and we explore the European perspective on Japanese prints and printmaking. We also dive into Japanese aesthetics and how they are interpreted through a Western lens. Additionally, Malene discusses how these aesthetics influence her brand, Tiger Tanuki, the role history plays in shaping her business, and her upcoming book. Please follow The Unfinished Print and my own mokuhanga work on Instagram @andrezadoroznyprints or email me at theunfinishedprint@gmail.com  Notes: may contain a hyperlink. Simply click on the highlighted word or phrase. Artists works follow after the note if available. Pieces are mokuhanga unless otherwise noted. Dimensions are given if known. Print publishers are given if known. Malene Wagner & Tiger Tanuki - Instagram, website ukiyo-e - is a multi colour woodblock print generally associated with the Edo Period (1603-1867) of Japan. What began in the 17th Century as prints of only a few colours, evolved into an elaborate system of production and technique into the Meiji Period (1868-1912). With the advent of photography and other forms of printmaking, ukiyo-e as we know it today, ceased production by the late 19th Century.  Uniqlo -  a Japanese clothing brand known for its affordable, minimalist, and high-quality everyday wear. It focuses on functional designs, using innovative fabrics like Heattech for warmth and AIRism for breathability. Uniqlo is popular worldwide for offering essential wardrobe staples and often collaborates with well-known designers and artists to create unique collections. Clear Day With A Southern Breeze (1831) is a print usually known as "Red Fuji." From the series Thirty Six Views of Mt. Fuji this print was actually pink, red was used in later impressions by publisher Nishimuraya Yohachi.  The Great Wave off Kanagawa - is a woodblock print designed by Katsushika Hokusai in 1831. It is very famous.  Yayoi Kusama -  is a pioneering Japanese artist known for her immersive installations and polka dot motifs that explore themes of infinity, identity, and mental health. Born in 1929 in Matsumoto, Japan, Kusama began her artistic journey through painting and avant-garde practices, eventually moving to New York in the late 1950s, where she became a key figure in the pop art and feminist movements. Her works, range from large-scale installations like the "Infinity Mirror Rooms" to her vibrant sculptures and paintings. Kusama's art is a deeply personal expression of her own experiences with mental illness, transforming her obsessions into stunning visual experiences that resonate globally. Today, she is celebrated as one of the most influential contemporary artists, with exhibitions and installations that captivate audiences worldwide. From "Life Is The Heart of A Rainbow", Installation (2017) MANGA - was an exhibition from May 23 - August 26, 2019 held at the British Museum in London, England.  shin hanga - is a style of Japanese woodblock printmaking that emerged in the early 20th century, marking the end of the nishiki-e period. Originating around 1915 under the direction of Watanabe Shōzaburō (1885-1962), the art form responded to the foreign demand for "traditional" Japanese imagery. Shin hanga artists focused on motifs like castles, bridges, famous landscapes, and bamboo forests. The style was initiated when Watanabe discovered Austrian artist Fritz Capelari (1884-1950) and commissioned him to design prints for Watanabe's budding printing house. This collaboration led to the evolution of shin hanga into a distinctive new style of Japanese woodblock printing. The shin hanga movement thrived until its inevitable decline after the Second World War (1939-1945). sōsaku-hanga - or creative prints, is a style of printmaking which is predominantly, although not exclusively, prints made by one person. It started in the early twentieth century in Japan, in the same period as the shin-hanga movement. The artist designs, carves, and prints their own works. The designs, especially in the early days, may seem rudimentary but the creation of self-made prints was a breakthrough for printmakers moving away from where only a select group of carvers, printers and publishers created woodblock prints.  Tomoo Inagaki (1902-1980) - introduced to mokuhanga by Onchi Kōshirō and Un'cihi Hiratsuka in 1923. Beginning in 1924, Inagaki published his first prints in magazines such as Shi to hanga (issue 13), Hanga (issues 6, 9/10, 11, 14), and Kitsutsuki, and exhibited with the Nihon Sôsaku-Hanga Kyôkai (Japan Creative Print Association). He became a member of the Nihon Hanga Kyôkai (Japan Print Association) in 1932 and participated in various post-war international competitions, including the Paris, Tokyo, and Lugano biennales. His cat prints have been highly collectible. More info can be found at Viewing Japanese Prints, here. The Rival Cats - 18" x 24" (1960's - 1970's) Oliver Statler (1915-2002) -  was an American author and scholar and collector of mokuhanga. He had been a soldier in World War 2, having been stationed in Japan. After his time in the war Statler moved back to Japan where he wrote about Japanese prints. His interests were of many facets of Japanese culture such as accommodation, and the 88 Temple Pilgrimage of Shikoku. Oliver Statler, in my opinion, wrote one of the most important books on the sōsaku-hanga movement, “Modern Japanese Prints: An Art Reborn.” Frances Blakemore (1906-1997) - was an American-born artist, writer, philanthropist and curator of modern Japanese mokuhanga. She lived in Japan for over fifty years and helped to support the burgeoning sōsaku hanga print movement of the 1950s. Blakemore worked in mokuhanga (collaborating with Watanabe Shōzaburō) and making self-printed and carved prints. She also worked in oils.  Japanese Bath (1937) - 11 7/8" x 9 5/8 " Yoshitomo Nara - is a renowned Japanese contemporary artist and is celebrated for his distinctive paintings and sculptures featuring figures with large heads and expressive eyes, often exploring themes of innocence, rebellion, and solitude.  Change The History (2007) acrylic on wood 74-7/16" × 55-1/2" × 3-1/8" Mingei - is a Japanese term that translates to "folk craft" or "people's art." It refers to a movement that emerged in the early 20th century, emphasizing the value and beauty of traditional, handmade crafts created by anonymous artisans. Mingei focuses on everyday objects, such as pottery, textiles, furniture, and utensils, that reflect the culture and daily life of the people who made them. Lawrin Smith - is the author of the book "The Prints of Yoshitoshi: A Complete Illustrated Catalog" (2009). This comprehensive catalog focuses on the works of Tsukioka Yoshitoshi. The book provides detailed descriptions and illustrations of Yoshitoshi's prints, showcasing his significant contributions to the ukiyo-e genre and his influence on modern printmaking. Wabi-sabi is a Japanese aesthetic philosophy that celebrates the beauty of imperfection, transience, and the natural cycle of life. It combines two concepts: "wabi," which refers to rustic simplicity and tranquility found in nature, and "sabi,"which denotes the beauty that comes with age and wear. Wabi-sabi values simplicity, asymmetry, and the unique characteristics of objects and experiences, encouraging appreciation for the impermanent and humble aspects of life. This philosophy is reflected in various forms of art, architecture, and design, emphasizing natural materials and handcrafted items, and fostering mindfulness and acceptance of the imperfections that make life beautiful. A-yo - is a renowned Japanese artist associated with the Gutai Art Association, an avant-garde group that emerged in post-war Japan. Known for his vibrant colors and distinctive style, Ay-O's work often incorporates elements of nature, light, and movement, reflecting themes of playfulness and spontaneity. He engages with materials in innovative ways and has explored performance art as part of his creative expression. With extensive exhibitions both in Japan and internationally, Ay-O has made significant contributions to contemporary art, emphasizing the joy of creation and the aesthetic experience. Marcel Duchamp (1887–1968) was a French-American artist and a key figure in modern art, known for his significant influence on the Dada movement and conceptual art. He initially trained as a painter but became renowned for challenging traditional notions of art through his controversial works, such as "Fountain"(1917), a readymade sculpture of a urinal that questioned the definition of art and the role of the artist. Duchamp's other notable pieces, including "The Large Glass" (1915–1923) and "Bicycle Wheel" (1913), explored themes of chance and perception. His innovative ideas about art as a conceptual experience rather than a purely visual one continue to resonate, solidifying his status as one of the most influential artists of the 20th century.   Fountain (1917) replica (1964)   Naoko Matsubara - is a contemporary Japanese printmaker known for her expertise in mokuhanga. Born in Osaka, she studied at Kyoto Seika University, where she specialized in printmaking and mastered the techniques of this ancient art form. Matsubara's work often blends traditional methods with contemporary themes, exploring the relationship between nature, culture, and identity. Her prints are characterized by intricate details, vibrant colors, and a deep appreciation for the materials and techniques involved in woodblock printing. She teaches and promotes mokuhanga both in Japan and abroad, exhibiting her work in galleries and museums worldwide and receiving numerous awards for her contributions to the field. Naoko's interview with The Unfinished Print can be found, here.    Gihachiro Okuyama (1907-1981) - was a prominent Japanese printmaker and painter associated with the sōsaku hanga (creative prints) movement. Born in Tokyo, he studied traditional Japanese painting and was influenced by Western art styles, leading to innovative woodblock prints characterized by bold colors and dynamic compositions that blend traditional aesthetics with modern elements. Throughout his career, Okuyama exhibited extensively in Japan and internationally, contributing significantly to contemporary printmaking while also playing a vital role in art education by sharing his expertise with future generations. His work reflects a deep engagement with the cultural exchanges between East and West during the post-war period.     Moonscape - 10" x 21"   Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1798-1861) - is considered one of the last “masters” of the ukiyo-e genre of Japanese woodblock printmaking. His designs range from landscapes, samurai and Chinese military heroes, as well as using various formats for his designs such as diptychs and triptychs.   Prince Rokuson Tsunemoto from Suikoden of Japanese Heroes (1843) 10" x 7"    Utagawa Kunisada III (1848–1920) - was a ukiyo-e print designer from the Utagawa school of mokuhanga. Kunisada III's print designs were designed during the transformation of the Edo Period (1603-1868) into the Meiji Period (1868-1912) of Japanese history, where his prints showed the technological, architectural and historical changes in Japan's history.    Kabuki Plays - Narukami and Princess Toki (ca. 1890's) triptych   Saitō Kiyoshi (1907-1997) - was a Japanese woodblock printmaker and artist who worked in the sōsaku hanga style of mokuhanga. HIs fame outside of Japan was fairly comprehensive with his peak fame being in the 1950's and 1960's. For a comprehensive book on his life and times, Saitō Kiyoshi: Graphic Awakening published by The John & Mable Ringling Museum is an excellent source. Can be found, here. Lecture by Dr. Paget about Saitō can be found, here. My interview with Professor Paget can be found, here.    Dog, Daschund 2 10" x 15"   Edvard Munch (1863-1944) - was a Norweigan artist, who initially was a painter, but also ventured into printmaking making 850 images. His print medium was etching, lithography, and woodcut. More information can be found here, at Christie's.      Anxiety (1894)   Pieter Cornelius Mondrian (1872-1944) - a Dutch artist who's work helped found De Stijl in 1917, a group of Dutch painters who helped codify Mondrian's abstraction and industrial design. Mondrian has a wide spectrum of works and styles created throughout his career. More information can be found, here from the Guggenheim.   Mill in Sunlight (1908). Credit: Kunstmuseum Den Haag, The Hague, The Netherlands © 2021 Mondrian/Holtzman Trust   Shunga - meaning "spring pictures," is a genre of Japanese erotic art that flourished during the Edo period (1603–1868), characterized by woodblock prints, paintings, and illustrated books depicting explicit sexual scenes often combined with humor, romance, and social commentary. Notable for its vibrant colors and intricate details, shunga explores themes of intimacy and sexuality, serving both as entertainment and education in a culture where such topics were often taboo. The genre reflects societal attitudes toward love and relationships and has a rich history despite facing censorship at various times. Today, shunga is recognized as a significant part of Japanese art history, appreciated for its aesthetic qualities and cultural context. Paul Binnie - Candlelight (1994) kappazuri print 24" x 18"  Tosa Prefecture - historically known as Tosa Province, is located in the southern part of Shikoku, Japan, and corresponds to present-day Kochi Prefecture. Renowned for its natural beauty, including mountains, rivers, and coastal landscapes, Tosa has a rich cultural heritage that includes traditional crafts like Tosa washi (handmade paper) and Tosa pottery. The region is famous for its vibrant festivals, such as the Yosakoi Festival, which features lively dance performances, and is known for its agricultural products, particularly citrus fruits like yuzu and sudachi, along with seafood. Kochi City, the capital of Kochi Prefecture, serves as the cultural and economic center, showcasing local cuisine, historical sites, and museums. Tosa's unique blend of natural scenery, traditional crafts, and cultural events contributes to its significance within Japan. © Popular Wheat Productions opening and closing credit - I Am Pentagon by the band Make Up from their album Save Yourself (1999) released by K Records.  logo designed and produced by Douglas Batchelor and André Zadorozny  Disclaimer: Please do not reproduce or use anything from this podcast without shooting me an email and getting my express written or verbal consent. I'm friendly :) Слава Українi If you find any issue with something in the show notes please let me know. ***The opinions expressed by guests in The Unfinished Print podcast are not necessarily those of André Zadorozny and of Popular Wheat Productions.***        

The Unfinished Print
William Mathie : Printmaker - Planting Seeds

The Unfinished Print

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 9, 2024 66:56


Mokuhanga becomes a part of those who open themselves to its possibilities. It draws you in as an art form, with its seeming simplicity, and guides you on a profound journey of exploration. One of the strengths of mokuhanga as a practice is its ability to harmonize with other artistic and academic endeavors, enriching one's life in many ways.   On this episode of The Unfinished Print, I speak with William Mathie, a teacher and relief printmaker based in Pennsylvania. We discuss Bill's discovery of mokuhanga in the 1980s and how his academic and artistic journey in printmaking evolved, leading him to rediscover mokuhanga later in life. Bill and I delve into his personal mokuhanga teachers, his work on the Pennsylvania Print Symposium in 2006, his printmaking philosophies, his time at the First International Mokuhanga Conference in Awaji and Kyoto, and we also explore his own mokuhanga work, materials, making tools and how he views mokuhanga through an academic lens.   William Mathie - website, Instagram   Guarding The Cheese    The golden age of mokuhanga is generally considered to be during the Edo period (1603-1898), when the art of color woodcut flourished in Japan. Although woodblock printing in Japan has its origins around 700 CE, color woodblock printing began in 1743.   Rudy Pozzati (1925-2021) - was an American Professor Emeritus, painter, and printmaker who traveled extensively through grants early in life. Later, he served as a professor at Indiana University Bloomington from 1956 to 1991. Indiana University is a public research university in Bloomington, Indiana. He worked in various styles of printmaking and studied mokuhanga in Japan in the 1980s.   Man-eating Mares of King Diomedes (2009) one colour lithograph, 24 3/4" x 33 3/4"   The Adachi Institute of Woodblock Prints - is a print studio located in Tōkyō. Established in 1994 in order to promote and preserve the colour woodblock print of Japan. More information, in English and in Japanese.    Kenji Takenaka - is a mokuhanga printmaker based in Kyoto. He is a fifth generation printmaker, who has demonstrated mokuhanga technique throughout the world. He established the Takenaka Woodblock Printing Company (Takesazado) to help teach and promote mokuhanga. More information can be found, here.    Chikurin 10.6" x 15.3"   The Japan Foundation - established in October 1972 as a government-affiliated corporation and relaunched in 2003 as an independent administrative institution under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, promotes international cultural exchange through a variety of programs. With its global network, including offices in Japan and 22 overseas locations, the Foundation focuses on Arts and Cultural Exchange, Japanese-Language Education Overseas, and Japanese Studies and Intellectual Exchange. It is funded by a government endowment, annual subsidies, investment revenue, and private donations.   Tuula Moilanen  - is a Finnish mokuhanga printmaker and painter based in Finland. She lived and studied in Kyōto from 1989 to 2012, where she learned her printmaking at Kyōto Seika University and from printmaker Akira Kurosaki (1937–2019). Her work can be found here. Her interview with The Unfinished Print can be found here. Blooming Sky 2, (2017) 10.2" x 14.2"   Yukō Harada - is a mokuhanga printmaker based in Kyoto, and works at Kenji Takenaka's Takesazado and is considered a sixth generation printmaker. An interview with Ms. Harada can be found at amirisu, here.   Rainy Season Stripes 7" x 5"   Evan Summer -  He is a printmaker and Professor Emeritus based in Kutztown, Pennsylvania. He has an extensive CV of artist-in-residence programs and has focused his print work on etching. More information can be found on his website, and on Instagram.    Landscape With Sloped Horizon (State 1)  lithograph printed by Tim Sheelsey at Corridor Press (2003) 36" x 30"   registration - there are several registration methods in mokuhanga. The traditional method is called the kentō registration, where you carve two notches, straight another an "L." There is also a "floating kentō," which is where the notches are cut in a piece of "L" shaped wood and not on the wood where you are cutting your image, hence "floating." Lastly, there are removable "pins," such as ones made by Ternes Burton.    intaglio printing - is a printing method, also called etching, using metal plates such as zinc, and copper, creating “recessed” areas which are printed with ink on the surface of these "recesses.” More info, here. The MET has info, here.     Andy Farkas - is a mokuhanga printmaker, author, mentor, and documentarian based in Pennsylvania. Andy's interview with The Unfinished Print can be found, here.    Watching Over 16" x 10"    serigraphy - is another word for the art of silk screen printing. Silk screen printing can be in on various materials, silk, canvas, paper.    lithography: A printing process where images are transferred onto a surface using a flat plate or stone.   Edinboro University in Pennsylvania - a part of PennWest Edinboro, is a public university located in Edinboro, Pennsylvania. Established in 1857 as Edinboro Academy and has a rich history of providing higher education. Before becoming part of the Pennsylvania Western University system in 2022, Edinboro University was known for its strong programs in education, art, and nursing. The university offers a wide range of undergraduate and graduate programs, with a commitment to academic excellence and community engagement.   John Lysak - is a master printmaker and artist. He is associated, like William Mathie, with Egress Press, a fine art publishing and research component of the Printmaking Area of Edinboro University of Pennsylvania's Art Department. More information can be found here   Palix River Marshlands (2022) acrylic on board 11" x 17"   wood engraving  - is a printmaking technique where an artist carves an image with burins and engravers, into the surface of a block of wood. The block is then printed using pigments and pressed into paper. Wood engraving uses the end grain of a hardwood block, typically boxwood. This allows for much finer detail and more intricate lines. Thomas Bewick (1753–1828), and Eric Gill (1882–1940) are some popular wood engravers.    The Great Wave off Kanagawa - is a woodblock print designed by Katsushika Hokusai in 1831. It is very famous.      Miami University at Ohio - is a public research university in Oxford, Ohio.    International Mokuhanga Conference, 2011 - was the first international conference on mokuhanga, held in two locations in Japan: Kyoto and the Awaji Islands, which are located near Shikoku.   Keizo Sato -  is a second generation mokuhanga printmaker based in Kyoto. Mr. Sato created the Sato Woodblock Print Center to teach mokuhanga. It is associated with Kyoto Seika University. An interview with Mr. Sato conducted by Fine Art JPN can be found, here.    Hiroshi Fujisawa - is a master carver and has been carving mokuhanga for over fifty years. He demonstrated at the first International Mokuhanga Conference in 2011. A lovely blog post about an interaction with Hiroshi Fujisawa can be found, here on printmaker Annie Bissett's blog. Annie's interview with The Unfinished Print can be found, here.    Karen Kunc - is an American printmaker and Professor Emeritus at the University of Nebraska Lincoln and is based in Nebraska. Karen Kunc works in various artistic and printmaking styles but has worked in mokuhanga for many years. More information can be found on her website, here.    A Cluster (2023) 15" x 11"   Young Woman Blowing a Popen - is a mokuhanga print designed by Kitagawa Utamaro (?-1806). Utamaro was one of the first famous woodblock print designers in the Edo Period of Japan made famous by his bijin prints of beautiful women. The print was first printed in 1792/93. It is from the series Ten Classes of Women's Physiognomy.     Energy Policy, 2005 - George W. Bush's energy policy prioritized expanding domestic fossil fuel production, including controversial drilling in protected areas like the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and offered substantial subsidies to the oil and gas industry while neglecting renewable energy development. Critics argue that this approach increased greenhouse gas emissions, exacerbated climate change, and harmed public health due to higher pollution levels. Additionally, by failing to diversify energy sources and invest in sustainable alternatives, the policy left the U.S. vulnerable to energy security risks and has delayed the transition to a cleaner energy economy.   Punch Magazine - Punch magazine, founded in 1841 in London, was a British weekly publication known for its satirical humor and cartoons. Punch played a significant role in shaping British satire and social commentary during the 19th and early 20th centuries. It became famous for its witty and often biting critiques of politics, society, and culture, influencing public opinion. Despite its early success and influence, the magazine eventually declined in readership and ceased publication in 2002.   Echizen - is a region in Fukui Prefecture, Japan, known for its long history of papermaking. The area is home to many paper artisans. One notable figure is Iwano Ichibei. He is a Living National Treasure in papermaking and the ninth generation of his family still making paper today. More information can be found here.in English, and here in Japanese.    Morgan Conservatory of Papermaking - established in 2008, the Morgan Conservatory of Papermaking is a nonprofit organization based in Cleveland, Ohio, dedicated to preserving papermaking techniques from around the world. It also serves as a working studio and gallery. More information can be found here.    The Morgan Library & Museum - based New York City, originally the private library of financier J.P. Morgan, it was established in 1906 and became a public institution in 1924. It houses an extensive collection of rare books, manuscripts, drawings, and prints, including works by literary and musical greats like Charles Dickens and Mozart. The museum also hosts rotating exhibitions and serves as a cultural hub, renowned for its architectural beauty and significant contributions to literature, history, and the arts. More information can be found, here.    © Popular Wheat Productions opening and closing credit - live music at The Seabird jazz bar in Aoyama, Tōkyō, Japan. logo designed and produced by Douglas Batchelor and André Zadorozny  Disclaimer: Please do not reproduce or use anything from this podcast without shooting me an email and getting my express written or verbal consent. I'm friendly :) Слава Українi If you find any issue with something in the show notes please let me know. ***The opinions expressed by guests in The Unfinished Print podcast are not necessarily those of André Zadorozny and of Popular Wheat Productions.***        

Bright On Buddhism
Asian Religions Series - Shintō Part 2

Bright On Buddhism

Play Episode Listen Later Jul 5, 2024 25:11


Bright on Buddhism - Asian Religions Series - Shintō Part 2 Hello and welcome to the Asian religions series. In this series, we will be discussing religious traditions in Asia other than Buddhism. Buddhism never existed in a vacuum, and as it has spread all across East Asia, it has developed, localized, and syncretized with local traditions in fascinating and significant ways. As such, we cannot provide a complete picture of East Asian without discussing those local traditions such as they were and are. Disclaimer: this series is very basic and introductory, and does not and cannot paint a complete picture of these religious traditions as they are in the present or throughout history. Today, we will be discussing Shintō, a very historically and culturally significant religious tradition in Japan. We hope you enjoy Resources: Azegami, Naoki (2012). Translated by Mark Teeuwen. "Local Shrines and the Creation of 'State Shinto'". Religion. 42 (1): 63–85. doi:10.1080/0048721X.2012.641806. S2CID 219597745.; Bocking, Brian (1997). A Popular Dictionary of Shinto (revised ed.). Richmond: Curzon. ISBN 978-0-7007-1051-5.; Boyd, James W.; Williams, Ron G. (2005). "Japanese Shinto: An Interpretation of a Priestly Perspective". Philosophy East and West. 55 (1): 33–63. doi:10.1353/pew.2004.0039. S2CID 144550475.; Breen, John; Teeuwen, Mark (2010). A New History of Shinto. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 978-1-4051-5515-1.; Cali, Joseph; Dougill, John (2013). Shinto Shrines: A Guide to the Sacred Sites of Japan's Ancient Religion. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-3713-6.; Earhart, H. Byron (2004). Japanese Religion: Unity and Diversity (fourth ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. ISBN 978-0-534-17694-5.; Hardacre, Helen (2017). Shinto: A History. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-062171-1.; Kenney, Elizabeth (2000). "Shinto Funerals in the Edo Period". Japanese Journal of Religious Studies. 27 (3/4): 239–271. JSTOR 30233666.; Kitagawa, Joseph M. (1987). On Understanding Japanese Religion. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-10229-0. ;Kuroda, Toshio (1981). Translated by James C. Dobbins and Suzanne Gay. "Shinto in the History of Japanese Religion". Journal of Japanese Studies. 7 (1): 1–21. doi:10.2307/132163. JSTOR 132163; Inoue, Nobutaka (2003). "Introduction: What is Shinto?". In Nobutaka Inoue (ed.). Shinto: A Short History. Translated by Mark Teeuwan and John Breen. London and New York: Routledge. pp. 1–10. ISBN 978-0-415-31913-3. Littleton, C. Scott (2002). Shinto: Origins, Rituals, Festivals, Spirits, Sacred Places. Oxford, NY: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-521886-2. OCLC 49664424.; Offner, Clark B. (1979). "Shinto". In Norman Anderson (ed.). The World's Religions (fourth ed.). Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press. pp. 191–218.; Picken, Stuart D. B. (1994). Essentials of Shinto: An Analytical Guide to Principal Teachings. Westport and London: Greenwood. ISBN 978-0-313-26431-3.; Picken, Stuart D. B. (2011). Historical Dictionary of Shinto (second ed.). Lanham: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-7172-4.; Williams, George; Bhar, Ann Marie B.; Marty, Martin E. (2004). Shinto (Religions of the World). Chelsea House. ISBN 978-0-7910-8097-9. Do you have a question about Buddhism that you'd like us to discuss? Let us know by tweeting to us @BrightBuddhism, emailing us at Bright.On.Buddhism@gmail.com, or joining us on our discord server, Hidden Sangha ⁠⁠https://discord.gg/tEwcVpu⁠⁠! Credits: Nick Bright: Script, Cover Art, Music, Voice of Hearer, Co-Host Proven Paradox: Editing, mixing and mastering, social media, Voice of Hermit, Co-Host

The Unfinished Print
Jason Fujiwara : Printmaker - A Visual Diary

The Unfinished Print

Play Episode Listen Later May 20, 2024 45:38


Mokuhanga today can be made in so many ways. So many inspirations, so many people creating beautiful pieces from all over the world. Coming to you from Obihiro, Hokkaido, I have been traveling around Japan for over a month. Coming back to Japan is always an inspiring act and it is already like a second home to me. What brought me back to Japan this time around was the 2024 International Mokuhanga Conference held in Echizen City, Fukui, Japan. Meeting with so many mokuhanga artists, carvers, and printers inspired me and makes me want to be a better artist and to make a better podcast. On this episode of The Unfinished Print I speak with one of the mokuhanga artists who also attended the 2024 IMC. Jason Fujiwara. Jason lives and works in Tokyo, Japan where he creates his mokuhanga. Jason and I speak together about how he approaches his work, his inspirations, the idea of cultural identity in his prints , his time at the 2024 International Mokuhanga Conference, and Jason even asks me some questions. Please follow The Unfinished Print and my own mokuhanga work on Instagram @andrezadoroznyprints or email me at theunfinishedprint@gmail.com  Notes: may contain a hyperlink. Simply click on the highlighted word or phrase. Artists works follow after the note if available. Pieces are mokuhanga unless otherwise noted. Dimensions are given if known. Print publishers are given if known. Jason Fujiwara - website, Instagram Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) - born in Edo, Hiroshige is famous for his landscape series of that burgeoning city. The most famous series being, One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (1856-1859), and the landcape series, Fifty-Three Stations of the Tōkaidō (1833-1834). His work highlights bokashi, and bright colours. More info about his work can be found, here.  Ōiso: from the series The Tōkaidō Road - The Fifty-three Stations (1851-52) Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) - is one of the most famous Japanese artists to have ever lived. Hokusai was an illustrator, painter and woodblock print designer. His work can be found on paper, wood, silk, and screen. His woodblock print design for Under The Wave off Kanagawa (ca. 1830-32) is beyond famous. His work, his manga, his woodblocks, his paintings, influence artists from all over the world.  Poem by Sangi Hitoshi :  the series One Hundred Poems Explained by the Nurse (n.d.) David Bull - is a Canadian woodblock printmaker, and educator who lives and works in Japan. His love of mokuhanga has almost singlehandedly promoted the art form around the world. His company, Mokuhankan, has a brick and mortar store in Asakusa, Tōkyō, and online, here.  The Forest In Summer: From the Series "My Solitudes." (2007-9) Ema Shin - Based in Melbourne, Australia, Ema Shin hails from Niigata, Japan. She pursued her education in printmaking at Tama Art University in Tokyo. Currently, her work spans across various mediums including papier-mâché, embroidery, tapestry weaving, bookmaking, urauchi, collage, and mokuhanga. For more information, visit here.  Soft Alchemy (Fertile Heart) Woven tapestry, cotton, wool, 21" x 31" x 2.3", Matthew Stanton photography. (2019)   Terry McKenna -  is a mokuhanga printmaker and teacher residing in Karuizawa, Japan. He received guidance in the art form from Richard Steiner, a prominent mokuhanga printmaker based in Kyoto. Terry established the Karuizawa Mokuhanga School, a renowned residency dedicated to mokuhanga education. For further details about Terry and his school, here. Additionally, you can read Terry's interview with The Unfinished Print, here and Richard Steiner's interview here.    Beauty (2010)   mokume - is a woodblock printing technique where, by using heavy pressure on wood which contains a heavy grain, the artist can reveal the grain in their work. Below is a fine example of mokume technique by Osamu Sugiyama:     10 Views of Mt. Fuji - Moonlight over Shinobino Moor (13"x16.9")   bokashi - is a mokuhanga technique, where the pigment fades from a heavy colour to a softer, broad colour. Made famous by prints designed by Hokusai and Hiroshige, this technique is, for me, the most popular technique utilized by  mokuhanga printmakers. There are various types: Ichimoji-bokashi or straight line graduation, used in the above mentioned Hiroshige and Hokusai prints. Ichimoji-mura-bokashi or straight line gradation with uneven edge. Ō-bokashi or wide gradation, Ate-nashi-bokashi or gradation without definition. Futa-iro-bokashi or two tone gradation, and ita-bokashi or softer-edge gradation, where the block is cut in a specific way to achieve this style of gradation. All of these styles of bokashi technique take practice and skill but are very much doable. Below is a fine example of bokashi by Paul Binnie:     Flowers of a Hundred Years: Bubble Era [of 1990] (18.5"x13") (2024)   ukiyo-e - is a form of multi-color woodblock print and painting  primarily associated with Japan's Edo Period (1603-1867). Originating in the 17th century with prints featuring only a few colors, it evolved into a sophisticated system of production and technique by the Meiji Period (1868-1912). However, with the emergence of photography and other printmaking methods, traditional ukiyo-e production ceased by the late 19th century, leaving behind a rich legacy in Japanese art history.    Procreate - is a popular digital art app designed exclusively for iPad and iPhone. It offers a wide range of tools and features that allow artists to create digital illustrations, paintings, and designs with ease. Some of its key features include a variety of brushes, layers, blending modes, and advanced editing options. Procreate has gained popularity among digital artists due to its intuitive interface, powerful capabilities, and ability to produce high-quality artwork.   A2 - is a paper size part of the ISO 216 standard and is commonly used for posters, architectural drawings, and other large format prints. Its dimensions are 594 x 420 millimeters or approximately 23.4 x 16.5 inches.   Pansion paper - is a medium-heavy kozo paper, varying in size  and weight and is predominantly used in printmaking.    Ralph Kiggell (1960-2022) : was a highly influential figure in our world of mokuhanga printmaking. Originally from England, Ralph resided and practiced his art in Thailand. Renowned for his innovative approach, Ralph pushed the boundaries of mokuhanga through his creation of exceptionally large pieces, intricate jigsaw carving techniques, and vibrant color palettes. He also played a pivotal role in promoting mokuhanga globally through his involvement with the International Mokuhanga Conference. His legacy will be deeply felt and cherished by the mokuhanga community. You can explore Ralph's work, here. You can read his obituary in The Guardian here and his interview with The Unfinished Print, here.     White Orchid (n.d.)   Keiko Kobayashi - is a mokuhanga printmaker and administrator of the International Mokuhanga Conference. She lives and works in Tokyo, Japan. More information can be found, here.    花喰い(6) 蝋梅に四十雀 (2024) 4"x4"   nengajō -  (年賀状) what began as a way for Japanese nobility to communicate with faraway friends and family during the New Year festive period, has become a way for all people to send New Year greetings to their own friends and family. More info, here.   Kay Watanabe - is an artist located in Brisbane, Australia. Her creative endeavors span across various mediums, including mokuhanga and other printmaking techniques, painting, drawing, and photography. For further details about Kay and her artistic journey, visit here.      Heaven And Earth (2019) etching on paper    Roslyn Keane -  is a mokuhanga printmaker and baren designer situated in Sydney, Australia. Her artistic creations lean towards abstraction and often feature large-scale pieces crafted using a diverse range of techniques. For additional insights into Roslyn's work, her KBB barens, and her The Stables Print Studio, visit, here.     Transition (2019/20)    © Popular Wheat Productions opening and closing credit - eating in an izakaya in Himeji, Japan with friends recorded live in 2024.  logo designed and produced by Douglas Batchelor and André Zadorozny  Disclaimer: Please do not reproduce or use anything from this podcast without shooting me an email and getting my express written or verbal consent. I'm friendly :) Слава Українi If you find any issue with something in the show notes please let me know. ***The opinions expressed by guests in The Unfinished Print podcast are not necessarily those of André Zadorozny and of Popular Wheat Productions.***                

A History of Japan
A Question of Influence

A History of Japan

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 25, 2024 24:14 Transcription Available


The forced isolation of the Edo Period was part of a larger strategy by the Bakufu to ensure the removal of any possible rivals. However, Japan greatly benefited from foreign import and foreign learning, in spite of the shogunate's insistence that the nation needed no such outside interference.Support the Show.

Needs Some Introduction - House of the Dragon/The Patient
Shogun - Unpacking the Finale and Edo Period Film Recommendations

Needs Some Introduction - House of the Dragon/The Patient

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 23, 2024 37:03


https://letterboxd.com/needsintro/ This episode of 'Need Some Introduction' centers around a detailed breakdown of the season finale of the FX series 'Shogun,' adapted from James Clavell's 1975 novel. The host explores the episode's pivotal moments, character arcs, and how the series draws parallels with historical events and figures from the Edo period of Japanese history. Additionally, the episode provides recommendations for films related to the Edo period, offering insights into historical accuracy and cultural representation. Films discussed include the 1962 samurai drama 'Harakiri' and its 2011 remake, 'Yojimbo' by Akira Kurosawa, and 'Twilight Samurai' starring Hiroyuki Sanada. The narrative also covers the historical parallels between the series' characters and their real-life counterparts, providing a deeper understanding of the show's themes and the period it depicts. 00:00 Welcome to the Season Finale Breakdown of Shogun 01:05 Diving Into the Edo Period: Film Recommendations 07:19 Exploring the Heart of Shogun: Episode 10 Recap 27:50 The Historical Context Behind Shogun's Characters 31:49 Reflecting on the Edo Period and Its Representation 36:05 Concluding Thoughts and Upcoming Content

History of Japan
Episode 526 - The Outside World and Tokugawa Japan

History of Japan

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 5, 2024 36:27


This week on the Revised Introduction to Japanese History: "closed country" isn't quite the full story. How did Japan maintain its connections to the outside world during the Edo Period? And how do some of those connections, particularly in the Ryukyus and Hokkaido, lay the groundwork for future imperial expansion? Show notes here. 

A History of Japan
To Rome and Back, the Journey of Hasekura Tsunenaga -- BONUS

A History of Japan

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 12, 2024 17:03 Transcription Available


Near the beginning of the Edo Period, a samurai from Sendai Domain in Tohoku took a globe-spanning journey which took him across two oceans and included Mexico, Spain, France, Italy, and the Philippines.Support the show

A History of Japan
Artists of the Early Edo Period -- BONUS

A History of Japan

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 29, 2024 17:43 Transcription Available


In this episode, we discuss the founder of Kabuki theatre Izumo Okuni, playwright Chikamatsu Monzaemon, legendary sculptor Hidari Jingoro, poet Matsuo Basho, and the birth of Ukiyo-e painting.Here is a link to a short film about Hidari Jingoro (CONTENT WARNING: EPIC STOP-MOTION VIOLENCE): https://youtu.be/DpefYPLH67A?si=qpVZHtEncVs9WnPTSupport the show

The Unfinished Print
Henry Smith PhD - Physical Chemistry

The Unfinished Print

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 28, 2024 137:00


In this episode of The Unfinished Print, I speak with Henry Smith, Professor Emeritus in the Dept. of East Asian Languages & Cultures at Columbia University.  Together we delve into the scientific aspects of Meiji woodblock prints, exploring the trajectory of Nishiki-e during the late Edo and Meiji eras. Additionally, we examine the significance of cochineal and naphthol dyes, and scrutinize particle sizes. Henry's scholarly contributions include groundbreaking articles on subjects such as Hokusai and the Blue Revolution, with the introduction of Prussian Blue to the Japanese woodblock aesthetic during the mid to late Edo Period.  Join me in discovering how Henry's passion drew him into the enchanting world of Meiji woodblock prints, as we navigate the influence of Western collectors in Meiji Japan, exemplified by figures like English s urgeon William Anderson. Henry helps me in understanding the rich palette and the science behind Meiji prints, shaped by the infusion of imported dyes and pigments. Please follow The Unfinished Print and my own mokuhanga work on Instagram @andrezadoroznyprints or email me at theunfinishedprint@gmail.com  Notes: may contain a hyperlink. Simply click on the highlighted word or phrase. Artists works follow after the note if available. Pieces are mokuhanga unless otherwise noted. Dimensions are given if known. Publishers are given if known. The funeral procession of Meiji Emperor at Nijubashi designed by Yasuda Hanpo (1889-1947) Columbia Academic Commons  Professor Henry Smith's article on the Japanese Student movement, here. Peter Gluck - is an American architect who has won multiple awards and has designed buildings all over the world. He is the principal of GLUCK+, an architecture firm based in New York City.  Professor Carol Gluck - is a Special Research Scholar and George Sansom Professor Emerita of History, Department of History at Columbia University. She has written multiple books and articles on Japanese history.  Jane Jacobs (1916-2006) - an American-Canadian journalist, activist who had written extensively on the life and death of North American cities such as New York City, and Toronto. Her book The Death And Life Of Great American Cities, is considered a classic in urban planning for the modern city and its subsequent decline.  Robert Venturi (1925-2018) -  was an American architect and theorist known for his contributions to postmodern architecture. He, along with his partner and wife Denise Scott Brown, played a key role in shaping architectural discourse in the late 20th century. Venturi challenged the modernist principles that dominated architecture at the time, advocating for a more inclusive and eclectic approach. His book, Complexity and Contradiction in Architecture (1966) was where he critiqued the rigidity of modernist architecture and championed a more diverse and contextual approach to architecture.  Metabolism (Japan) - The Metabolism movement was characterized by a group of young Japanese architects and designers who sought to address the challenges of rapid urbanization and rebuilding after World War II. Key principles and concepts of Metabolism in Japanese architecture are megastructures, prefabrication and modularity, biology and organic growth, and technological innovation. One special notable example of Metabolist architecture was the now demolished Kisho Kurokawa's Nakagin Capsule Tower in Tōkyō. Shinjuku: The Phenomenal City - was the exhibition Henry Smith discussed in this episode. It was exhibited December 16, 1975 to March 7, 1976 at the Museum of Modern Art, New York City. More info, here. a+u magazine - also known as architecture and urbanism magazine, is a Japanese/English architecture magazine first published in 1971. More info, here.  Kōji Taki (1928-2011) - was a Japanese author, architectural critic, editor, and key figure in the Metabolist movement. He played a significant role in shaping the discourse of contemporary architecture in Japan and was instrumental in promoting the ideas of the Metabolists. Kappabashi - located in Tōkyō's Asakusa district, is a renowned destination for kitchenware and restaurant supplies. The street is lined with stores offering a diverse range of products, including traditional Japanese knives, sushi-making equipment, and unique culinary gadgets. Kappabashi is especially popular for its sampuru shops, where visitors can buy realistic food replicas commonly displayed outside restaurants. The area features a mix of large retailers and specialty stores, creating a charming atmosphere with its traditional Japanese architecture. It's easily accessible from Tawaramachi Station on the Tokyo Metro Ginza Line. fūkei hanga - are landscape images. These paintings and prints represent the natural world such as mountains, rivers, waterfalls. You can find these types of prints from the golden age of nishiki-e to shin-hanga, to today.  Sunset at Tomonotsu (1940, 9"x14") by Tsuchiya Koitsu (1879-1942) and published by Watanabe.  Mitaka - is a city located in the western part of Tōkyō, Japan. A very pretty and quiet part of the city it is famous for the Ghibli Museum, and Inokashira Park. 100 Views of Edo (名所江戸百景) - is a series of nishiki-e prints designed by Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858). It was published between 1856 and 1859 and consists of 118 or 119 prints, each depicting various scenes of Edo (Tōkyō). The prints show the beauty, diversity, and everyday life of Edo, capturing different seasons, landscapes, landmarks, and activities. Hiroshige's use of color, composition, and atmospheric effects contributes to the series' enduring popularity. The scenes range from bustling urban areas and landscapes to rural views, often incorporating elements of nature and traditional Japanese culture. Suruga-chō (1885) Thirty Six Views of Mount Fuji - one of Hokusai's most iconic series, known for its various depictions of Mount Fuji in different seasons, weather conditions, and different vantage points. The series includes "The Great Wave off Kanagawa." Published between 1830-1832 the series portrays Mount Fuji in different perspectives, everyday life, as well as the special importance of Mount Fuji in Edo culture. The series had a large impact on Western artists and thinkers, including the Impressionists and Post-Impressionists. Umezawa Hamlet-fields in Sagami Province (1830-31) Santa Barbara Museum of Art - is an art museum located in Santa Barbara, California, USA. Its collection contains art works from all over the world, focusing on paintings, sculpture, and paper works. More info, here.  Kobayashi Kiyochika (1847-1915) - was a painter and woodblock print designer famous for his war prints on the First Sino-Japanese War (July 25, 1894- April 17, 1895). Kiyochika captured the transitional period in Japanese history as the country underwent rapid modernization and Westernization during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Onoguchi Tokuji Destroying The Gate at Jinzhoucheng (1895 14 3/4" x 28 9/16") published by Daikokuya. Utagawa School - was a school of print designers starting with Utagawa Toyoharu (1735-1814). He employed one point perspective (vanishing point) in his print designs, being influenced by Western perspective. The influence of the Utagawa school goes far in Japanese print history and one of its most successful. This schools print designs of kabuki portraits, beautiful women (bijin-ga), and landscapes are excellent. Some famous names attributed to the Utagawa school are Utamaro (1753-1806), Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865), and Ando Hiroshige (1797-1858). A fine description of this school can be found, here at Artelino.  Newly Published Picture of the Battle of Jiuzan-shan in China (9 3/16" x 13 1/8") attributed to Utagawa Toyoharu Okumura Masanobu (1686-1784) - was a Japanese nishiki-e artist and print designer who lived during the Edo period. He is credited with pioneering the use of full-color printing and is considered one of the early masters of the art form. Okumura Masanobu was known for his contributions to bijin-ga and yakusha-e (actor prints). He played a role in the development of nishiki-e as a popular art form. More information can be found at Viewing Japanese Prints, here.  Large Perspective Picture of Evening Cool by Ryōgoku Bridge (ca. 1748) hand coloured Sumida River - is a major river that flows through Tōkyō, Japan. It plays a significant role in the history, culture, and landscape of the city. The Sumida River flows for approximately 27 kilometers (about 17 miles) through Tokyo, originating from Kita City and flowing into Tōkyō Bay. It passes through several wards, including Kita, Adachi, Sumida, Taito, Koto, and Chuo. The river has been portrayed in nishiki-e prints for generations, along with its bridges.  Kobayashi Kiyochika the Sumida River at Night (9.76"x14" - est. 1881) Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1798-1861) - is considered one of the last “masters” of the ukiyo-e genre of Japanese woodblock printmaking. His designs range from landscapes, samurai and Chinese military heroes, as well as using various formats for his designs such as diptychs and triptychs. Yamayoshi Genba no jō Chikafusa (14 5/16" x 9 15/16" - 1848/49) published by Sumiyoshiya Ike no Taiga (1723-1776) - was a Japanese painter of the mid-Edo period, known for his skill in the Nanga style, which was influenced by Chinese literati painting. He is best remembered for his role in promoting a cross-cultural exchange of ideas between Japan and China in the realm of art and aesthetics during the Edo Period. Landscape with Pavilion (1750) Akita ranga painting - a style of Japanese painting that emerged in the late Edo period, particularly during the 19th century, in the region of Akita in northern Japan. The term "ranga" literally translates to "Dutch painting" and reflects the influence of European painting styles, particularly Dutch and Western techniques, which were introduced to Japan through trade with the Dutch during the Edo Period. More info, here.  Satake Shozan (1748-1785) - Pine Tree and Parakeet (68.11" x 22.83") est 1700's, painting. Shinobazu Pond - is a large pond located within Ueno Park in Tōkyō, Japan. Ueno Park is a spacious public park that is home to several museums, a zoo, temples, and beautiful green spaces. Shinobazu Pond is one of the central features of Ueno Park, and it is renowned for its scenic beauty and historical significance. hanmoto system - is the Edo Period (1603-1868) collaboration system of making woodblock prints in Japan. The system was about using, carvers, printers, and craftsmen by various print publishers in order to produce woodblock prints. The system consisted of the following professions; publisher, artist, carver, and printer. William Anderson (1842–1900) was an English surgeon and collector with a significant impact on the appreciation and understanding of Japanese art in the late 19th century. Anderson became a passionate collector of Japanese art, amassing a vast and diverse collection that included nishiki-e, ceramics, textiles, and other traditional artworks. His collection grew to be one of the most significant and comprehensive of its time. His bequest laid the foundation for the development of Japanese art studies in the West, influencing subsequent generations of scholars, collectors, and enthusiasts. ezōshiya - is a type of Japanese bookstore that specializes in selling "ehon" or picture books. Ehon are valued not only for their storytelling but also for the quality of illustrations. These books played a role in promoting visual literacy and appreciation of art in Japan. Nishiki-e had been sold at these book stores during the Edo Period.  Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865) is widely regarded as one of the most significant woodblock print designers in Japanese history. His diverse portfolio includes prints ranging from landscapes and books to erotica and sumo. Kunisada worked during the vibrant era of nishiki-e alongside notable artists such as Andō Hiroshige (1797-1858), Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849), and the aforementioned Kuniyoshi. This period represents a rich and abundant chapter in Japanese woodblock print history. Ichikawa Danjurō VIII as Hanzaemon published by Tamaya Sōsuke (1852) 13 9/16" x 9 3/16" cochineal - known as yōko in Japanese, is a red dye taken from the dried bodies of female cochineal insects. These insects are native to Central and South America, where they feed on the sap of prickly pear cacti. Cochineal has been used for centuries as a natural dye, valued for its vibrant red color. An article about synthetic pigments and cochineal in Japanese woodblock prints and co-written by Henry Smith can be found, here.  William Sturgis Bigelow (1850-1926) - was an avid collector of Japanese art. His extensive travels to Japan from 1882 to 1889, coupled with a close friendship with Ernest Fenollosa, enabled him to amass a remarkable collection. Bigelow's acquisitions played a pivotal role in promoting Japanese art in the Western world. World Of The Meiji Print - is a book published by Weatherhill in 1991 and written by Julia Meech-Pekarik. It describes how nishiki-e developed and evolved during the Meiji period.  Roger Keyes (1942-2020) - was a distinguished scholar of Japanese woodblock prints. His expertise was showcased in his 1982 dissertation, a comprehensive study of Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839-1892). Additionally, Keyes authored the book 'Ehon: The Artists and the Book in Japan' in 2006, further solidifying his significant contributions to the understanding of Japanese printmaking. Amy Reigle Newland - is a Japanese print scholar who has written various articles and books upon the subject. One of my favourite books by Newland is her book about Toyohara Kunichika, Time Present and Past: Images of A Forgotten Master (1999).  Bruce Coats - is Professor of Art History and the Humanities at Scripps College, Claremont, California. He has contributed to several books on Japanese woodblock prints, one of my favourites is Chikanobu: Modernity and Nostalgia in Japanese Prints (2006).  James A Michener (1907-1997) - was a Pulitzer Prize-winning writer, scholar, and esteemed academic known for his extensive contributions to various literary genres. Beyond his celebrated literary achievements, Michener also delved into the world of Japanese prints, demonstrating a multifaceted curiosity and intellectual versatility. His exploration of Japanese prints added another layer to his diverse body of work, reflecting a deep appreciation for Japanese art and culture. Honolulu Academy of Arts - founded in 1922 by Anna Rice Cooke, evolved into the Honolulu Museum of Art (HoMA) in 2012. Rice-Cooke's vision for a multicultural art space led to its creation, with an endowment and land donated by the Cooke family. The museum's architectural style blends Hawaiian, Chinese, and Spanish influences. Over the years, HoMA expanded, adding educational wings, a cafe, and more, while its permanent collection grew to over 50,000 pieces. In 2011, The Contemporary Museum merged with HoMA, unifying as the Honolulu Museum of Art. More info, here.  shinbun nishiki-e - the Meiji Restoration of 1868 marked a pivotal moment in Japan's history, prompting significant societal upheavals. Tōkyō, formerly Edo, became the new centre of Imperial Japan, and by 1871, the traditional feudal class system had been abolished, accompanied by compulsory education laws. This era of profound change spurred creative responses to economic challenges. Starting in the summer of 1874, innovative individuals introduced shimbun nishikie, vibrant single-sheet woodblock prints that served as colorful souvenirs. These prints, produced until 1876, were not just visually striking but also narratively engaging, recounting news articles in a format ideal for oral storytelling. Renowned artists like Ochiai Yoshiiku and Tsukioka Yoshitoshi, both students of the celebrated Utagawa Kuniyoshi, played a key role in illustrating these captivating snapshots of an evolving Japan. An excellent article on shinbun nishiki-e can be found here, from All About Japan.  Fighting Off A Wolf by Sadanobu II (1848-1940) from the Nichinichi Shinbun (9 1/2" x 6 3/4")  Satsuma Rebellion -  occurring in 1877, was a last stand against the modernization policies of the Meiji government by disaffected samurai from the Satsuma domain. Led by Saigō Takamori (1828-1877), a key figure in the Meiji Restoration. The rebellion sought to restore imperial power and resist the centralization efforts of the government. The conflict ended in a decisive government victory at the Battle of Shiroyama, where Saigō met his end, marking one of the final samurai-led uprisings in Japan's history. Suzuki Harunobu (1725-1770) -pioneered the art of nishiki-e, becoming the first to craft multi-color woodblock prints. Renowned for his exquisite designs, Harunobu's subjects often revolved around the portrayal of beautiful women, shunga (erotic art), and classical poetry. His innovative techniques and thematic choices significantly influenced the genre during the Edo period in Japan. Lovers Walking In The Snow (1764-1772) (11 1/4"x8 1/8") Emperor Meiji born Mutsuhito (1852 – 1912), was the 122nd Emperor of Japan, reigning from 1867 until his death in 1912. His reign, known as the Meiji Era, marked a transformative period in Japanese history. The Meiji Restoration of 1868 saw the end of the Tokugawa shogunate and the restoration of imperial rule, with Emperor Meiji playing a central role in Japan's modernization and westernization efforts. During his era, Japan underwent significant political, social, and economic reforms, propelling the country into the ranks of major world powers. Emperor Meiji's reign is often associated with Japan's rapid modernization and emergence onto the global stage. sōsaku-hanga -  also known as creative prints, is a printmaking style primarily, though not exclusively, characterized by prints created by a single artist. Originating in early twentieth-century Japan, alongside the shin-hanga movement, this style emphasizes the artist's direct involvement in the entire printmaking process — from design and carving to printing. While the designs, especially in the early stages, may appear rudimentary, the concept of artists producing their own prints marked a significant departure from the traditional model where a select group of carvers, printers, and publishers collaborated in the creation of woodblock prints. shin hanga - is a style of Japanese woodblock printmaking that emerged in the early 20th century, marking the end of the nishiki-e period. Originating around 1915 under the direction of Watanabe Shōzaburō (1885-1962), the art form responded to the foreign demand for "traditional" Japanese imagery. Shin hanga artists focused on motifs like castles, bridges, famous landscapes, and bamboo forests. The style was initiated when Watanabe discovered Austrian artist Fritz Capelari (1884-1950) and commissioned him to design prints for Watanabe's budding printing house. This collaboration led to the evolution of shin hanga into a distinctive new style of Japanese woodblock printing. The shin hanga movement thrived until its inevitable decline after the Second World War (1939-1945). fan print (uchiwa-e) - are crafted in the form of flat, oval fans using materials such as rice paper or silk. These prints are designed to be functional fans, allowing for practical use while showcasing artistic designs. Amy Poster - is the curator emerita of Asian Art at the Brooklyn Museum. aizuri-e - are woodblock prints made entirely with shades of blue. This style gained popularity during the Edo Period.  Keisai Eisen (1790-1848) - was a nishiki-e print designer and author during the Edo Period. His print designs are famous for beautiful women and large head prints (ōkubi-e).   surimono (date unknown - Edo Period) Hiraga Gennai (1729-1779/80) - was a versatile Japanese polymath and rōnin during the Edo period. His diverse talents spanned pharmacology, rangaku (Dutch learning), medicine, literature, painting, and invention. Notable creations include the erekiteru (electrostatic generator), kankanpu (asbestos cloth). Gennai authored satirical works such as Fūryū Shidōken den (1763) and Nenashigusa (1763), along with essays like On Farting and A Lousy Journey of Love. He also wrote guidebooks on male prostitutes, including the Kiku no en (1764) and San no asa (1768). Employing various pen names like Kyūkei and Fūrai Sanjin, he is most recognized by the name Hiraga Gennai. Yokohama-e -refers to a genre of Japanese woodblock prints depicting scenes from Yokohama, a pivotal port city during the late Edo and Meiji periods. These prints showcase the influx of international influences, featuring foreign ships, traders, and cultural exchanges. Yokohama-e captures the dynamic transformation of Japan as it opened to the world, portraying a vivid visual narrative of the city's bustling trade and encounters between Japanese and Western cultures. View of Foreigners' Houses on the Beach Street Seen From Yokohama Port (ca. 1873) by Hiroshige III (1842-1894) Sadahide Utagawa (1807-1878/79) - was a designer of nishiki-e during the late Edo and early Meiji Periods. He trained under Utagawa Kunisada and depicted medieval Japanese scenes, collaborating on the 53 Stations of the Tōkaidō, and prints related to Yokohama-e.   Battle of Ōei (ca.1848) Sir William Henry Perkin (1838–1907) was a British chemist who is renowned for his accidental discovery of the first synthetic dye, known as mauveine or mauve. This significant breakthrough occurred in 1856 when Perkin was attempting to synthesize quinine, a treatment for malaria, from coal tar derivatives. Instead, he obtained a purple-colored substance while working with aniline, leading to the creation of the vibrant purple dye. napthols - are special dyes used in making colourful fabrics on handlooms. They get their name from a specific part in their makeup called an azo group. These dyes are known for making colors really bright and long-lasting on fabrics. They help create fabrics in lots of different colors, like orange, brown, yellow, scarlet, golden yellow, black, red, violet, and more.  orpiment -  sekiō in Japanese, is a bright yellow to orange-yellow mineral composed of arsenic trisulfide (As2S3). It has been historically used as a pigment in painting and for other decorative purposes due to its vibrant color. Often found in association with realgar, another arsenic sulfide mineral, orpiment has also been employed in traditional medicine and alchemy. However, its toxic nature limits such applications, and it's crucial to note that handling orpiment, especially in powdered form, poses health risks due to the presence of arsenic. Marco Leona PhD - is the David H. Koch Scientist at Large at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. He has written several articles on Spectroscopy and art.  Estée Lauder (1906-2004) - was a pioneering American businesswoman and the co-founder of the renowned cosmetics company Estée Lauder Companies. Alongside her husband Joseph Lauder, she established the company in 1946, starting with a few skincare products she developed herself. Estée Lauder's hands-on approach to marketing and emphasis on quality turned her brand into a symbol of luxury. Initially selling to friends, she built a global beauty empire with a diverse product line including skincare, makeup, and fragrances. Today, the Estée Lauder Companies remain influential in the beauty industry, with a portfolio of well-known brands. Estée Lauder's legacy is marked by her significant contributions to the cosmetics world and her establishment of an enduring and iconic beauty brand. The Adachi Institute of Woodblock Prints - is a print studio located in Tōkyō. Established in 1994 in order to promote and preserve the colour woodblock print of Japan. More information, in English and in Japanese.  The 47 Rōnin of Akō - were a group of samurai who sought revenge for the unjust death of their master, Lord Asano Naganori, in 1701. After Asano was forced to commit seppuku (a form of ritual suicide), his loyal retainers, the 47 Ronin, meticulously planned and executed the revenge, successfully avenging their lord's honor. The story is a celebrated example of bushido (samurai code) and loyalty in Japanese history and folklore. smalt - is a deep blue pigment that has been historically used in art and ceramics. It is composed of finely powdered glass, often colored with cobalt oxide to achieve its distinctive blue hue. Smalt was popular during the Renaissance and Baroque periods as a substitute for expensive blue pigments like lapis lazuli. Artists would mix smalt with binders to create blue paint for their artworks. Smalt has some drawbacks, including a tendency to fade over time and a vulnerability to darkening when exposed to certain environmental conditions. Keiji Shinohara - is a Japanese mokuhanga printmaker who apprenticed under Uesugi Keiichiro in Ōsaka. He is the artist-in-residence at Wesleyan University in Connecticut. More info about Keiji can be found here, and here. Yamado-ike from the series Eight Views of Hirakata (2006) 11"x15": gum arabic - is a sap from two types of Acacia tree. In art it is used as a binder for pigments which creates viscosity (depending on how much or little is applied to your pigments) for your watercolours and oils. Rachel Levitas has a fine description on how she uses gum arabic in her work, here.  Bakumatsu Period -  refers to the final years of the Edo period, specifically from the mid-19th century to the early 1860s. The term "Bakumatsu" can be translated as "end of the shogunate." This era was characterized by significant political, social, and economic changes that eventually led to the overthrow of the Tokugawa shogunate and the restoration of imperial rule in the Meiji period. Bunsei Period - was a period in Japanese history which lasted from April 1818 - December 1830 CE © Popular Wheat Productions opening and closing musical credit - The Shadow of Your Smile by Dominic Farinacci, G@ Records (2023)  logo designed and produced by Douglas Batchelor and André Zadorozny  Disclaimer: Please do not reproduce or use anything from this podcast without shooting me an email and getting my express written or verbal consent. I'm friendly :) Слава Українi If you find any issue with something in the show notes please let me know. ***The opinions expressed by guests in The Unfinished Print podcast are not necessarily those of André Zadorozny and of Popular Wheat Productions.***                                          

Bright On Buddhism
Asian Religions Series - Shintō Part 1

Bright On Buddhism

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 26, 2024 25:19


Bright on Buddhism - Asian Religions Series - Shintō Part 1 Hello and welcome to the Asian religions series. In this series, we will be discussing religious traditions in Asia other than Buddhism. Buddhism never existed in a vacuum, and as it has spread all across East Asia, it has developed, localized, and syncretized with local traditions in fascinating and significant ways. As such, we cannot provide a complete picture of East Asian without discussing those local traditions such as they were and are. Disclaimer: this series is very basic and introductory, and does not and cannot paint a complete picture of these religious traditions as they are in the present or throughout history. Today, we will be discussing Shintō, a very historically and culturally significant religious tradition in Japan. We hope you enjoy. Do you have a question about Buddhism that you'd like us to discuss? Let us know by tweeting to us @BrightBuddhism, emailing us at Bright.On.Buddhism@gmail.com, or joining us on our discord server, Hidden Sangha ⁠https://discord.gg/tEwcVpu⁠! Resources: Azegami, Naoki (2012). Translated by Mark Teeuwen. "Local Shrines and the Creation of 'State Shinto'". Religion. 42 (1): 63–85. doi:10.1080/0048721X.2012.641806. S2CID 219597745.; Bocking, Brian (1997). A Popular Dictionary of Shinto (revised ed.). Richmond: Curzon. ISBN 978-0-7007-1051-5.; Boyd, James W.; Williams, Ron G. (2005). "Japanese Shinto: An Interpretation of a Priestly Perspective". Philosophy East and West. 55 (1): 33–63. doi:10.1353/pew.2004.0039. S2CID 144550475.; Breen, John; Teeuwen, Mark (2010). A New History of Shinto. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell. ISBN 978-1-4051-5515-1.; Cali, Joseph; Dougill, John (2013). Shinto Shrines: A Guide to the Sacred Sites of Japan's Ancient Religion. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press. ISBN 978-0-8248-3713-6.; Earhart, H. Byron (2004). Japanese Religion: Unity and Diversity (fourth ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth. ISBN 978-0-534-17694-5.; Hardacre, Helen (2017). Shinto: A History. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-062171-1.; Kenney, Elizabeth (2000). "Shinto Funerals in the Edo Period". Japanese Journal of Religious Studies. 27 (3/4): 239–271. JSTOR 30233666.; Kitagawa, Joseph M. (1987). On Understanding Japanese Religion. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0-691-10229-0. ;Kuroda, Toshio (1981). Translated by James C. Dobbins and Suzanne Gay. "Shinto in the History of Japanese Religion". Journal of Japanese Studies. 7 (1): 1–21. doi:10.2307/132163. JSTOR 132163; Inoue, Nobutaka (2003). "Introduction: What is Shinto?". In Nobutaka Inoue (ed.). Shinto: A Short History. Translated by Mark Teeuwan and John Breen. London and New York: Routledge. pp. 1–10. ISBN 978-0-415-31913-3. Littleton, C. Scott (2002). Shinto: Origins, Rituals, Festivals, Spirits, Sacred Places. Oxford, NY: Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-521886-2. OCLC 49664424.; Offner, Clark B. (1979). "Shinto". In Norman Anderson (ed.). The World's Religions (fourth ed.). Leicester: Inter-Varsity Press. pp. 191–218.; Picken, Stuart D. B. (1994). Essentials of Shinto: An Analytical Guide to Principal Teachings. Westport and London: Greenwood. ISBN 978-0-313-26431-3.; Picken, Stuart D. B. (2011). Historical Dictionary of Shinto (second ed.). Lanham: Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0-8108-7172-4.; Williams, George; Bhar, Ann Marie B.; Marty, Martin E. (2004). Shinto (Religions of the World). Chelsea House. ISBN 978-0-7910-8097-9. Credits: Nick Bright: Script, Cover Art, Music, Voice of Hearer, Co-Host Proven Paradox: Editing, mixing and mastering, social media, Voice of Hermit, Co-Host --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/brightonbuddhism/message

The Unfinished Print
Darrel C. Karl - Collector : A Responsibility of Stewardship

The Unfinished Print

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 31, 2023 103:29


As a collector of mokuhanga, I am constantly exploring the reasons behind my love of collecting mokuhanga and why I make it and educate myself about it; it seems to be layered, even for my modest collection. So it is always fascinating to speak to someone who has been collecting for many years, with a deep understanding of why they collect and how they do.    I speak with mokuhanga collector Darrel C. Karl about his collection of prints, paintings and scrolls. It's one to admire. Collecting for years now, Darrel was kind enough to speak to me about his collection, how he began it, his love of preparatory drawings, collecting ukiyo-e, shin hanga, and we discussed in length his blogs, Eastern Impressions and Modern Japanese Theatre Art Prints.  Please follow The Unfinished Print and my own mokuhanga work on Instagram @andrezadoroznyprints or email me at theunfinishedprint@gmail.com  Notes: may contain a hyperlink. Simply click on the highlighted word or phrase. Artists works follow after the note. Pieces are mokuhanga unless otherwise noted. Dimensions are given if known. Darrel C. Karl - Eastern Impressions & Modern Japanese Theatre Art Prints. Hashiguchi Goyō (1880-1921) - a woodblock print designer who also worked, albeit shortly, with Watanabe Shōzaburō. In his short life Goyō designed some of the most iconic woodblock prints ever made. “Kamisuki” 1920, and “Woman Applying Powder” 1918.  Woman Applying Make-up (Hand Mirror) 1970's/80's reprint Ishikawa Toraji (1875-1964) -trained initially as a painter, having travelled to Europe and The States early in his professional life. Painted primarily landscapes while exhibiting at the fine art exhibitions in Japan Bunten and Teiten. Famous for designing Ten Types of Female Nudes from 1934-35. He finished his career as a painter and educator.  Morning from Ten Types of Female Nudes (1934) Charles W. Bartlett (1860-1940) - was a British painter, watercolorist and printmaker. Travelling the world in 1913, Bartlett ended up in Japan two years later. Having entered Japan, Bartlett already had a reputation as an artist. Bartlett's wife, Kate, had struck up a friendship with printmaker and watercolorist Elizabeth Keith. Watanabe Shōzaburō was acutely aware of foreign artists coming to Japan, having worked with Fritz Capelari and Helen Hyde. Watanabe published 38 designs with Charles Bartlett. Bartlett's themes were predominantly of his travels.  Udaipur (1916) 8" x 11"  Paul Binnie - is a Scottish painter and mokuhanga printmaker based in San Diego, USA. Having lived and worked in Japan in the 1990s, studying with printmaker Seki Kenji whilst there, Paul has successfully continued to make mokuhanga and his paintings to this day. You can find Paul's work at Scholten Gallery in Manhattan, and Saru Gallery in The Netherlands.  Butterly Bow (2005) 15" x 11" Yamakawa Shuhō (1898-1944) - was a Nihon-ga painter and printmaker. His prints were published by Watanabe Shōzaburō and he created the Blue Collar Society in 1939 with Itō Shinsui. Made famous for his bijin-ga prints.  Dusk (1928) 14.3" x 9.5" Red Collar (1928) Otojirō Kawakami (1864-1911) - was a Japanese actor and comedian. His wife was geisha, and actress Sadayako (Sada Yakko).  Impressions - is a biannual magazine published by The Japanese Art Society of America.  Andon - is a biannual magazine published by The Society of Japanese Art.  Gallaudet University - is a private federally charted university located in Washington D.C., USA for the deaf and hard of hearing. More info can be found here.  National Museum of Asian Art - is a museum within the Smithsonian group museums and was the first fine art museum by The Smithsonian in 1923. More info can be found, here.  Vincent Hack (1913-2001) - was an American printmaker and Colonel in the United States Army. He produced mokuhanga from ca. 1950-1960. He studied in the Yoshida atelier while living in Tokyo. More information about VIncent Hack can be found in Eastern Impressions, here.  Chinese beauty and Dragon (not dated) Elizabeth Keith (1887-1956) - was a Scottish born printmaker, watercolorist, and painter. She travelled extensively before living in Japan  from 1915-1924. In 1917 she was introduced to print published Watanabe Shōzaburō and by 1919 after some work with Watanabe's skilled artisans Keith started to see some of her designs printed. Over 100 prints were published of Keith's designs. More information can be found, here.  Little Pavillion, Coal Oil, Peking (1935) Lillian May Miller (1895-1943) - was a Japan born American printmaker. Studying under painter Kanō Tomonobu (1853-1912). Miller began carving and printing her own prints by 1925 having studied under Nishimura Kumakichi.  Rain Blossoms (1928) 10" x 15" Nöel Nouët  (1885-1969) - was a French painter, illustrator and designer who designed prints for Doi Hangaten between 1935 and 1938 when Nouët was teaching in Shizuoka City, Shizuoka, Japan.  Haruna Lake (1938) Helen Hyde (1868-1919) - was an American etcher, and printmaker who studied in Japan with artists such as Emil Orlik (1870-1932). Hyde was influenced by French Japonisme and lived in Japan from 1903-1913.  A Japanese Madonna (1900) 14.5" x 3" Kataoka Gadō V (1910-1993) - was a Kabuki actor who specialized in female roles or onnagata in Japanese. He became Kitaoka Nizaemon XIV posthumously.  Natori Shunsen (1886-1960) - was a Nihon-ga painter and woodblock print designer who worked with Watanabe Shōzaburō. Shunsen's prints focused on kabuki actors, mainly ōkubi-e , large head prints.  Ichikawa Ennosuke as Kakudayu (1928) 15" x 10" Kabuki-za - is the main theatre in Tōkyō which shows kabuki performances. It was opened in 1889 and has been rebuilt several times in its history.  Kabuki Costume - is a book written by Ruth M. Shaver with illustrations by Sōma Akira and Ōta Gakkō (1892-1975). It is an in-depth book about the costuming in kabuki theatre. It was published by Charles E. Tuttle in 1966. Ōta Gakkō - was an artist and designer who also designed woodblock prints in the 1950's.  Ichikawa Jukai III (1886-1971) as Shirai Gonpachi  from Figures of the Modern Stage: no. 3 (1954) Tsuruya Kōkei - is a mokuhanga artist who lives and works in Tokyo, Japan. His prints have focused on kabuki actors; in the 1980s, he was commissioned to produce kabuki portraits by the Kabuki-za theatre in Tokyo. Recently, he has focused on cats and the masters of mokuhanga such as Hokusai (1760-1849). He printed on very thin gampi paper.  Five Styles of Banzai-Ukiyoe / Katsushika Hokusai (2017)  Yamamura Toyonari (1885-1942) - also known as Kōka, is a painter, and print designer known for his theatrical prints, actor prints, landscapes and beautiful women. He studied under printmaker Ogata Gekkō (1859-1920). Toyonari worked with carvers and printers to create his prints such as those at Watanabe's studio and also printed and carved his own prints.  February/Winter Sky (1924) 16.35" x 10.5" Sekino Jun'ichirō (1914-1988) - was a mokuhanga printmaker who helped establish the sōsaku hanga, creative print movement in Japan. His themes were of landscapes, animals and the abstract. Sekino exhibited and became a member with Nihon Hanga Kyōkai and studied with Ōnchi Kōshirō (1891-1955) and Maekawa Senpan (1888-1960).  Woman In A Snowy Village (1946) 13" x 10" Bertha Lum (1869-1954) - was born in Iowa. Having begun travelling to Japan in 1903, Bertha Lum noticed the decline of the Japanese woodblock print in Japan in the early 20th Century, deciding to take up the medium. Lum began making woodblock prints after learning in Japan from an unknown teacher during her first trip to Japan. Japan, Lafcadio Hearn (1850-1904), and China influenced Bertha Lum's prints. Lum's work focused on these themes through an American lens.  Winter (1909) 8" x 14" Waseda University  - is a private research university located in Tōkyō, Japan. It was established in 1882. Waseda has one of the largest woodblock print databases in the world, and are free to use. More information can be found, here.  Scholten Japanese Art - is a mokuhanga-focused art gallery in midtown Manhattan. René Scholten, an avid collector of the Japanese print, founded it. You can find more info here. Katherine Martin is the managing director of Scholten Japanese Art. Katherine has written extensively for the gallery and conducted lectures about Japanese prints. Her interview with The Unfinished Print can be found, here.  Utagawa Kunisada III (1848–1920) - was a ukiyo-e print designer from the Utagawa school of mokuhanga. Kunisada III's print designs were designed during the transformation of the Edo Period (1603-1868) into the Meiji Period (1868-1912) of Japanese history, where his prints showed the technological, architectural and historical changes in Japan's history.  Kataoka Jūzō I as Hanako from the play Yakko Dōjōji at the Kabuki-za (1906). chūban - 10.4” x 7.5” senjafuda - are the votive slips Claire brings up in her interview. These were hand printed slips pasted by the worshipper onto the Buddhist temple of their choosing. These slips had many different subjects such as ghosts, Buddhist deities, and written characters. Japan Experience has bit of history of senjafuda, here.   Shintomi-za -built in 1660 and also known as the Morita-za was a kabuki theatre located in the Kobiki-chō area of Tokyo, today the Ginza District. It was famous for taking risks with its productions.    Meiji-za - was a kabuki-specific theatre built in 1873 and underwent several name changes until finally being named the Meiji-za in 1893. The theatre continues to this day.    Imperial Theatre - is the first Western theatre to be built in Japan in 1911 and is located in Marunouchi, Chiyoda, Tokyo. It continues to show Western operas and plays.    The John F. Kennedy Center For The Performing Arts - was built in 1971, and named after the 35th President of the United States, John F. Kennedy. The theatre is located in Washington D.C. and hosts many different types of theatre, dance, orchestras and music. More information can be found, here.    The Subscription List - also known as Kanjichō in Japanese, is a kabuki play derived from the noh play Ataka. The modern version of this play was first staged in 1840. It is performed as the 18 Famous Plays as performed by the Danjurō family of actors.     The Subscription List designed by Toyohara Kunichika (1835-1900)   Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1798-1861) - is considered one of the last “masters” of the ukiyo-e genre of Japanese woodblock printmaking. His designs range from landscapes, samurai and Chinese military heroes, as well as using various formats for his designs such as diptychs and triptychs.      Waseda University  - is a private research university located in Tōkyō, Japan. It was established in 1882. Waseda has one of the largest woodblock print databases in the world, and are free to use. More information can be found, here.    Yoshida Hiroshi (1876-1950) - a watercolorist, oil painter, and woodblock printmaker. Is associated with the resurgence of the woodblock print in Japan, and in the West. It was his early relationship with Watanabe Shōzaburō, having his first seven prints printed by the Shōzaburō atelier. This experience made Hiroshi believe that he could hire his own carvers and printers and produce woodblock prints, which he did in 1925.      Kiso River (1927)   Toyohara Chikanobu (1838-1912) - was a painter and designer of mokuhanga. He was a samurai during the final years of the Tokugawa shogunate rule in Japan. As Chikanobu began to look more to art as a living, he studied under Utagawa Kuniyoshi where he learned Western painting and drawing techniques. He also studied under Utagawa Kunisada and Toyohara Kunichika. His print designs were of many different types of themes but Chikanobu is well known for his war prints (sensō-e), kabuki theatre prints, current events and beautiful women.      Enpo- Jidai Kagami (1897)   32 Aspects of Women - is a series of prints designed by Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839-1892). It was his first series of bijin-ga designs.    shin hanga - is a style of Japanese woodblock printmaking which began during the end of the ukiyo-e period of Japanese printmaking, in the early 20th Century. Focusing on the foreign demand for “traditional” Japanese imagery and motifs such as castles, bridges, famous landscapes, bamboo forests, to name just a few.  Shin hanga was born in 1915 by Watanabe Shōzaburō (1885-1962) when he found Austrian artist Frtiz Capelari (1884-1950) and commissioned Capelari to design some prints for Watanabe's feldgling printing house . From there shin-hanga evolved into its own distinct “new” style of Japanese woodblock printing. It lasted as this distinct style until its innevitable decline after the Second World War (1939-1945).   Onchi Kōshirō (1891-1955) - originally designing poetry and books Onchi became on of the most I important sōsaku hanga artists and promotor of the medium. His works are saught after today. More info, here.   Composition in Red and Brown (1950) 19" x 15"   Saru Gallery - is a mokuhanga gallery, from ukiyo-e to modern prints, and is located in Uden, The Netherlands. Their website can be found, here.   ukiyo-e - is a multi colour woodblock print generally associated with the Edo Period (1603-1867) of Japan. What began in the 17th Century as prints of only a few colours, evolved into an elaborate system of production and technique into the Meiji Period (1868-1912). With the advent of photography and other forms of printmaking, ukiyo-e as we know it today, ceased production by the late 19th Century.    surimono (摺物)-  are privately commissioned woodblock prints, usually containing specialty techniques such as mica, and blind embossing. Below is Heron and Iris, (ca. 1770's) by Andō Hiroshige (1797-1858). This print is from David Bull's reproduction of that work. You can find more info about that project, here.   Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) - is one of the most famous Japanese artists to have ever lived. Hokusai was an illustrator, painter and woodblock print designer. His work can be found on paper, wood, silk, and screen. His woodblock print design for Under The Wave off Kanagawa (ca. 1830-32) is beyond famous. His work, his manga, his woodblocks, his paintings, influence artists from all over the world.     Poem by Sōsei Hōshi, from the series One Hundred Poems Explained by the Nurse. Taishō period (1912–26)s reproduction.    Kitagawa Utamaro (1753-1806) - was a painter and ukiyo-e designer during the Edo Period of Japan. His portraits of women are his most famous designs. After getting into trouble with the shogunate during the early 19th Century with some offensive images of deceased shogun Toyotomi Hideyoshi (1536/37-1598), Utamaro was jailed and passed away shortly after that.    The Courtesan Umegawa and Chubei of the Courier Firm   Tokyo University of the Arts (Geidai) - founded during the merger of the Tokyo Fine Arts School and the Tokyo Music School in 1949, TUA offers Masters's and Doctorate degrees in various subjects such as sculpture, craft and design as well as music and film. It has multiple campuses throughout the Kantō region of Japan. More information regarding the school and its programs can be found here.    Honolulu Museum of Art - dedicated to art and education focusing on arts from around the world and Hawaiian culture itself. More info, here.   Taishō Period  (1912-1926) - a short lived period of Japanese modern history but an important one in world history. This is where the militarism of fascist Japan began to take seed, leading to The Pacific War (1931-1945). More info can be found, here.   Enami Shirō (1901-2000) - was a printmaker who is associated with ephemeral prints such as greeting cards. Also created his own larger format prints during the burgeoning sōsaku hanga movement of the early to mid Twentieth Century.      The Benkei Moat (1931) 12.5" x 9"   Kitano Tsunetomi (1880-1947) - was an illustrator, Nihon-ga painter, carver and print designer. Lived and worked in Osaka where he apprenticed carving with Nishida Suketaro. Founded the Taishō Art Society and the Osaka Art Society. Painted and created prints of beautiful women as well as mokuhanga for magazines such as Dai Osaka. The most famous of his prints and paintings is Sagimusume, The Heron Maiden.        Umekawa - Complete Works of Chikamatsu (1923)   Hamada Josen (1875 - ?) - was a painter and mokuhanga designer and studied with Tomioka Eisen (1864-1905). Designed bijin, shunga,  and landscapes after the Great Kantō Earthquake of 1923. Designed prints for Collection of New Ukiyo-e Style Beauties (1924).     December - Clear Weather After Snow from the series New Ukiyo-e Beauties (1924) 17.50" x 11.12"   Ikeda Shoen (1886-1917) - was a Nihon-ga painter who's paintings also became mokuhanga prints. Her paintings are quite rare because of her early death.      School Girls Going Home (1900) 13" x 9"   Igawa Sengai (1876-1961) - was a painter, illustrator and print designer. After serving in the Russo-Japanese war (1904-1905), he joined the Miyako Shinbun in Nagoya City. Designing prints in the 1926 he designed prints for Collected Prints of the Taishō Earthquake and in the 1930's he designed propaganda prints for the Japanese war effort. His contribution to the 1924 Collection of New Ukiyo-e Style Beauties (1924).     April - Rain of Blossoms (1924) from New Ukiyo-e Beauties.   Asian Art Museum San Fransisco - with over 18,000 pieces of art the Asian Art Museum of San Fransisco has one of the largest collections of Asian art in the United States. More information can be found, here.    Freer Gallery of Art - is a museum within the Smithsonian group of museums in Washington D.C, with a collection of Chinese paintings, Indian sculpture; Islamic painting and metalware; Japanese lacquer; Korean ceramics.    Arthur M. Sackler Gallery - is a museum within the Smithsonian group of museums in Washington D.C. It's collection contains some important Chinese jades and bronzes.    Yoshida Hiroshi: The Outskirts of Agra Number 3 from the series India and Southeast Asia (1932)     Yoshida Hiroshi: Cave of Komagatake from the series Southern Japan Alps (1928)   © Popular Wheat Productions opening and closing musical credit - The Crystal Ship by The Doors from their self-titled album The Doors (1967). Release by Elektra Records.   logo designed and produced by Douglas Batchelor and André Zadorozny  Disclaimer: Please do not reproduce or use anything from this podcast without shooting me an email and getting my express written or verbal consent. I'm friendly :) Слава Українi If you find any issue with something in the show notes please let me know. ***The opinions expressed by guests in The Unfinished Print podcast are not necessarily those of André Zadorozny and of Popular Wheat Productions.***                                    

A History of Japan
The Sacred and the Profane

A History of Japan

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 9, 2023 15:00 Transcription Available


Throughout Japanese history, there were people called "Nonhumans" who specialized in removing spiritual pollution. While their descendants would face discrimination during the Edo Period, in this episode we explore their origins and discuss why they became segregated and oppressed.Support the show

Reviewing History
BONUS EPISODE - Give Me Back My Action Movies Lone Wolf and Cub Ft. Brian Ruppert

Reviewing History

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 12, 2023 96:00


Brian was a guest on Give Me Back My Action Movies To Discuss Lone Wolf and Cub. Enjoy it here as a bonus episode! "You may not know it but movies and television like Kill Bill, 13 Assassins, and The Professional, The Mandalorian and The Last of Us all owe Lone Wolf and Cub a great debt of gratitude even if Charlie and Nate wrongly dislike it. Thankfully the cultured stylings of Troy and Pete were able to team up with the Reviewing History Podcast's Brian Ruppert to set them straight. We talk about the Edo Period of Japanese history and examine the classic samurai tale and it's relationships to modern cinema. Oh and did I mention the glorious blood fountains cause we got those too. So many blood fountains."

Give Me Back My Action Movies
Lone Wolf and Cub: Sword of Vengence - Action

Give Me Back My Action Movies

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 12, 2023 96:00


You may not know it but movies and television like Kill Bill, 13 Assassins, and The Professional, The Mandalorian and The Last of Us all owe Lone Wolf and Cub a great debt of gratitude even if Charlie and Nate wrongly dislike it. Thankfully the cultured stylings of Troy and Pete were able to team up with the Reviewing History Podcast's Brian Ruppert to set them straight. We talk about the Edo Period of Japanese history and examine the classic samurai tale and it's relationships to modern cinema. Oh and did I mention the glorious blood fountains cause we got those too. So many blood fountains.

The Unfinished Print
John Resig - Digital Humanities

The Unfinished Print

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 11, 2023 83:55


When making mokuhanga and producing The Unfinished Print, I have looked towards various online tools for research and inspiration. One of these tools is ukiyo-e.org. A Japanese woodblock print database which collects and archives woodblock print collections from around the world.  John Resig is the chief software architect at the Khan Academy who, in 2013, for his love of mokuhanga and the Japanese woodblock print, and through his own  collection, developed ukiyo-e.org.  Those researching, collecting, and making mokuhanga can explore some of the best Japanese print collections at the click of a button. In this episode of The Unfinished Print, I speak with ukiyo-e.org developer John Resig about why he decided to create the website and how his collecting of mokuhanga and making mokuhanga affected that decision. We also discuss the evolution of the humanities in mokuhanga, archiving prints, tradition, and the copywriting of images, as well as John's work with the Japanese Art Society of America.  Please follow The Unfinished Print and my own mokuhanga work on Instagram @andrezadoroznyprints or email me at theunfinishedprint@gmail.com  Notes: may contain a hyperlink. Simply click on the highlighted word or phrase. Artists works follow after the note. Pieces are mokuhanga unless otherwise noted. Dimensions are given if known. John Resig  - Ukiyo-e.org, Digital Humanities Research, John's personal mokuhanga collection on Airtable,   Sky Above Clouds IV: After Georgia O'Keefe (2019) Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1798-1861) - is considered one of the last “masters” of the ukiyo-e genre of Japanese woodblock printmaking. His designs range from landscapes, samurai and Chinese military heroes, as well as using various formats for his designs such as diptychs and triptychs.  Five portraits of the actor Ichikawa Danjuro VIII (1823-1854) in various roles (1849) yakusha-e - (役者絵) is the Japanese term for actor prints in mokuhanga.  Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865) Tsukioka Yoshitoshi  1839-1892 (月岡 芳年) was a mokuhanga designer who is famous for his prints depicting violence and gore. His work is powerful, colourful, and one of the last vibrant moments of the ukiyo-e genre of woodblock prints. More information about Yoshitoshi's life and his copious amount of work can be found, here.   Iga no Tsubone and the Ghost of Fujiwara Nakanari, from the series One Hundred Ghost Stories from China and Japan (1865) Annie Bissett - is an American mokuhanga printmaker and graphic designer based in Rhode Island, USA. Her work touches on politics, and beauty. Her interview with The Unfinished Print can be found, here. Annie's work can be found, here. Irene (2023) Onchi Kōshirō (1891-1955) - originally designing poetry and books Onchi became on of the most I important sōsaku hanga artists and promotor of the medium. His works are saught after today. More info, here. Portrait of a Poet: Hagiwara Sakutarō (1886-1942) Meiji Era Prints - The Meiji Era of Japan was between 1868-1912 CE. This was a period of immense modernization and industrialization in Japan, where the Japanese economy was booming. New ideas within mokuhanga was occurring as well. Perspective, colour, through new pigments (gamboge, certain yellows), the advancement of photography, and new topics and themes (war, industry, architecture), the Meiji era print designer and publisher had a lot of choice when producing their prints.  Shigeru Kuriyama (1912-2010) - was a sōsaku hanga  printmaker who worked with Onchi Kōshirō (1891-1956), and U'nichi Hiratsuka (1895-1997). He founded the print magazine Yukari and Kasuri. His prints were focused on folk arts.   Fragrance of Lavender (1996) sōsaku-hanga - or creative prints, is a style of printmaking which is predominantly, although not exclusively, prints made by one person. It started in the early twentieth century in Japan, in the same period as the shin-hanga movement. The artist designs, carves, and prints their own works. The designs, especially in the early days, may seem rudimentary but the creation of self-made prints was a breakthrough for printmakers moving away from where only a select group of carvers, printers and publishers created woodblock prints.  Your First Print: David Bull - this was the first DVD I ever purchased on how to make mokuhanga. This was in and around 2007. While I look back at that time thinking about why I didn't take it up as seriously as I do now, I sometime wonder, "Where would I be now in my Mokuhanga journey?" I realize that that is a redundant way of thinking. I am where I am now today, and to be happy with just that. You can still find this product on Dave's website.  Takuji Hamanaka - printmaker based in Brookly, NY. Uses bokashi,  a printmaking technique, predominately in his works. Unique and powerful. website Instagram Collapse (2016) April Vollmer - is an established artist who works predominantly in mokuhanga. Her book Japanese Woodblock Print Workshop is one of the most authoritative books on the subject and has influenced many mokuhanga artists. April's interview with The Unfinished Print can be found, here. Wood Like Matsumura - is an online and brick and mortar store, for woodblock printmaking, located in Nerima City, Tōkyō. Yoshida Hiroshi (1876-1950) - a watercolorist, oil painter, and woodblock printmaker. Is associated with the resurgence of the woodblock print in Japan, and in the West. It was his early relationship with Watanabe Shōzaburō, having his first seven prints printed by the Shōzaburō atelier. This experience made Hiroshi believe that he could hire his own carvers and printers and produce woodblock prints, which he did in 1925.  Kiso River (1927) kabuki - is a traditional form of Japanese theatre which started in Kyoto on the banks of the Kamo River in the 17th Century. Today it is a multi million dollar business and is almost exclusively run, professionally, by The Shochiku Company. Kabuki, the word, is separated into three different sounds; ka - meaning to sing, bu - meaning to dance, and ki- meaning skill. There are various families in kabuki which generate actors, passing down tradition throughout the lineage. For more information please read this fine article from Nippon.com. There are many books written on the subject of kabuki, but in my opinion, to begin, one needs to read Leonard Pronko's work Theatre East & West, Kawatake Toshio's Kabuki, and Earl Ernst's The Kabuki Theatre. Online, please visit Kabuki21.com, who's site is unparalleled. On YouTube there is the new(ish) Kabuki In-Depth which is updated regularly on kabuki information and history, and is very well done.  Georgia O'Keeffe (1887 – 1986) was a renowned American artist, known for her pioneering contributions to modern American art, particularly in the realm of abstract and contemporary art. Lake George Reflection (1921) bokashi - is a mokuhanga technique, where the pigment fades from a heavy colour to a softer, broad colour. Made famous by prints designed by Hokusai and Hiroshige, this technique is, for me, the most popular technique utilized by  mokuhanga printmakers. There are various types: Ichimoji-bokashi or straight line graduation, used in the above mentioned Hiroshige and Hokusai prints. Ichimoji-mura-bokashi or straight line gradation with uneven edge. Ō-bokashi or wide gradation, Ate-nashi-bokashi or gradation without definition. Futa-iro-bokashi or two tone gradation, and ita-bokashi or softer-edge gradation, where the block is cut in a specific way to achieve this style of gradation. All of these styles of bokashi technique take practice and skill but are very much doable.  Bertha Lum (1869-1954) - was born in Iowa. Having begun travelling to Japan in 1903, Bertha Lum noticed the decline of the Japanese woodblock print in Japan in the early 20th Century, deciding to take up the medium. Lum began making woodblock prints after learning in Japan from an unknown teacher during her first trip to Japan. Japan, Lafcadio Hearn (1850-1904), and China influenced Bertha Lum's prints. Lum's work focused on these themes through an American lens.  Winter (1909) Frances Gearhart (1869-1958) - Born in Illinois, Gearhart was a self-taught artist who spent most of her life in California. Originally a watercolorist, Frances Gearhart began experimenting with Japanese woodblock and linoleum in and around 1913. The themes of her work are predominately landscapes of the Pacific Coast and other areas of California. Her work is associated with the Arts and Crafts movement in California. A fine article on Frances Gearhart's life can be found, here.  In The Sun (1930) Fujio Yoshida (1887-1997) - the wife of Hiroshi Yoshida and the mother of Tōshi Yoshida (1911-1995) and Hodaka Yoshida (1926-1995). Fujio was so much more than a mother and wife. She had a long and storied career as a painter and printmaker. Fujio's work used her travels and personal experiences to make her work. Subjects such as Japan during The Pacific War, abstraction, portraits, landscapes, still life, and nature were some of her themes. Her painting mediums were watercolour and oil. Her print work was designed by her and carved by Fujio.  Roses (1925) TinEye - is an image search and recognition company. They use technology which allows the user to search an image creating a reverse image match. More information can be found, here.  The Metropolitan Museum of Art - is the largest art museum in North and South America. It began to be assembled by John Jay (1817-1894) in the late 19th century. Incorporated in 1870, the museum has collected many essential pieces, such as the works of Henri Matisse (1869-1954) and Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919). For more information about the MET, you can find it here. Waseda University  - is a private research university located in Tōkyō, Japan. It was established in 1882. Waseda has one of the largest woodblock print databases in the world, and are free to use. More information can be found, here.  Ristumeikan - is a university founded in 1869, and located in Kyoto and Ōsaka. Like Waseda it holds one of the largest collection of Japanese woodblock prints. You can search their database, here.  Mike Lyon  -  is an American artist. His medium has been varied throughout his career such as "square tiles," or "pixels," through to making mokuhanga, monoprinting, and machine-assisted etching, drawing and mezzotint. Mike Lyon also has a large woodblock print collection which he has curated for the public, here. More information about his work can be found, here.  Linda In Black (2019) Frick Reference Library - is a reference library in the Frick Museum in New York City. The museum was once the mansion of wealthy American industrialist Henry Clay Frick (1849-1919). The museum houses some of the finest pieces of sculpture, paintings, and art in the United States. There is also the public Frick Reference Library located on 10E 71st Street in New York City. More information can be found, here.  Hokusai: Inspiration and Influence - was an exhibition held from March 26 - July 16, 2023 at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston. More information can be found, here.  Japanese Art Society of America (JASA) - Starting in 1973 by a small group of collectors of ukiyo-e in New York City, JASA has expanded to cover many Japanese arts. Their magazine Impressions is a biannual magazine that discusses in a scholarly way various Japanese arts. More information can be found, here.  Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) - born in Edo, Hiroshige is famous for his landscape series of that burgeoning city. The most famous series being, One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (1856-1859), and the landcape series, Fifty-Three Stations of the Tōkaidō (1833-1834). His work highlights bokashi, and bright colours. More info about his work can be found, here. Below is, Coastal Landscape In Moonlight (1857) Kingfisher and Iris Scholten Japanese Art - is a mokuhanga-focused art gallery in midtown Manhattan. René Scholten, an avid collector of the Japanese print, founded it. You can find more info here. Katherine Martin is the managing director of Scholten Japanese Art. Katherine has written extensively for the gallery and conducted lectures about Japanese prints. Her interview with The Unfinished Print can be found, here.  International Mokuhanga Conference - is a bi-yearly conference dedicated to mokuhanga which started in 2011 by the International Mokuhanga Association. Each conference is themed. The latest conference was in 2021, delayed a year because of the pandemic. More information can be found, here.   Cameron Bailey - is a mokuhanga woodblock printmaker based in Queens, New York. His work is predominantly reduction woodblock. Camerons work has shown around the world. You can listen to one of his earliest interviews on The Unfinished Print, here. His work can be found, here.  Reflection (2020) sumo - while sumo wrestling has been known to Western audiences for quite some time, it is only in the past several years that the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) has created content for Western audiences to watch tournaments and engage with wrestlers through videos, such as YouTube.  Sumo prints were being produced in the Edo Period (1603-1868), with the Kastukawa school of artists beginning to create prints in the vein of actor prints of the day (yakusha-e).  Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865) A portrait of Inoyama Moriemon (1846) Acolytes of The Baren  - is the Facebook group dedicated to Dave Bull and Mokuhankan. It can be found, here. Emerging Hanga - is a Facebook group dedicated to new mokuhanga, and sharing information. It can be found, here.   Brush & Baren  - is a Facebook group dedicated to sharing the history of mokuhanga of the late 19th and early 20th Century. It can be found, here.  Friends of Baren Forum - is a Facebook group dedicated to those interested in mokuhanga and woodblock printing in general. it can be found, here.  © Popular Wheat Productions opening and closing musical credit - Flowers & Fire by BLITZ. From the album Second Empire Justice (1983), first released on Future Records.  logo designed and produced by Douglas Batchelor and André Zadorozny  Disclaimer: Please do not reproduce or use anything from this podcast without shooting me an email and getting my express written or verbal consent. I'm friendly :) Слава Українi If you find any issue with something in the show notes please let me know. ***The opinions expressed by guests in The Unfinished Print podcast are not necessarily those of André Zadorozny and of Popular Wheat Productions.***                    

The Unfinished Print
Benjamin Selby - Printmaker: It's A Reflection of Self

The Unfinished Print

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 26, 2023 83:10


Mokuhanga is a personal journey. The ups and downs of the artist are many; observing the emotions and layers of an artist simply through social media and chat rooms is complicated. Seeing a person's work is a window to who they are or want to be, their fears and desires; all these things make the mokuhanga artist so interesting to me.   On this episode of the Unfinished Print, I speak with mokuhanga printmaker and artist Ben Selby. Ben's work contains subtle emotion, powerful narratives, and unique perspectives. In my mokuhanga conversation with Ben, he speaks about his, at times, very personal experiences, how he grew up and his environment. We discuss Ben's reflection on the self in his work, his MFA thesis, the power of colour, the idea of tradition in mokuhanga, working with Richard Steiner and Terry McKenna, and alligator gar.  Please follow The Unfinished Print and my own mokuhanga work on Instagram @andrezadoroznyprints or email me at theunfinishedprint@gmail.com  Notes: may contain a hyperlink. Simply click on the highlighted word or phrase. Artists works follow after the note. Pieces are mokuhanga unless otherwise noted. Dimensions are given if known. Benjamin Selby - website, Instagram West Texas A&M University - a public university located in Canyon, Texas, established in 1910. Georgia O'Keefe (1887-1986) was head of their art department from 1916-1918. More info can be found here.  Richard Steiner - is a mokuhanga printmaker who has been making prints for over fifty years. He has lived and worked in Kyōto, Japan since 1980. He is currently still making work. His interview with The Unfinished Print can be found, here.  Peace, peace (1990)  Terry McKenna - is a mokuhanga printmaker based in Karuizawa, Nagano, Japan. He studied under Kyōto-based mokuhanga artist Richard Steiner. Terry also runs his mokuhanga school in Karuizawa. His interview with The Unfinished Print can be found here. Richard Steiner's interview with The Unfinished Print can be found here.  Kyōto International Mokuhanga School - is a mokuhanga school owned and operated by long-term mokuhanga printmaker and artist Richard Steiner. Students will learn mokuhanga from Richard in Kyoto. For more information regarding his school and price, here. Ōsaka Station - is a transfer hub located in the Japanese city of Ōsaka, Japan. It serves over 2 million passengers daily. It contains shopping and restaurants and is a labyrinth unto itself. It opened in 1874. More information can be found here.  serigraphy - is another word for the art of silk screen printing. Silk screen printing can be in on various materials, silk, canvas, paper.  Arizona State University - a public research university located in Tempe, Arizona, near Phoenix. It was founded as Territorial Normal School in 1885 and has undergone several name changes over the years, coming to its current iteration in 1958. More info can be found here.  Kintarō - is a Japanese fairy tale first published in English in 1908 by Y.T. Ozeki in the book Japanese Fairy Tales, published by the A.L. Burt Company. The story is about Kintarō, a brave boy whose exploits as a brave warrior are passed down throughout Japanese history. His image was widespread in ukiyo-e, as well as in sculpture, candy, and the like. He has been in modern video games, manga, and anime.  Kintarō Fighting an Eagle - Edo Period (1603-1898) by Kitagawa Tuskimaro (1794-1836). Tsukimaro was a little-known ukiyo-e print artist but was most successful under his teacher Kitagawa Utamaro (1753-1806).  International Mokuhanga Conference - is a bi-yearly conference dedicated to mokuhanga which started in 2011 by the International Mokuhanga Association. Each conference is themed. The latest conference was in 2021, delayed a year because of the pandemic. More information can be found, here.   Printed books in the Edo Period (1603-1868) - were books published in woodblock on low-quality paper. Yet, these books contained many exciting and beautiful designs and techniques. Jacob Bautista - is an artist and teacher based in Amarillo, Texas, USA. His work is expressed through etching and stone lithography; more information about Jacob and his work is here.   Bitten (2018) photoshop Alligator gar - is one of North America's largest freshwater fish and is considered a living fossil in that its origins go back as far as 100 million years ago. These particular gars are primarily found in the Southern United States. Spillway - a structure which controls the amount of water going into a dam or levee.  Gyotaku - are Japanese fish prints. These prints are created in various formats, such as inking the fish after its caught using washi and paste(直接法), the indirect method where washi is pasted to the fish, which is then inked on the fish (間接法), and the transfer method, (転写法), where the image is pressed onto washi which is then transferred to wood or another type of surface and pressed onto that. For more information there's a great video here, about gyotaku printmaker Bruce Koike from Oregon, who has been making these prints since the 1980's.  shin hanga - is a style of Japanese woodblock printmaking which began during the end of the ukiyo-e period of Japanese printmaking, in the early 20th Century. Focusing on the foreign demand for “traditional” Japanese imagery and motifs such as castles, bridges, famous landscapes, bamboo forests, to name just a few.  Shin hanga was born in 1915 by Watanabe Shōzaburō (1885-1962) when he found Austrian artist Frtiz Capelari (1884-1950) and commissioned Capelari to design some prints for Watanabe's feldgling printing house . From there shin-hanga evolved into its own distinct “new” style of Japanese woodblock printing. It lasted as this distinct style until its innevitable decline after the Second World War (1939-1945). Sea of Shizuura, Namazu (1938) 15.4"x10.2" Tsuchiya Kōitsu (1870 - 1949) - apprenticed under artist and print designer Kobayashi Kiyochika (1847-1915) and worked as a lithographer. Kōitsu then joined the Watanabe atelier in 1935. Kōitsu also collaborated with Doi Sadachi publishers, amongst others.  Kintai Bridge, ca 1930's. postcard size print Kawase Hasui (1883-1957) - a designer of more than six hundred woodblock prints, Kawase Hasui, is one of the most famous designers of the shin-hanga movement of the early twentieth century. Hasui began his career with the artist and woodblock designer Kaburaki Kiyokata (1878-1971), joining several artistic societies early in his career. It wasn't until he joined the Watanabe atelier in 1918 that he began to gain recognition. Watanabe Shōzaburō (1885-1962) had Hasui design landscapes of the Japanese countryside, small towns, and everyday life. Hasui also worked closely with the carvers and printers of his prints to reach the level Hasui wanted his prints to be.  Takatsudo (1931) All I Knew Growing Up by Benjamin Selby (2022) Ben's lecture at the International Mokuhanga Conference, Photochemical Mokuhanga, can be found here.  tamari (溜まり) - is the pooling of ink between the carved lines of your woodblock. Pooling is exposed when testing your carving but can be fixed by recarving the part of the block causing tamari or altering the amount of ink or water used.  cyanotype - a type of work that uses iron compounds and creates various blues when exposed to UV light. More info here.  Van Dyke Brown - is a photographic printing process named after painter Anthony van Dyck (1599-1641). The method uses various chemicals, then exposes the negative of the photograph as print to ultraviolet light. The final print is a brown colour. Very similar to cyanotype, but the chemicals create a different shade of print. More info can be found on Mark Hillier's blog, and  here. sōsaku-hanga - or creative prints, is a style of printmaking which is predominantly, although not exclusively, prints made by one person. It started in the early twentieth century in Japan, in the same period as the shin-hanga movement. The artist designs, carves, and prints their own works. The designs, especially in the early days, may seem rudimentary but the creation of self-made prints was a breakthrough for printmakers moving away from where only a select group of carvers, printers and publishers created woodblock prints.  Artist's Nude (1984) by Sekino Jun'ichirō (1914-1988) 14.7" x 10.6" Akua - are water-based pigments used in intaglio, mokuhanga, and monotype.  Kitaro Japanese Paper Company -  founded in 1872, Kitaro focuses on making high quality Japanese washi in Fukui Prefecture.  More info, here.  Alone by Benjamin Selby (2021) 10.5" x 14.5" murasaki baren - is a mid-range mokuhanga baren. “murasaki” meaning “purple” , come in two types of weight (medium and heavy), and two types of sizes (10cm and 12cm). They are reasonably priced baren.  Yuki baren -  is a heavy ball bearing baren made in Japan. It is used to print large flat colours.  baren suji zuri - is a Mokuhanga technique used with the baren and by the baren to create a circular design and can be layered with various colours. Combing Her Hair (1928) 15-1/4"x 10-1/2" by Natori Shunsen (1886-1960)  sizing paper - at times mokuhanga printmakers will size their paper. Size is made from water, animal glue (rabbit, horse), and alum. What the size does is keep the pigments the artist uses from “bleeding” into the outer edges of the paper. There are many recipes of size, here is one that artist Walter J. Phillips used. © Popular Wheat Productions opening and closing musical credit - Ahmad Jamal - Pavanne (1960) from the album Happy Moods on Verve Records  logo designed and produced by Douglas Batchelor and André Zadorozny  Disclaimer: Please do not reproduce or use anything from this podcast without shooting me an email and getting my express written or verbal consent. I'm friendly :) Слава Українi If you find any issue with something in the show notes please let me know. ***The opinions expressed by guests in The Unfinished Print podcast are not necessarily those of André Zadorozny and of Popular Wheat Productions.***                                

Deep Questions with Cal Newport
Ep. 253: Making Time for What Matters (w/ Laura Vanderkam)

Deep Questions with Cal Newport

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 19, 2023 98:45


In this episode, Cal is joined by Laura Vanderkam (author of Tranquility by Tuesday and co-host of the Best of Both Worlds podcast). Cal and Laura tackle a collection of your questions about the struggle to make time for the various things that matter most, from your career to your family to your hobbies.Below are the questions covered in today's episode (with their timestamps). Get your questions answered by Cal! Here's the link: bit.ly/3U3sTvoVideo from today's episode:  youtube.com/calnewportmediaINTERVIEW: Laura Vanderkam [19:46]  — Is the deep life only available to people with high salaries? [31:47]— Is it possible for a mom to succeed in academia? [40:19] — How do I find the time to land a job that requires less time? [50:26]— Am I too old to leave a career that fills me with dread? [55:53]— Am I crazy for thinking I can work from home with a baby? [1:00:31]— How do I create a deep life with kids? [1:05:31]— How do I stop over-committing? [1:13:47] SOMETHING INTERESTING: Slow Time During Japan's Edo Period [1:30:11]Links:scroll.in/article/1030173/how-japan-became-an-exemplar-of-sustainability-over-centuries-of-self-isolationlauravanderkam.com/ Thanks to our Sponsors:rhone.com/calladderlife.com/deepmybodytutor.comblinkist.com/deepThanks to Jesse Miller for production, Jay Kerstens for the intro music, and Mark Miles for mastering.

The Unfinished Print
Joryū Hanga Kyōkai w/ Jeannie Kenmotsu PhD. : Storytelling Through History

The Unfinished Print

Play Episode Listen Later May 31, 2023 81:09


During the early days of the COVID-19 Pandemic, being at home with my thoughts, I kept busy by researching mokuhanga. And one of my many discoveries was the exhibition at the Portland Art Museum held from September 24, 2020, to June 13, 2021, called Joryū Hanga Kyøkai, 1956-1965: Japan's Women Printmakers and curated by Japan Foundation Associate Curator of Japanese Art and Interim Head of Asian Art Jeannie Kenmotsu. It was an exhibition of mokuhanga, etchings, and lithography of a group of printmakers I didn't know much about. Individually I may have heard their names but as a group? I needed to learn more.    History is an essential part of mokuhanga; to search out those printmakers who have come before us to understand what they did and how they did it. I have learned so much from the past that I can use it in my own work for my present and future.        On this episode of The Unfinished Print, I speak with Jeannie Kenmotsu, Ph.D., about the Joryu Hanga Kyokai and, the road to this exhibition, the work that went behind it. We explore how the Joryu Hanga Kyokai showed a different face of printmaking in Japan. We discuss Tokyo during the 1950s and 1960s, the mokuhanga and print culture of the time, internationalism, and how this exhibition could catalyze more research on this incredible group.  Please follow The Unfinished Print and my own mokuhanga work on Instagram @andrezadoroznyprints or email me at theunfinishedprint@gmail.com  Notes: may contain a hyperlink. Simply click on the highlighted word or phrase. Artists works follow after the note. Pieces are mokuhanga unless otherwise noted. Dimensions are given if known. Joryū Hanga Kyōkai, 1956-1965: Japan's Women Printmakers - was an exhibition curated by Jeannie Kenmotsu from September 24, 2020 - June 13, 2021, at the Portland Art Museum. It is the first step in understanding and education on the subject of women in Japanese printmaking in modern Japan. Members of the group were  Romanesque Architecture - is a style developed in the north of Italy, parts of France, and the Iberian Peninsula in the 10th century. Evolving from thick walls, no sculpture, and ornamental arches into towering round arches, massive stone and brickwork, small windows, thick walls, and an inclination for housing art and sculpture of biblical scenes.  For more information abbot Romanesquwe architecture you can find that, here.  Portland Art Museum - established in 1892, the PAM has established itself as one of the preeminent art musuems on the West coast of the United States. The musuem has 40,000 pieces of art and art objects. More information about PAM can be found here.  The Royal Ontario Museum - also known as The ROM, is an art, world culture, and natural history museum in the city of Toronto, and is one of the oldest museums in the city. More info, here.  mokuhanga in the 1950's and 1960's - Japanese woodblock printmaking became quite popular after World War II. With Japan growing exponentially post war, through industry and art, the independent philosphy that the West perpetuated began to filter into the Jpaanese art world. Sōsaku hanga became increadingly popular where there is only one carver, printer and draughtsman. These prints touched on various themes, but especially in the abstract. Artists such as Shigeru Hatsuyama (1897-1973), and Kiyoshi Saitō (1907-1997) spring to mind, who created a new kind of mokuhanga by using various techniques, colours, and sizes  that were unique and expressive. Oliver Statler's book, written in 1956, Modern Japanese Prints : An Art Reborn, was published because the art form was growing so quickly. It is a great summary  on the sōsaku hanga movement during that time.  Edo Period prints - woodblock prints of the Edo Period (1603-1867) were predominantly of kabuki actors (Sharaku), and courtesans (Harunobu) beginning in the middle of the 18th century. The traditional system of production came into play when making ukiyo-e of this period, designer,  carver, printer, and publisher. Famous designers of the day were Hiroshige (1797-1858), Hokusai (1760-1849). Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition - was an international fair in 1905 held in Portland, Oregan, USA from June 1 - October 15 and attracted over 1 million visitors. It helped to showcase Portland and its environs, promoting the movement and expansion West by settlers. The Portland Art Museum began shortly after the Exposition as The Portland Art Association needed its own space to showcase art pieces from the Exposition.  The Metropolitan Museum of Art - is the largest art museum in North and South America. It began to be assembled by John Jay (1817-1894) in the late 19th century. Incorporated in 1870, the museum has collected many essential pieces, such as the works of Henri Matisse (1869-1954) and Pierre-Auguste Renoir (1841-1919). For more information about the MET, you can find it here. Adolphe Braun (1812-1877) - was a German-born photographer who helped to establish photography as an art form. His work with the reproduction of art furthered art history throughout the world. Chizuko Yoshida (1924-2017) - was the wife of painter and printmaker Hodaka Yoshida. Beginning as an abstract painter, Chizuko, after a meeting with sōsaku hanga printmaker Onchi Kōshirō (1891-1955), Chizuko became interested in printmaking. Chizuko enjoyed the abstraction of art, and this was her central theme of expression. Like all Yoshida artists, travel greatly inspired Chizuko's work. She incorporated the colours and flavours of the world into her prints. Rain B (1953) 14 3/4 x 9 7/8" Yoshida Hiroshi (1876-1950) - a watercolorist, oil painter, and woodblock printmaker. Is associated with the resurgence of the woodblock print in Japan, and in the West. It was his early relationship with Watanabe Shōzaburō, having his first seven prints printed by the Shōzaburō atelier. This experience made Hiroshi believe that he could hire his own carvers and printers and produce woodblock prints, which he did in 1925.  Osaka Castle (1935) Fujio Yoshida (1887-1997) - the wife of Hiroshi Yoshida and the mother of Tōshi Yoshida (1911-1995) and Hodaka Yoshida. Fujio was so much more than a mother and wife. She had a long and storied career as a painter and printmaker. Fujio's work used her travels and personal experiences to make her work. Subjects such as Japan during The Pacific War, abstraction, portraits, landscapes, still life, and nature were some of her themes. Her painting mediums were watercolour and oil. Her print work was designed by her and carved by Fujio.  Yellow Iris (1953)  Hodaka Yoshida (1926-1995) - was the second son of woodblock printmaker and designer Hiroshi Yoshida (1876-1950). Hodaka Yoshida's work was abstract, beginning with painting and evolving into printmaking. His inspirations varied as his career continued throughout his life, but Hodaka Yoshida's work generally focused on nature, "primitive" art, Buddhism, the elements, and landscapes. Hodaka Yoshida's print work used woodcut, photo etching, collage, and lithography, collaborating with many of these mediums and making original and fantastic works. Outside of prints Hodaka Yoshida also painted and created sculptures.     Dawn At Sea (1969) - silkscreen 25 5/8" x 19 3/8" (AP) Tōshi Yoshida (1911-1995) - was the second child of Hiroshi Yoshida and Fujio Yoshida, although the first to survive childhood. Beginning with oil paintings and then apprenticing under his father with woodblock cutting. By 1940 Tōshi started to make his mokuhanga. After his father's death in 1950, Tōshi began to experiment with abstract works and travel to the United States. Later travels to Africa evolved his prints, inspiring Tōshi with the world he experienced as his work focused on animals and nature.  Irises and Ducks - 19 5/8" x 11 3/4" Ayomi Yoshida - is the daughter of Chizuko and Hodaka Yoshida. She is a visual artist who works in mokuhanga, installations and commercial design. Ayomi's subject matter is colour, lines, water, and shape. Ayomi's lecture referred to by Jeannie at PAM can be found here. She teaches printmaking and art. You can find more info here.  Black Marks (1999) 20 1/2 × 20 1/8 in (AP) Guide to Modern Japanese Woodblock Prints: 1900-1975 - is a book published by the University of Hawai'i in 1995. It is a reference book describing artists, publishers, and carvers. It contains no images but is a valuable resource for the mokuhanga academic.  Uchima Toshiko (1918-2000) - was a Manchurian-born Japanese artist who worked in mokuhanga, liothography, assemblages and collage. She was one of the founders of the Joryū Hanga Kyōkai in 1955/56. She lived most of her life in the United States, specifically New York City.  Package From Italy - collage 19.8"x16.8" in Ansei Uchima (1921-2000) - was a mokuhanga printmaker in the sōsaku hanga style of Japanese printmaking. He was the translator for Japanologist Oliver Statler (1915-2002). Way For Hakone (1966) 13 3/4 x 21 in Oliver Statler (1915-2002) -  was an American author and scholar and collector of mokuhanga. He had been a soldier in World War 2, having been stationed in Japan. After his time in the war Statler moved back to Japan where he wrote about Japanese prints. His interests were of many facets of Japanese culture such as accommodation, and the 88 Temple Pilgrimage of Shikoku. Oliver Statler, in my opinion, wrote one of the most important books on the sōsaku-hanga movement, “Modern Japanese Prints: An Art Reborn.” Iwami Reika (1927-2020) - was a Japanese-born artist and one of the founders of the Joryū Hanga Kyōkai. For a short video about Iwami Reika's work, check out Artelino.com. Round Shadow C (1957) sōsaku-hanga - or creative prints, is a style of printmaking which is predominantly, although not exclusively, prints made by one person. It started in the early twentieth century in Japan, in the same period as the shin-hanga movement. The artist designs, carves, and prints their own works. The designs, especially in the early days, may seem rudimentary but the creation of self-made prints was a breakthrough for printmakers moving away from where only a select group of carvers, printers and publishers created woodblock prints.  Yoseido Gallery - is a fine print gallery located in the Ginza district of Tōkyō, Japan since 1953. More information can e found, here. Francis Blakemore (1906-1997) - was an American-born artist, writer, philanthropist and curator of modern Japanese mokuhanga. She lived in Japan for over fifty years and helped to support the burgeoning sōsaku hanga print movement of the 1950s. Blakemore worked in mokuhanga (collaborating with Watanabe Shōzaburō) and making self-printed and carved prints. She also worked in oils.  Far Eastern Madonna (1939) white line woodblock print  Japanese Economy of the 1950's - from 1945-1991 Japan had its most prosperous period of economic growth. By 1955 the economic began to grow twice as fast as prior to '55. According to The Berkley Economic Review the advancement of technologies, accumulation of capital, increased quantity and quality of labor, and increased international trade were the main reasons that strenghtend Japan. For more information regarding the begining of this growth you can find the BER article here.  intaglio printing - is a printing method, also called etching, using metal plates such as zinc, and copper, creating “recessed” areas which are printed with ink on the surface of these "recesses.” More info, here. The MET has info, here.   Minami Keiko (1911-2004) - was a Japanese-born artist and a founder of the Joryū Hanga Kyōkai. Keiko's work is abstract, whimsical and youthful. She lived mainly in Paris, France, where she studied aquatint etching under Johhny Friedlaender (1912-1992). More information about Minami Keiko's art and life can be found here.  House With Sun and Trees : watercolour and gouache 14 3/4x11 in. Yōzō Hamaguchi (1909-2000) - was a Japanese-born mezzotint printmaker who lived in Paris, France, for most of his life. He was the husband of Minami Keiko.  Bottle With Lemons and Red Wall (1989) mezzotint 30 x 24 in. mezzotint - is a style of printmaking which uses a copper plate, “rocked” with a tool called a rocker, and then burnished with various devices. A good video showing the entire process from start to finish of a mezzotint print can be found here by the artist Julie Niskanen Skolozynski. Kobayashi Donge - is an aquatint etching artist who's subject is generally women and literature.  Roses Go Well With Mount Fuji (1993) etching with hand colouring on paper Tokyo University of the Arts (Geidai) - founded during the merger of the Tokyo Fine Arts School and the Tokyo Music School in 1949, TUA offers Masters's and Doctorate degrees in various subjects such as sculpture, craft and design as well as music and film. It has multiple campuses throughout the Kantō region of Japan. More information regarding the school and its programs can be found here.  担当者 - is a Japanese word which means “person in charge." Nihon Hanga Kyōkai - is the Japanese Printmakers Association. It was created in 1918, focusing on the new sōsaku hanga print movement. It evolved into a modern print organization covering various types of printmaking, such as relief, intaglio, planographic (lithography and offset printmaking), and stencil. You can find more information on their website in Japanese and English here. First Thursday Society (一木会) - was created by printmaker Onchi Kōshirō (1891-1955). The group brought artists and collectors to discuss the growing sōsaku hanga (creative print) movement to collaborate, share their work, and it acted as a mentorship program.  Un'ichi Hiratsuka (平塚 運一) - (1895-1977) - was one of the important players of the sōsaku hanga movement in mokuhanga. Hiratsuka was a proponent of self carved and self printed mokuhanga, and taught one of the most famous sōsaku hanga printmakers in Shikō Munakata (1903-1975). He founded the Yoyogi Group of artists and also taught mokuhanga at the Tōkyō School of Fine Arts. Hiratsuka moved to Washington D.C in 1962 where he lived for over thirty years. His mokuhanga was multi colour and monochrome touching on various subjects and is highly collected today.  Landscape (1934)  College Women's Association of Japan - was started by the alumnae of Mount Holyoke College from Massachusetts. Later expanding to other universities and colleges in the US, the CWAJ  established Japanese women to study abroad through travel grants and scholarships, thereby promoting Japanese culture. What began as a fundraising program from 1956 onward, the annual print show has become one of the most essential print shows in the world, showcasing prints of all types. It is the largest juried print show in Japan. More information about the CWAJ and its print show can be found here.  Kantō (関東地方) - is a region located on the main island of Honshu, Japan, which encompasses the Prefectures of Gunma, Tochigi, Ibaraki, Saitama, Tōkyō, Chiba and Kanagawa. The Kantō Regional Development Bureau of the Ministry of Land Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism oversees these prefectures. More information can be found here.  Kansai (関西地方) - is a region located on the main island of Honshu, Japan, which encompasses the Prefectures of Nara, Kyoto, Wakayama, Osaka, Hyōgo, Shiga and Mie. It has the most UNESCO world heritage sites in Japan. For tourist information about Kansai, see here.  Jun'ichirō Sekino (1914-1988) - was a Japanese mokuhanga printmaker of the sōsaku hanga creative prints movement. Sekino's works are landscapes and portraits and are black and white and colourful. Sekino studied under Onchi Kōshirō. He was invited to the United States several times as a visiting professor at Oregon State University, the University of Washington, and Penn State University in 1963, where he taught classes on mokuhanga. You can find more information about Sekino and his work and life on his website here.  U.S Army Officer (1948)  24"x18.8" in. Munakata Shikō (志功棟方) - (1903-1975) arguably one of the most famous modern printmakers; Shikō is renowned for his prints of women, animals, the supernatural and Buddhist deities. He made his prints with an esoteric fervour where his philosophies about mokuhanga were just as interesting as his print work.  Night Birds (The Fence of...) 7.4"x11.5" in. Aomori (青森県) - is a prefecture in north Japan. Located about an hour and a half from Tōkyō, Aomori is known for its incredible nature, festivals, sports and outdoor activities in all four seasons. More information can be found here.  Kobe, Japan - is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture in Japan. One of the few ports open to Western trade, Kobe has always had a great vibe. With a lot to visit and see, Kobe has many attractions, such as its harbour, Mount Rokkō, and various museums and mansions on the hill; its proximity to Osaka and Kyoto makes it an ideal place to visit. For more information about Kobe, Japan, see here.  Shirokiya - was a department store company which started in Japan with various stores throughout Japan and Hawai'i. It was founded in Tōkyō in 1662 and went out of business in 2020. The store was famously depicted in a Hiroshige print, View of Nihonbashi Tori-itchome 1858.  Sarah Lawrence College - is a liberal arts college in Yonkers, New York.  Founded in 1926, Sarah Lawrence has been dedicated to the education process and inclusivity of its student body since its inception. For more information about the school and their work can be found here. Pratt Institute - is a private university located in Brooklyn, New York. Established in 1887 and founded by American business magnate Charles Pratt (1830-1891), the Pratt Institute focuses on the liberal arts such as architecture, art and design, shaping leaders of tomorrow. For more information about TPI, you can look here.  Elise Grilli (d.1969) - was an art critic and author who wrote for the Japan Times. She lived in Japan throughout the 1940's into the 1960's. Her book The Art Of The Japanese Screen is considered a classic.  Charles Terry (1926-1982) - was an author and translator of Japanese in Tōkyō for Harry J. Abrams.  James A Michener (1907-1997) - a Pulitzer Prize winning writer, scholar and academic who wrote on Japanese prints, amongst many more topics. Shima Tamami (1937-1999) - was a mokuhanga printmaker who joined the JHK when they had already established themselves. Her career was short, moving to the United States in the 1960s. Her mokuhanga depicts Japanese aesthetics and themes producing still lives. Her work was featured in James Michener's book, The Modern Japanese Print: An Appreciation, in 1962. For more information and images of Tamami Shima's work, please check out the Viewing Japanese Prints site here. Bird B (1959) 11.9"x16.3" in. Noriko Kuwahara - is a scholar, curator, and author of Japanese art in Japan.  PoNJA-GenKon - is an online listserve group which means Post-1945 (Nineteen Forty Five) Japanese Art Discussion Group Geidai Bijutsu Kondankai. It was established in 2003 to bring together specialists in Japanese art in the English speaking world. For more information about what PoNJA-GenKon does search here. Philadelphia Museum of Art - originating with the Centennial Exhibition of 1876, the PMA has over 200,000 pieces of art and objects and is one of the preeminent museums in the US. More information can be found here. Sakura City Museum of Art -  is a fine art museum located in Sakura City, Chiba, Japan. It is dedicated to the arts of those form Sakura City and Bosho. More information in Japanese here.  Ao no Fūkei (Landscape in Blue) - is a mokuhanga print created by Chizuko Yoshida in 1972.  Futurism - is an art movement which began in Italy. It was established in the early 20th Century by artists Filippo Tommaso Marinetti (1876-1944), Umberto Boccioni (1882-1916), and Carlo Carrà (1881-1966), amongst others. The idea of Futurism was to reject the past and celebrate the speed and power of the present, of industrialization and modernity through art. Futurism influenced other artistic communities around the world.  The Endless Manifesto - Started by Tommaso Marinetti's original manifesto on Futurism called Manifesto of Futurism, the Futurists wrote many manifestos about their ideas on art, history, politics, literature, music, among other topics, until 1914, as well as books, articles in literary journals, magazines and newspapers. The MoMA has written a good article on the Futurists and their manifestos and writings here. © Popular Wheat Productions opening and closing musical credit - Joe Chambers "Ruth" released on Blue Note Records (2023) logo designed and produced by Douglas Batchelor and André Zadorozny  Disclaimer: Please do not reproduce or use anything from this podcast without shooting me an email and getting my express written or verbal consent. I'm friendly :) Слава Українi If you find any issue with something in the show notes please let me know. ***The opinions expressed by guests in The Unfinished Print podcast are not necessarily those of André Zadorozny and of Popular Wheat Productions.***                    

Against Japanism
Caste Oppression and the Buraku Liberation Movement w/ Buraku Stories

Against Japanism

Play Episode Listen Later Apr 25, 2023 73:13


Niki from Buraku Stories joins the show to discuss the history of the struggle of a discriminated outcaste people in Japan known as Burakumin. The term “Burakumin” originated in the early twentieth century, “Buraku” meaning “village” or “hamlet,” and “min” meaning people. However, the oppression against the Burakumin people originates from the pre-capitalist status hierarchy consolidated during the Tokugawa or Edo Period between the seventeenth and late nineteenth centuries known as Shinōkōshō. The shinōkōshō designated the four main classes that consisted of the status hierarchy of this period based on their occupations: Shi refers to warriors,  Nō to farmers,  Kō to craftsmen and artisans, and Shō to the merchant class.Although this was the official, state-sanctioned view of the class system and did not necessarily reflect the actual class composition of Tokugawa society during this time, it had profound implications for those who fell outside and below these four categories such as the ancestors of the Burakumin people who were called “Eta, Hinin, and Others” as their occupations were considered dirty or spiritually impure by the dominant Shinto & Buddhist influenced ruling class ideology. While many Japanese people today are aware of the derogatory nature of the term “Eta Hinin,” the oppression against the Burakumin people continues to this day despite Japan's transition from feudalism to capitalism, and its international status as a “democratic” nation.In this episode, we discuss the history of the development of the Burakimin as an oppressed minority group, the oppression they continue to face today not only from the non-Buraku Japanese people as a whole, but also from the reactionaries online and in real life such as J. Mark Ramseyer, a Harvard law professor who is known for his denial of the comfort women issue, and has also targeted the Burakumin people in his lucrative academic career financed by the Mitsubishi Corporation, one of the biggest capitalist monopolies in Japan.We also discuss the history of the Buraku liberation movement led by militant mass organizations such as Suiheisha (Levellers Society) and the Buraku Liberation League. These organizations have struggled not only against the barbaric status discrimination, but also against the Japanese state's attempt to diffuse their militancy and divide the community through policies known as Yūwa  (reconciliation) and Dōwa (assimilation). We conclude the discussion by talking about the state of the Buraku liberation movement today, instances of inter-national and inter-communal solidarity the movement has engaged in, and the important work Niki is doing through Buraku Stories to publicize and educate the English-speaking public about the struggle of this community little known outside of Japan.Intro: Cielo by HumaHumaOutro: Liberation Song (Suiheisha Anthem) Support the show

The Unfinished Print
Faith Stone - Printmaker : Fresh Directions

The Unfinished Print

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 31, 2023 94:33


Mokuhanga is a lot of things. It is a meditative process even at its most chaotic. And a lot like meditation, where you need patience, calm, and to breathe, it is a craft that pushes you to be your best.  I speak with mokuhanga printmaker and author Faith Stone on this episode of The Unfinished Print. Faith's current work is to preserve the Buddha woodblock, a once-thriving tradition within mokuhanga, to preserve it for years to come.  Faith speaks with me about her introduction to Tibetan Buddhist Thangka painting, the history of these beautiful images, her process, tools and materials. She also discusses experimentation, her teachers within her life, and what inspiration means to her.  Please follow The Unfinished Print and my own mokuhanga work on Instagram @andrezadoroznyprints or email me at theunfinishedprint@gmail.com  Notes: may contain a hyperlink. Simply click on the highlighted word or phrase. Artists works follow after the note. Pieces are mokuhanga unless otherwise noted. Faith Stone - website, Instagram Thangka paintings - known as “sacred paintings,” originated from Tibet. They are commissioned for various reasons, some for meditation, prosperity, merit, etc. Depending on the commission, thangka paintings use multiple pigments and imagery. Peaceful or ferocious deities and mandalas can be pictured.  Rudi's Bakery - established in Boulder, Colorado, in 1976, this once mom-and-pop shop bakery serves organic and gluten-free baked goods around the United States.  Celestial Seasonings - is an American tea company based in Boulder, Colorado. It started in 1969.  Colorado - established by settlers in 1876 but initially inhabited by many Native American peoples, such as the Cheyenne, Pueblo, Ute, Comanche, and Apache. The state is known for the Rocky Mountains and the Colorado Eastern Plains. For more information about Colorado, check out its tourist and visitor info here.  Zoo New England - comprises both the Franklin Park Zoo and the Stone Zoo. Founded in 1912, the FPZ is on 72 acres of land in Franklin Park, Boston. The Stone Zoo is 26 acres near the Spot Pond reservoir and located in Stoneham, Massachusetts, about 12 miles (19km) away from each other. More info found here.  Albert Rudolph (Swami Rudrinanda) [1928-1973] - was a spiritual teacher and yogi originallty from New York City.  Pointillism - is a technique in painting conceived by Georges Paul Seurat (1859-1891) and Paul Signac (1863-1935), where small compounded dabs of colour create an image. More info from Sotheby's, here.  Paul Signac - Portrait Of Félix Fénéon 1890, oil on canvas Shiva - is one of the principal deities of Hinduism, which creates, protects, and transforms the universe. More info can be found here. Ganesh - in Hinduism, Ganesh is one of Shiva's offspring. Ganesh is a benevolent deity said to remove obstacles in your life, both spiritually and materially. More info can be found, here. Durga - is, in Hinduism, the mother protector of the universe and a warrior goddess. Depicted with eight hands in the form of a mudra, Durga holds eight weapons. More info can be found, here.  Waves On The Turquoise Lake - was an art exhibition at The University of Colorado at the Boulder Art Museum in 2006. It exhibited Tibetan artists from Tibet and in exile from around the world. Karma Phuntsok - is a contemporary Tibetan artist who lives and works in Australia. His work is his take on Buddhist art and history. More info can be found on his website, here.   Van Buddha - painting El Dorado Canyon State Park - was established in 1978 and is located near Boulder, Colorado. It is 885 acres known for hiking, rock climbing, and mountain biking.  Tara - is one of the most powerful deities in the Buddhist pantheon. Some Buddhist traditions see her as a guide, as a bodhisattva, or as a philosophy of living. Find more info, here. Faith Stone - 22" x 28" Mount Wai'ale'ale - is a volcano on the island of Kaua'i, Hawai'i. The mountain is 5,148 ft. It is one of the rainiest on the planet, with 460 inches of rain annually. Shakti - has many meanings, such as goddess energy, death and life, and the natural elements of the universe. The Aisa Society has an excellent article for a detailed description of Shakti, here. Rama -  is an important deity in Hinduism, and is the seventh avatar of Vishnu.  Shoichi Kitamura - is a woodblock carver and printmaker and has been involved in MI Lab through demonstrations. More info can be found, here.  Kyoto Senbon Torii (2021) Hiroki Morinoue - is a mokuhanga printmaker and artist living in Holualoa, Big Island, Hawai'i. He is a co-founding member of the Holualoa Foundation For Arts & Culture, the establishment of the Donkey Mill Art Center and Studio 7 Fine Arts. Iceberg Cube (2016) Anderson Ranch Arts Center - located in Snowmass, Colorado- was established in 1966 by Paul Solder, who worked in Japanese ceramics called raku. Today it is an international Arts Center with artist-in-residence programs, visiting artists, a print shop, wood turning, master classes and more. Information can be found here.  Information can be found, here.  Gotō Hidehiko (b.1953) - is a mokuhanga printmaker and tool maker based in Japan. He makes and teaches seminars about the construction of the mokuhanga tool, the baren.  Stone Window -20-3/4" x 17" April Vollmer - is an established artist who works predominantly in mokuhanga. Her book Japanese Woodblock Print Workshop is one of the most authoritative books on the subject and has influenced many mokuhanga artists.  Dark Light (2015) 16.5" x 13.5" MI Lab - is a mokuhanga residency located in Kawaguchi-ko, near Mount Fuji. More info can be found, here.  Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design - located in Denver, Colorado and was founded by Philip J. Steele in 1963. It is an art school with many different programs and subjects in the arts. You can find more information here.  Mayumi Oda - is a Buddhist teacher and artist who works and lives in Hawai'i. Her work has travelled the world. Mayumi is also an environmental activist and continues to live and work at Ginger Hill Farm, an eco-retreat on the Big Island of Hawai'i. More information about Mayumi Oda's work can be found here. Storyville II - silkscreen, 24.6" x 33.9" Jing Jing Tsong - is an American illustrator of books. She is also a printmaker in lithography and monoprints. You can find her work on her website, here.  Munakata Shikō (志功棟方) - (1903-1975) arguably one of the most famous modern printmakers; Shikō is renowned for his prints of women, animals, the supernatural and Buddhist deities. He made his prints with an esoteric fervour where his philosophies about mokuhanga were just as interesting as his print work.  Hanami no Saku (Tanizaki Utauta Nangasaku - 1956) Bodhisattva - a person who has achieved enlightenment through spiritual practice, whether meditation or through good deeds. The word "bodhisattva" can are found in Indian Buddhism and its associated traditions, as representing the Buddha and his transformations. In the Mahanaya tradition of Buddhism, a bodhisattva desires enlightenment as a buddha.  kozo paper -  is paper made from mulberry bark and is commonly used in woodblock printmaking. Manjushuri - is the bodhisattva of wisom and is associated with the Mahayana tradition of Buddhism.      Faith Stone - 22" x 28"   Vajrakilaya - is a wrathful deity in Tibetan Buddhism who embodies the enlightenment of all Buddhas. Commonly described as a deity with three faces, all with a crown of skulls, with six arms carrying various ritual implements in Tibetan Buddhism.  Cow Rinpoche -  is a painting by Karma Phutsok. This particular series of paintings shows animals in exhalted positions on a lotus. They are depicted like a traditional thangka painting.  Dakini As Art -  is an online art gallery which sells and distributes Buddhist art throughout the world. More info can be found on their website, here. Lakshmi - is a goddess in the Hindu pantheon of deities and is the goddess of wealth and prosperity, sitting on the lotus throne.  Kehinde Wiley -  is a portrait artist based in New York City. His work focuses on fusing the past and the present while creating a dialgoue about power, gender, race and reimagining the past. More information can be found on his website here.  Portrait Of A Young Gentleman (2021) oil on linen and canvas LaToya Hobbs -  is a painter and printmaker based in Baltimore, Maryland. She explores relief printmaking and painting together in her works. Her topics deal with the Black female body and stereotypes. More information can be found on LaToya's website here. Nina's Gaze  - relief, ink and acrylic on wood (2019) 20" x 16" hangintō sizes - the hangitō is a stylized Japanese mokuhanga tool. It is the primary tool in mokuhanga and is used in cutting lines and for colour blocks. It comes in various sizes depending on your ability and the technique. The lower number on the handle signifies the blade's thinness, therefore, the experience of the carver.  kentō - is the registration system used by printmakers in order to line up the colour woodblocks with your key block, or outline block, carved first.   McClains Woodblock Print Supply Co.  - based in Portland, Oregon, McClain's is the go-to supplier of woodblock print tools in the United States. Their website can be found here. The Unfinished Print interview with Daniel Jasa of McClain's can be found here. floating kentō - is a removable registration system attached to the block when printing. As the kentō isn't affixed to the block, blotting and immaculate borders are positives of this registration method. It is an "L" shape.  baren - is a Japanese word to describe a flat, round-shaped disc, predominantly used in creating Japanese woodblock prints. It is traditionally made of a cord of various types and a bamboo sheath, although baren have many variations.  urauchi - is a way of backing Japanese washi paper to the back of works on paper. This process is used in bookbinding, scrolls and can be used in mokuhanga.  Ozu Washi - is a paper store located in the Nihonbashi district of Tokyo. website, Instagram alum -is a binder used in paper mounting, fabric dyeing, household items such as fire extinguishers, and baking powder. It is also used in size for washi to hold pigments better in your works.  Tetsuo Sayama - was an instructor at MI Lab until his passing in 2019. He worked closely with students, was a scholar of Japanese printmaking history, and left an impression on many who got to know him.    Washi Arts is an online brick-and-mortar paper store in Blaine, Washington, USA. They sell Japanese papers for crafts, bookbinding, mokuhanga, and other artistic media. More info can be found on their website here.    Shin-Torinoko paper - is a mass produced, machine made Japanese paper that is relatively inexpensive. It comes in various weights and colours. More info can be found, here.    kitakata - is a specific type of washi made of Philippine gampi, and sulphite pulp. For bookbinding, and mokuhanga and other types of printmaking.  More info, here.    Saraswati -  is the Hindu goddess of knowldedge and dispells ignorance.    monoprint - is a type of relief print which uses metal or glass, even wood. The final outcome is one good print.   Grumbacher - is an art supply company started by Max Grumbacher in 1905  in New York City. It is now owned and operated by Chartpak Inc. More info, here.   Winsor & Newton - is a British artist supply company, started in 1832,  which sells artist materials such as pigments, brushes, paper, etc. More info can be found, here.    M. Graham & Co. - is a company founded in the late 1990's which provides many different types of pigments for all kinds of artists. More info can be found, here.   Da Vinci Paint Co. - was founded in 1975 in Orange County, California. They make an assortment of watercolours, oils, heavy-body and fluid acryl, and gouache. More info here.   Tōsai Pigment Paste - is a brand of pigments manufactured by Holbein, Japan. They were conceived by mokuhanga printmaker Richard Steiner. Tōsai is the name given to Richard by his teacher. Richard's invteriew with The Unfinished Print can be found, here.   Roslyn Kean - is an Australian printmaker who makes her ball bearing baren called the Kean Ball Bearing Baren. The KBB baren comes in two sizes and are lighter than the yuki baren or other ball-bearing barens. Roslyn's baren are made of high-grade plastic. For more information about Roslyn, her work, and baren can be found, here.     Defining The Edge 1 - 70 x 50 cm   sumi - is a rich black stick or liquid used by artists, calligraphers, and traditional Japanese horimono tattoo artists. Sumi is made from the soot of burnt lamp oil. Sumi is used predominantly in key blocks in traditional mokuhanga and to mix pigments. Pigment Tōkyō conducts a great interview with their chief of pigments, Kei Iwaizumi, about sumi ink, here.   tapa cloth - is a designed barkcloth found throughout the islands of the South Pacific, French Polynesia, New Zealand, and Hawai'i, where it is called kapa. Kapa is made slightly differently than tapa; different shapes are used for a more robust design.    Japanese book-binding - in Japan, the binding of books began with scroll books based on the Chinese method. Other binding methods evolved, such as flutter books (sempūyō) and butterfly books (detchōsō). By the Edo Period (1603-1868) and with the relative peace of the period, washi paper was produced steadily, creating a demand for books. Tale of Genji and Tales of Ise were published in this form for the first time. *   shallow carving -  is a way to add dimension and texture to a woodblock. Various sizes of u gouges work well. It can make beautiful shades of colour within your work.    Maile Andrade - is a mixed media artist who has focused on the Hawai'ian kapa process of weaving mentioned above. Kapa, made with mulberry bark, was used for clothing and blankets in Hawai'i. Maile uses kapa in various ways in her 2019 exhibit at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, here     Moana (Ocean) - 30.4 x 30.4 cm   mokuhanga brushes - come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Smaller brushes (surikomebake) have long handles and are numbered regarding bristle size, and are used for various sizes of colour blocks. Flat back brushes (marubake), are like a shoe brush and are for wider areas for printing. They also come in various numbered sizes. Brushes are traditionally made of horsehair from the horse's tail, although the smaller surikomebake are made of deer hair. You can find mokuhanga brushes most anywhere today such as McClains, Terry McKenna, Michihamono, Jackson's Art Supplies, and many other places.    sharpening stones - these stones come in a variety of grits, colours, and sizes. Some stones are natural or composite. They vary in price from the ridiculously expensive to the more affordable. Generally, for your mokuhanga you will need a 1000-grit stone to start, and in time you can explore various other methods of sharpening your tools. An excellent video to begin with is Terry McKenna's video on sharpening here.   Karma & Faith: The Artwork of Karma Phuntok and Faith Stone - is the self published book made for their Denver exhibition in 2019.    Tassajara Zen Center -  is a Buddhist monastary and zen center located in San Fransisco. They have published cookbooks since the 1970's.    Tibet House - is a not-for-profit cultural preservation society to preserve Tibetan culture worldwide. There are many Tibet House offices and buildings around the globe. More information can be found at Tibet House US here.    John Lewis  - played a large part in many important events in the civil rights movements of the 1960s in the United States. Was one of the founding members of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee in 1960-1971. More information about John Lewis and his essential work can be found here at Stanford University: The Martin Luther King, Jr. Research and Education Institute.    Kannon - is the deity of compassion in Buddhism.      Kannon Reigen Ki - Ima Kumano Temple from the series The Miracles of Kannon by Utagawa Hiroshige II (1829-1869) 9.6" x 14"   Shoshoni Yoga Retreat - is a yoga retreat in Rollinsville, Colorado. The retreats are much like an ashram experience, with meditation, yoga, meals and selfless service. Find more info here.    * Ikegami, Kojiro, and Barbara B. Stephan. Japanese Book Binding: Instructions from a Master Craftsman. New York etc.: Weatherhill, 1990.   © Popular Wheat Productions opening and closing musical credit - Dropkick Murphy's, Where Trouble Is At. From the album, This Machine Still Kills Fascists (2021) on Dummy Luck Music. logo designed and produced by Douglas Batchelor and André Zadorozny  Disclaimer: Please do not reproduce or use anything from this podcast without shooting me an email and getting my express written or verbal consent. I'm friendly :) Слава Українi If you find any issue with something in the show notes please let me know. ***The opinions expressed by guests in The Unfinished Print podcast are not necessarily those of André Zadorozny and of Popular Wheat Productions.***      

Beneath The Skin
The Tattoo History of Japan Pt. 3

Beneath The Skin

Play Episode Listen Later Mar 1, 2023 63:09


On this episode of Beneath the Skin we're continuing our series on the tattoo history of Japan   In this part we discuss Japan's transition from the Edo Period and the end of the Tokugawa Shogunate, into the Meiji Restoration and the beginning of the 20th Century.   BONUS EPISODES + SUPPORT THE SHOW Follow us on Instagram   Production by Thomas O'Mahony   Artwork by Joe Painter (jcp_art) Intro Music by Dan McKenna If you would like to get in touch you can email the show on beneaththeskinpod@gmail.com

The Unfinished Print
Kate MacDonagh: Printmaker - The Gradations of Colour and Tone

The Unfinished Print

Play Episode Listen Later Feb 26, 2023 76:34


Within the framework of mokuhanga, you have the freedom to go anywhere, try anything and explore so many places with your own work. The skies the limit. Whether through colour, shapes, size, or technique, you are able to explore as far as you want.  On this episode of the Unfinished Print, I speak with mokuhanga printmaker, teacher and artist Kate MacDonagh. Based in Dublin, Kate's mokuhanga live in the ethereal, through colour and shape, making abstract work which engages and attracts.  Kate speaks to me about her artistic background, gallery experience, teaching and the adaptation of mokuhanga. We discuss the mokuhanga aesthetic, bad days and believing in yourself, local shopping for your materials, abstraction and colour, the spiritual realm, and residencies and travel.  Please follow The Unfinished Print and my own mokuhanga work on Instagram @andrezadoroznyprints or email me at theunfinishedprint@gmail.com  Notes: may contain a hyperlink. Simply click on the highlighted word or phrase. Artists works follow after the note. Pieces are mokuhanga unless otherwise noted. Kate MacDonagh - website, Instagram Cadence - diptych Museum of Fine Arts, Boston - is an art museum located in Boston, Massachusetts, USA and was founded in 1870. With over 450,000 works in the museum, the MFA is one of the most distinguished museums in the world. In regards to mokuhanga, the MFA has had a long relationship with the Japanese woodblock print starting from the late 19th century. It was the first museum in the US to develop a Japanese art collection, and with the help of major donations the MFA developed one of the most important Japanese print collections in the world. More information about the museum can be found, here. Information regarding their Japanese collection can be found, here. To browse some of their digitized collection, here.  ukiyo-e - is a multi colour woodblock print generally associated with the Edo Period (1603-1867) of Japan. What began in the 17th Century as prints of only a few colours, evolved into an elaborate system of production and technique into the Meiji Period (1868-1912). With the advent of photography and other forms of printmaking, ukiyo-e as we know it today, ceased production by the late 19th Century.  The National Print Museum - one of a kind in Ireland, is a print museum located in Dublin. It was founded in 1996 and is a registered charity focusing on education. More info about the museum can be found, here.  Debra Bowden -  is a mokuhanga printmaker, bookbinder, and artist based in Thomastown (Grennan), Ireland. She conducts mokuhanga workshops in and around Ireland. About all I could find of her is through Facebook, although that hasn't been updated since 2018. Her website doesn't seem to exist any longer. You can find her Facebook page, here.      Tangent Script I   Nagasawa Art Park (MI Lab) Awaji City - Nagasawa Art Park was an artist-in-residence program located in Awaji City, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. It was open for 12 years before evolving into MI Lab in 2012. More info, here.    Robert Blackburn (1920-2003) - was an African American printmaker based in New York City. His lithogrpahy work represented his life experiences, being influenced by the Harlem Renaissance, and American society at large. His studio and his workshop in Chelsea attracted artists from around the world. More information about Robert Blackburn, his life and work can be found here from the Smithsonian, and here, from The Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts where the Robert Blackwell Printmaking Workshop Program continues today.      Color Symphony (1960) - lithograph   The Kentler International Drawing Space - is an art gallery located in Red Hook, Brooklyn, New York. It has hosted several mokuhanga centred exhibitions. The most recent was Between Worlds as hosted by The Mokuhanga Sisters, from July 17 - July 31, 2022. More info, here.    Keiko Kadota (1942-2017) - was the director of Nagasawa Art Park at Awaji City from 1997-2011, and then of MI Lab at Lake Kawaguchi from 2011 until her passing.   MI Lab - is a mokuhanga residency located in Kawaguchi-ko, near Mount Fuji. More info can be found, here.  Graphic Studio, Dublin - is a printmakers studio located in Dublin, Ireland. The studio was established in 1960 as a space for printmakers to share ideas and their works. The gallery was established in 1980 as Dublin's first fine art gallery. It is a space where printmakers are able to work in a subsidized environment with the freedom to create work. Kate has been on the Board of Directors since 2019. More info about the Graphic Studio can be found, here.   gomazuri - is a mokuhanga technique where slight pressure is used with pigments too make a “spotty” image, what look like sesame seeds. It can add depth to your prints.  sōsaku-hanga - or creative prints, is a style of printmaking which is predominantly, although not exclusively, prints made by one person. It started in the early twentieth century in Japan, in the same period as the shin-hanga movement. The artist designs, carves, and prints their own works. The designs, especially in the early days, may seem rudimentary but the creation of self-made prints was a breakthrough for printmakers moving away from where only a select group of carvers, printers and publishers created woodblock prints.  kizuki kozo - is a handmade Japanese paper with many uses. Of a moderate weight and cooked with caustic soda. It's widely available.  Ozu Washi - is a paper store located in the Nihonbashi district of Tokyo. website, Instagram Chester Beatty Museum - is a museum and library founded by the American-British philanthropist Sir Alfred Chester Beatty (1875-1968). He was made an honourary citizen of Ireland in 1957. The museum is located in Dublin Castle. More info can be found, here.  Rebecca Salter - is the President of The Royal Academy of Arts, in London, England. She is also an artist who has written two books about Japanese woodblock printing, Japanese Woodblock Printing (2001), and Japanese Popular Prints (2006). She worked with the Satō Woodblock Print Workshop, documenting their process. Her interview with The Unfinished Print can be found, here.  2017-12 (mixed media on paper 20 ½ x 20 ½ ins) [2017] shina - is a type of Japanese plywood used in mokuhanga. Not all shina is made equally, buyer beware.  Lucy May Schofield - is a printmaker, photographer, and scroll maker (kakemono, 掛物) and is based in England. website, Instagram. Lucy's interview with The Unfinished Print can be found, here.  The Blue Between Us The Mokuhanga Sisters - are a mokuhanga collective consisting of Yoonmi Nam, Mariko Jesse, Lucy May Schofield, Melissa Schulenberg, Kate MacDonagh, Katie Baldwin, Mia-O, Patty Hudak, and Natasha Norman. Instagram Yoonmi Nam (b. 1974) - is a contemporary mokuhanga printmaker, lithographer, sculptor, and teacher, based in Lawrence, Kansas. Her work can be found, here. Her interview with The Unfinished Print can be found, here. Book of Bamboo (2020 - 8 3/5 × 12 1/5 in | 21.8 × 31 cm) Melissa Schulenberg - is a woodblock printmaker and professor of Art and Art History at St. Lawrence University, Canton, NY. Some of her work can be found on her website, here.  Stumps (reduction) 23.6 x 16 in Katie Baldwin -  is a contemporary mokuhanga printmaker, illustrator, book maker, and artist based in Huntsville, Alabama.  Her work can be found, here. Her interview with The Unfinished Print can be found, here.  Outside (2012 - woodblock and letterpress) Between Worlds - was a mokuhanga specific show hosted by the Kentler International Drawing Space from July 17 - July 31, 2022.  bokashi -  is a Japanese term associated with the gradation of water into ink. There are several types of bokashi. For more information regarding these types of bokashi please check out Professor Claire Cuccio's lecture called “A Story in Layers,” for the Library of Congress, and the book Japanese Printmaking by Tōshi Yoshida, and Rei Yuki. Below are the following types of bokashi. This is from the Yoshida book: ichimonji bokashi - straight line gradation ichimonji mura bokashi - straight line gradation with an uneven edg. Ō-bokashi - a gradual shading over a wide area atenashi bokashi - gradation without definition futairo bokashi - two tone gradation Northumberland, Britain - is a county located in the northernmost area of Britain. It shares a border with Scotland. It is known for its nature, industry, castles, and history. More info, here.  Centre Culturel Irelandais - is located in Paris, France. It is a cultural center for Irish culture and events in France. There are artist in residence programs, exhibtions, concerts and more. For information regarding the CCI in Paris, here.  Georges Seurat  (1859-1891) - was one of the pioneers of Neo Impressionism, a term coined by art critic Félix Fénéon (1861-1944). Seurat used Pointillism, where different colours are dabbed on various areas of the canvas and it is through the eyes that colour blends together. Through these new ideas, as well as the concept of Divisionism, the Neo Impressionists created a new way of seeing the canvas. Deeply rooted in the “science” of painting, Seurat attempted successfully to blend the past and his present through painting, during his short life.  The Harbour of Honfleur (1886) oil on canvas Musée d'Orsay - located in Paris, France the Musée d'Orsay is an art museum established in 1986. Mostly holding and exhibiting French art from the years 1848-1914, the MO conatins many Impressionist and Post Impressionsit paintings and works. More info can be found, here. Sligo, Ireland - is a town with a population of 19,199, located in County Sligo, in the province of Connacht in Ireland. it is the final resting place of poet YB Yeats (1865-1939) More info can be found, here. nori - is a type of paste made from starch. It is used when making mokuhanga. You can make nori from any type of material made from starch. For instance, paste can be made with tapioca,  rice, corn, even potato. You can purchase nori pretty much anywhere but making it is more environmentally friendly. Laura Boswell has a great recipe, here.  mokuhanga in the 1950's and 1960's - Japanese woodblock printmaking became quite popular after World War II. With Japan growing exponentially post war, through industry and art, the independent philosphy that the West perpetuated began to filter into the Jpaanese art world. Sōsaku hanga became increadingly popular where there is only one carver, printer and draughtsman. These prints touched on various themes, but especially in the abstract. Artists such as Shigeru Hatsuyama (1897-1973), and Kiyoshi Saitō (1907-1997) spring to mind, who created a new kind of mokuhanga by using various techniques, colours, and sizes  that were unique and expressive. Oliver Statler's book, written in 1956, Modern Japanese Prints : An Art Reborn, was published because the art form was growing so quickly. It is a great summary  on the sōsaku hanga movement during that time.      Nymphs (Birds and Flowers) by Shigeru Hatsuyama     House in Aizu (1972) by Kiyoshi Saitō   hangitō - a Japanese carving knife which is primarily used for mokuhanga and comes in a variety of blade sizes.  McClains has a varied assortment, here.   kentō - is the registration system used by printmakers in order to line up the colour woodblocks with your key block, or outline block, carved first.     nikawa - this definition from the Yamatane Museum of Art in Tōkyō is the perfect definition of nikawa, better than I could ever write. I've included it here, verbatim, describing how nikawa is used in nihon-ga painting,  A gelatin made by boiling and extracting protein from skins and bones of animals and fish, it has long been used as an adhesive. Since the pigments used in nihonga have no adhesive strength, the use of nikawa is needed to fix them to the surface of the painting. The two types commonly used now are shika nikawa (industrially processed from cow skin, bones, and tendons) and sanzenbon (which is made by hand, of the same materials).  gum arabic - is a sap from two types of Acacia tree. In art it is used as a binder for pigments which creates viscosity (depending on how much or little is applied to your pigments) for your watercolours and oils. Rachel Levitas has a fine description on how she uses gum arabic in her work, here.    Holbein -  is a pigment company with offices located in Japan, The United States, and Canada. They offer high end gouache, watercolour, and pigment pastes.    sumi - is a rich black stick, or liquid used by artists, calligraphers, and traditional Japanese horimono tattoo artists.  It is made from the soot of burnt lamp oil. Used in key blocks predominantly in traditional mokuhanga, it can also be used to mix pigments. Pigment Tōkyō conducts a great interview with their chief of pigments, Kei Iwaizumi, about sumi ink, here.   International Mokuhanga Conference - is a bi-yearly conference dedicated to mokuhanga which started in 2011 by the International Mokuhanga Association. Each conference is themed. The latest conference was in 2021, delayed a year because of the pandemic. More information can be found, here.     Mariko Jesse - is an illustrator, and mokuhanga printmaker who splits her time in Tōkyō, London, and California. Her work can be found, here. Mariko is also a part of the collective, wood+paper+box, which can be found, here.    Two Frogs Six Leaves   Patty Hudak - is an American artist who splits her time between Vermont and NYC, who works in installation, and mokuhanga. She has travelled the world, and is a part of three artist collectives. Patty's interview with The Unfinished Print can be found, here.       Force of Nature 1 print panels - artworks, like woodblock prints, can come in various numbers of panels. Single panel is one print, diptychs are two panels, triptychs are three panels, quadriptych is four panels, pentaptych is five panels.  The Art Institute of Chicago - is an art museum located in Chicago, Illinois, USA. Founded both as a school and a museum of fine arts in 1879. It is built on the debris from the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. Its research library was opened in 1901 and the new wing was opened in 2009. More information about the AIC's history can be found on their website, here. Recollections of Tokyo: 1923-1945 - was a mokuhanga and lithography print show held at The Art Institute of Chicago from July 2 - September 25, 2022. It showed works by U'nichi Hiratsuka (1895-1997), Kawakami Sumio (1895-1972), Oda Kazuma (1882-1956) amongst others. More info can be found, here.  Paul Furneaux - is a Scottish born mokuhanga printmaker and teacher who uses the medium of mokuhanga creating pieces of work that are third dimensional, abstract and sculptural. Lewis: Orange Black (2020) 135 x 183 x 5 cm mokuhanga stretched over three aluminium panels coated with resin coating Lascaux UV Spray coating - is a UV protecting archival varnish produced by Lascaux, a manufacturer of artist materials since 1963. This is the product used by mokuhanga artist Paul Furneaux for some of his works. More info about their products can be found on their website, here. Lafcadio Hearn (1850-1904) - also known as Koizumi Yakumo, was an Irish/Greek/Japanese author, translator, and teacher of Japanese culture and customs to the West. He spent a portion of his life in Japan where he studied and taught. His most famous books are Glimpses of Unfamiliar Japan (1894), and Kwaidan: Stories and Studies of Strange Things (1904). An interesting article in The Paris Review about Lafcadio Hearn can be found, here.  Yuki Onna (雪女) - was a short story as written from the Japanese ghost story by Lafcadio Hearn, in Kwaidan, in 1904. According to an article about the story by Yoko Makino in 1991, Hearn contends he heard the tale from a someone in Musashino, a district in what is Tōkyō today. There are many different legends of this story from around Japan. You can read the Hearn story, here.  Your First Print: David Bull - this was the first DVD I ever purchased on how to make mokuhanga. This was in and around 2007. While I look back at that time thinking about why I didn't take it up as seriously as I do now, I sometime wonder, "Where would I be now in my Mokuhanga journey?" I realize that that is a redundant way of thinking. I am where I am now today, and to be happy with just that. You can still find this product on Dave's website.  © Popular Wheat Productions opening and closing musical credit - Hater Players, by Black Star from the album Mos Def and Talib Kweli are Black Star (1998). Released on Rawkus Records.  logo designed and produced by Douglas Batchelor and André Zadorozny  Disclaimer: Please do not reproduce or use anything from this podcast without shooting me an email and getting my express written or verbal consent. I'm friendly :) Слава Українi If you find any issue with something in the show notes please let me know. ***The opinions expressed by guests in The Unfinished Print podcast are not necessarily those of André Zadorozny and of Popular Wheat Productions.***  

The Unfinished Print
Paul Binnie - Printmaker : An Aesthetic World

The Unfinished Print

Play Episode Listen Later Jan 22, 2023 63:47


When looking for inspiration, when looking for someone you can look up to in your craft, I look to Paul Binnie. Paul is an artist who has carved a living from their craft, and has been a large part of the greater mokuhanga community. His work has touched on so many themes, concepts and ideas. His mokuhanga takes the past and brings it firmly into the future.  On this episode of The Unfinished Print, I speak with mokuhanga printmaker Paul Binnie. Paul speaks about his life and career, how he uses pigments, paper, and wood for his work. We discuss the fantasy and reality of an historical past. We look at shin-hanga, and sōsaku hanga, observing kabuki, as well as taking a look at his other work such as oil painting and his drawings.  This interview was recorded during Paul Binnie's solo show at Scholten Japanese Art in June, 2022. There may be some background noise during the interview. I apologize for any inconvenience.  Please follow The Unfinished Print and my own mokuhanga work on Instagram @andrezadoroznyprints or email me at theunfinishedprint@gmail.com  Notes: may contain a hyperlink. Simply click on the highlighted word or phrase. Artists works follow after the note. Pieces are mokuhanga unless otherwise noted. Paul Binnie - while Paul doesn't have a singular website he does have his Instagram. There is the "Binnie Catalogue," which is produced by a third party which digitally collects his work, past and present. This can be found, here.  Protest March - from the Flowers of a Hundred Years Series (2016) New Year Card - called nengajo (年賀状) in Japanese, these cards have been traditionally passed from person to person since the Heian Period (794-1185). Mokuhanga practitioners make them as well, creating a new one every year focusing on the zodiac sign of the year as a theme. Scholten Japanese Art - is a mokuhanga focused art gallery located in midtown Manhattan. It was founded by René Scholten, an avid collector of the Japanese print. More info can be found, here. intaglio printing - is a printing method, also called etching, using metal plates such as zinc, and copper, creating “recessed” areas which are printed with ink on the surface of these "recesses.” More info, here. The MET has info, here.  Yoshida Hiroshi (1876-1950) - a watercolorist, oil painter, and woodblock printmaker. Is associated with the resurgence of the woodblock print in Japan, and in the West. It was his early relationship with Watanabe Shōzaburō, having his first seven prints printed by the Shōzaburō atelier, that made Hiroshi believe that he could hire his own carvers and printers and produce woodblock prints, which he did in 1925.  Yoshida Tōshi (1911-1995) - eldest son of Hiroshi Yoshida. Having been affected by polio, and the pressure of continuing his fathers legacy, Tōshi Yoshida made prints and paintings which gradually became expressive, avant garde and abstract. Later in life he focused on birds and mammals. Seki Kenji - is a woodblock printmaker based in Tokyo. He was head printer, and produced prints, for Doi Hangaten as well as making his own pieces.  Late Fall (ca 1990's) Western Representational realism - is an attempt to represent the subject in art in the most realistic way possible. Interchangeable with naturalism in European art of the 19th Century.  kabuki - is a traditional form of Japanese theatre which started in Kyoto on the banks of the Kamo River in the 17th Century. Today it is a multi million dollar business and is almost exclusively run, professionally, by The Shochiku Company. Kabuki, the word, is separated into three different sounds; ka - meaning to sing, bu - meaning to dance, and ki- meaning skill. There are various families in kabuki which generate actors, passing down tradition throughout the lineage. For more information please read this fine article from Nippon.com. There are many books written on the subject of kabuki, but in my opinion, to begin, one needs to read Leonard Pronko's work Theatre East & West, Kawatake Toshio's Kabuki, and Earl Ernst's The Kabuki Theatre. Online, please visit Kabuki21.com, who's site is unparalleled. On YouTube there is the new(ish) Kabuki In-Depth which is updated regularly on kabuki information and history, and is very well done.  Hiroo/Roppongi -  is an upscale area of Tōkyō, Japan. It has a thriving international community, museums, galleries and the like. More info can be found, here.  Nakamura Utaemon VI (1917-2001) - was a kabuki actor who focused primarliy on female roles, or onnagata. He is considered one of the best actors in this kind of role, and was designated a Living National Treasure in Japan, in 1968.  From, A Great Mirror of the Actors of the Heisei Period: Nakamura Utaemon as Agemaki in Sukeroku by Paul Binnie (1997) Agemaki - is a character from the celebrated story Sukeroku, a story about love and revenge. It was first staged in kabuki in 1713. Agemaki is a famous courtesan who is in love with Sukeroku.  Edo Wonderland Nikko Mura - is an Edo stylized theme park based on the architecture of Edo Period (1603-1868) Japan, and is located in Tochigi Prefecture. There are other areas in Japan which contain Edo Period architecture and events, such as the Dutch Trading Post located on Dejima Island in Nagasaki. More info regarding Edo Wonderland, here.  More info on the Dejima, Dutch Trading Post, here.  nō - is a traditional Japanese theatre based on ghost and mythological stories. It, like kabuki, uses dance, music, and drama to tell its story. It is older than kabuki and was patronized by the aristocratic class in Japan. Kabuki was the oppoosite, where the everyperson could enjoy kabuki, the aristrocrats enjoyed nō. Like kabuki, the stage is set in a traditional way, and the roles are played by men. For a more detailed descriptor of nō, you can find it at Japan-Guide.com, here. Takarazuka -  is an all female musical theatre troupe, based in Hyōgo Prefecture, and founded in 1914. The revue has become a popular Kansai tourist attraction. For a detailed description of the Takarazuka, their website in English can be found, here. A Crib's Notes descriptor can be found, here.  kappazuri-e - is the method of stencil printing, usually atributed to the sōsaku hanga artists of the 1950's and 1960's. Artists such as Yoshitoshi Mori (1898-1992), used stencil's to make elaborate prints. It can be quite an interesting and complicated process. More information can be found, here, from Viewing Japanese Prints.    Yoshitoshi Mori : Street Vendors (1970)    German Expressionism - focused on emotional expression rather than realistic expression. German Expressionists  explored their works with colour and shape searching for a “primitive aesthetic” through experimentation. More info can be found, here, on Artsy.net    Max Pechstein - Angler am Lebastrom (1936) watercolour on paper   Edvard Munch (1863-1944) - was a Norweigan artist, who initially was a painter, but also ventured into printmaking making 850 images. His print medium was etching, lithography, and woodcut. More information can be found here, at Christie's.      The Girls on The Bridge (1918) woodcut printed in blue with lithograph and pale green on wove paper.    Ralph Kiggell (1960-2022) -  was one of the most important mokuhanga practitioners. Originally from England, Ralph lived and worked in Thailand. Ralph pushed the boundaries of mokuhanga with extremely large pieces, jigsaw carving, and by using fantastic colour. He also worked with the International Mokuhanga Conference to promote mokuhanga around the world. He will be greatly missed. Ralph's work can be found, here. His obituary in The Guardian can be found, here. His interview with The Unfinished Print can be found, here.     Jackfruit (2018)   Tama Art University - is an arts university located in various campuses in Tōkyō. It has various departments such as Architecture, Product and Textile Design, and Art Studies.    Ban Hua: Chinese woodblock prints - the history of Chinese woodblock goes back centuries, longer than the Japanese method. Modern Chinese printmaking began after Mao's Cultural Revolution, strongly connected  by the writings and work of philosopher, academic, and artist Lu Xun (1881-1936) who established the Modern Woodcut Movement. There is a lot of information regarding Chinese woodblock printing. To begin, check out the Muban Educational Trust based in England and their work. More info can be found, here.  And here at artelino, For the history of Lu Xun, this can be found, here.    powdered pigments - are an option when producing your mokuhanga. They are pigments which are made of powder, and when mixed with certain binders can be used as gouache, or water colours.    nihonga - was a Japanese artistic movement based on going back to a “traditional” form of Japanese aesthetic in painting, away form the new Western influences which were coming into Japan during the later 19th Century. More info can be found, here.      Tetsu Katsuda (1896-1980) - Evening (1934)   Uemura Shōen (1875-1949) -  was the pseudonym of Uemura Tsune, who was supported by her mother to pursue painting, at a time when female painters were rare. Her work focused on various themes such as nō, the four seasons, and nationalist paintings during World War 2.      Daughter Miyuki (1914) painting   kozo paper -  is paper made from mulberry bark and is commonly used in woodblock printmaking.   shina - is a type of Japanese plywood used in mokuhanga. Not all shina is made equally, buyer beware.    Wood Like Matsumura - is an online and brick and mortar store, for woodblock printmaking, located in Nerima City, Tōkyō. website.   Nihon no Hanga - is a mokuhanga museum located in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It focuses on many types of mokuhanga in history and publishes various catalogues of their exhibitions, which are top notch. More info, here.     The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art - This museum is dedicated to the arts, Western and “non-Western”from all periods of human history, focusing on education, and conservation. More info, here.    Kabuki Earphone Guide -  is and was an audio guide in Japanese for Japanese, and English for English speaking tourists coming to watch kabuki. It hired English speaking academics to narrate the action as you watched. In 2015 the English version of the audio guide was replaced with the GMARK or GMARC captioning guide. GMARK stands for Graphic Multilingual Advanced Real-time Captioning system.    Kabuki-za - is the main theatre in Tōkyō which shows kabuki performances. It was opened in 1889 and has been rebuilt several times in its history.    Okubi-e -  are woodblock prints of close-up human heads, which came into prominence in the late 19th Century. For me, the best mokuhanga designer of okubi-e is Toyohara Kunichika (1835-1900). His okubi-e of kabuki actors is unparalleled, showing the actors in various positions with intricate backgrounds and poses.      Kawarazaki Gonjuro I as Sato Masakiyo (1869)     Ichikawa Ennosuke IV as Nikki Danjō (1996) by Paul Binnie   Vincent Van Gogh (1853-1890) - was a Dutch post-Impressionist painter. He began to collect Japanese woodblock prints around the winter of 1886-1887 from the art dealer Siegfried Bing. he used to collect and to sell for a profit, although he didn't sell very many. This collection would go on to influence much of his work.  Rebecca Salter - is the President of The Royal Academy of Arts, in London, England. She is also an artist who has written two books about Japanese woodblock printing, Japanese Woodblock Printing (2001), and Japanese Popular Prints (2006). She worked with the Satō Woodblock Print Workshop, documenting their process. Her interview with The Unfinished Print can be found, here.  into the light II (2011) Akira Kurosaki 黒崎彰 (1937-2019) - was one of the most influential woodblock print artists of the modern era. His work, while seemingly abstract, moved people with its vibrant colour and powerful composition. He was a teacher and invented the “Disc Baren,” which is a great baren to begin your mokuhanga journey with. At the 2021 Mokuhanga Conference in Nara, Japan there was a tribute exhibit of his life works. Azusa Gallery has a nice selection of his work, here. W- 396, Wandering Heart (2017) Wimbledon, England - is a district located in South West London. Considered an affluent neighbourhood, it is the home of the Wimbledon tennis tournament. More info can be found here, at Visit London.    Stockwell, London - located in the burough of Lambeth, in London, England. It is a diverse neighbourhood, close to Brixton, with shopping, and restaurants. It's a great area to stay and enjoy a different side of London.    International Mokuhanga Conference - is a bi-yearly conference dedicated to mokuhanga which started in 2011 by the International Mokuhanga Association. Each conference is themed. The latest conference was in 2021, delayed a year because of the pandemic. More information can be found, here.       Hiroshi Yoshida - Fishes of Honolulu at The Honolulu Aquarium (1925)     Summer Canyon - Black's Beach: Sunrise   © Popular Wheat Productions opening and closing musical credit - Yazoo: Too Pieces. From their 1982 album Upstairs At Eric's logo designed and produced by Douglas Batchelor and André Zadorozny  Disclaimer: Please do not reproduce or use anything from this podcast without shooting me an email and getting my express written or verbal consent. I'm friendly :) Слава Україну If you find any issue with something in the show notes please let me know. ***The opinions expressed by guests in The Unfinished Print podcast are not necessarily those of André Zadorozny and of Popular Wheat Productions.***            

The Unfinished Print
Carol Dorman - Stuart Jackson Gallery and the LIFE Institute

The Unfinished Print

Play Episode Listen Later Dec 24, 2022 70:21


The importance of passion cannot be understated.  It can be a wonderful and beautiful thing, and if it's made into a positive part of not only one's own life but for others as well; it's a passion worth pursuing.  On this episode of The Unfinished Print I speak with mokuhanga collector, self taught scholar and instructor, Carol Dorman. Having seen her work and lectures with the Japan Foundation Toronto, on various topics on ukiyo-e history and culture, I found her knowledge and story to be of great interest. I speak with Carol about her journey from working at the CBC for the national news, to working side by side with Stuart Jackson, a mokuhanga gallery owner here in Toronto. Carol speaks on her love of the ukiyo-e period of Japanese woodblock prints, her collecting, how that world has changed dramatically during her time at The Stuart Jackson Gallery, and we discuss her work at the LIFE Institute of Toronto where she teaches and instructs age 50+ students about ukiyo-e history.  Please follow The Unfinished Print and my own mokuhanga work on Instagram @andrezadoroznyprints or email me at theunfinishedprint@gmail.com  Notes: may contain a hyperlink. Simply click on the highlighted word or phrase. Artists works follow after the note. Pieces are mokuhanga unless otherwise noted. Regina, Saskatchewan - is the capital of the Canadian Province of Saskatchewan. Located on the land of the Cree, Saulteaux, Dakota, Nakota, Lakota, and Métis peoples, it is the 16th most populace city in Canada.  The city has many restaurants, museums, and other places of interest. More info can be found at Tourism Regina, here.  University of Toronto -  considered a public research university, U of T is located in the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and was founded in 1827. It has educated any number of famous Canadian authors, scientists, politicians, and the like. More info, here.  Stuart Jackson Gallery - is a ukiyo-e specific gallery located at 882 Queen Street W. in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It has been doing business in Toronto for almost fifty years. More info, here.  The Royal Ontario Museum - also known as The ROM, is an art, world culture, and natural history museum in the city of Toronto, and is one of the oldest museums in the city. More info, here.  The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation - also known as the CBC, is a Canadian Federal Crown corporation and is the oldest broadcasting network in Canada. Founded in 1936, the CBC broadcasts news, original programming, and sports throughout Canada and the world. They broadcast via various digital platforms as well as terrestrial platforms such as television and radio.  More info, here. Meiji Period of Japan (1868-1912)- the Meiji Period in Japanese history is synonymous with turmoil and regime change. The Meiji Period is named after Prince Mutsuhito (1852-1912), who became Emperor after his fathers death, Emperor Kōmei (1846-1867). Mutsuhito's reign came at the end of the Keiō Era, (1865-1868), until his own death in 1912.    Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1798-1861) - is considered one of the last “masters” of the ukiyo-e genre of Japanese woodblock printmaking. His designs range from landscapes, samurai and Chinese military heroes, as well as using various formats for his designs such as diptychs and triptychs.    Tsuzoku Suikoden Goketsu Hyakuhachi-nin no Hitori (津属水滸伝後けつ百八人にの一人 ca. 1827)   Utagawa Kunisada (1786-1865) - arguably one of the more important woodblock print designers, Kunisada designed many types of prints, from landscape, books, erotica, sumo etc.  Kunisada worked during the period of ukiyo-e history with Andō Hiroshige (1797-1858), Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849), and the above mentioned Kuniyoshi. Defintely a rich and abundant period in Japanese woodblock print history.  Oni Azami Seikichi (鬼あざみ清吉) 1859   Yorkville, Toronto - Yorkville is a neighbourhood located in the heart of Toronto. It has a rich history, politically and culturally. It has become a high end neighbourhood in the city, with many expensive shops,  luxury homes and condos. It is famous for once being the hotbed of folk music in the world, outside of New York City, in the 1960's. Performers such as Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan amongst others performed in the various clubs in the neighbourhood.    2008 Financial Crisis - was a world wide financial crisis which started in 2007 and lasted throughout 2008 and onwards. This crisis affected housing, mortgages, the automotive industry, and world economic markets.    David Kutcher is the owner and operator of Moonlit Sea Prints, located in Easthampton, Massachusetts. His interview with The Unfinished Print can be found, here.    Fading of Japanese woodblock prints - certain colours, especialy in ukiyo-e period prints (beni), are known to fade over time. Since pigments in mokuhanga are generally water based, they will fade naturally, but more quickly if located near sunlight. There are many reasons why your print will fade, so the website Viewing Japanese Prints has written a fine article regarding those very reasons, amongst other ways you can protect your mokuhanga collection. You can find that article, here.    The Kentler International Drawing Space - is an art gallery located in Red Hook, Brooklyn, New York. It has hosted several mokuhanga centred exhibitions. The most recent was Between Worlds as hosted by The Mokuhanga Sisters, from July 17 - July 31, 2022. More info, here.    Red Hook, Brooklyn, NY - is a neighbourhood in Brooklyn, New York. Once called South Brooklyn and once an industrial area, Red Hook has evolved over time to house many New Yorkers who are looking to be close to Manhattan and still be able to afford a home. There is a great New York Times article, here, which explores the history of this fascinating area.    Doi Hangaten -  is a mokuhanga print publisher located in Tōkyō, Japan. Once a publisher of prints associated with the shin-hanga movement of the ealry twentieth century, the company continues to publish reproductions of famous Japanese prints, in the old ways. Most recently, the Doi family have collaborated with David Bull and Mokuhankan to publish new verions of some of the old blocks from almost 100 years ago. More info about the Doi Hangaten can be found here, here and here. The collaboration videos produced by Mokuhankan regarding the Doi family and the subsequant collaboration can be found, here.    LIFE Institute - is a learning facility for adults age 50+.  The LIFE Institute began in 1991, and has a membership of 2500 today. The institute offers high quality education in the Arts, Humanities, Science and Technology, amongst others. Courses are conducted in person or online. More info can be found, here.    The National Gallery of Art - is a free art gallery located in Washington D.C. Founded by financier Andrew W. Mellon. The West building was constructed in 1941. The gallery houses more than 150,000 pieces of art and is dedicated to education and culture. More info can be found, here.    Itō Jackuchū (1716-1800) - was a Japanese painter who painted in silk. His work can be seen in scrolls (kakemono), sliding doors (fusuma), and folding screens (byōbu). Known for his wild style of painting, Jackuchū's most popular theme is of birds. There are many books wirtten about Jackuchū and his life and times. More info can be found, here , to get you started.  Rooster (18th Century)   Nishiki-e (錦絵) - is the Japanese phrase for colour woodblock prints, otherwise known as brocade pictures.    Ogata Gekkō (1859-1920) - was a painter, illustrator and mokuhanga designer. Gekkō's work has a delightful water colour style, where the subjects seem to be floating and light, regardless of whether the subject is a beautiful woman or a ghostly fox. Gekkō's subject matter ranged from landscapes, to mythology. Ogata Gekkō had a full career, from working with many publishers for his print designs to founding various art associations. More information about the life and career of Ogata Gekkō can be found, here, on David Humphries' fantastic website about the artist.  Drawing Water from Yoro Waterfall — 養老孝子瀧を汲の図 (1896)   Prussian Blue - is a dark blue pigment, which has been used by painters, and mokuhanga printmakers. The pigment has been used in Europe since the 18th Century, and in Japan since around 1820, having been imported by Europeans into Japan.    Evolution of Pigments in Mokuhanga - the evolution of pigments in mokuhanga began with hand painting in the later 17th Century, to the multi coloured prints of ukiyo-e, shin hanga, and sōsaku hanga. More info regarding the pigment evolution can be found, here, at the Library of Congress.    The Japan Foundation - is a not for profit organization established in 1972, with many offices located around the world. The Japan Foundation Toronto has been active in the city since 1990. More info, here for the JF worldwide, and here for Toronto.    Elizabeth Forrest - is an award-winning Canadian artist and mokuhanga prinmaker. She has been producing mokuhanga since the late 1980's when she lived and studied in Kyoto. She has studied with the late Akira Kurosaki (1937-2019).  More info about Elizabeth's work can be found, here.  And It Began To Rain (2014)   Akira Kurosaki 黒崎彰 (1937-2019) - one of the most influential woodblock print artists of the modern era. His work, while seemingly abstract, moved people with its vibrant colour and powerful composition. He was a teacher and invented the “Disc Baren,” which is a great baren to begin your mokuhanga journey with. At the 2021 Mokuhanga Conference in Nara, Japan there was a tribute exhibit of his life works. Azusa Gallery has a nice selection of his work, here. Taurus (1973)   Barbara Wybou - is a Canadian mokuhanga artists who lived, worked, and studied in Japan for twenty years. Her home these days is Toronto where she continues to work on her mokuhanga. Notably she studied with the late Tōshi Yoshida (1911-1995). Her work can be found, here.  Rats 3   Toyohara Kunichika (1835-1900) -  was a Japanese woodblock designer of the Utagawa School of artists. His work flourished in the Meiji Period (1868-1912) of Japanese history, a period of immense change politically, economically, and industrially. Some of Kunichika's works can be found, here.    Onoe Kikugorō V as The British Spencer (1894)   War prints & Japanese Imperialism - as Japan entered the Pacific Theatre of war (1941-1945) with the United States, the fascist military government had complete power in Japan at the time, and used woodblock prints, as well as other mediums such as lithography and photography, to propagandize their war effort. Printmakers such as Kawase Hasui (1883-1957) even got involved in producing prints that helped the war effort. He designed several war prints during this time period. Prints such as The Red Setting Sun, is a prime example of how the times and aesthetic show a relatively innocuous scene of figures (Japanese soldiers) riding on horses with a setting sun back drop. For more detailed information regarding war time prints I suggest, Conflicts of Interest: Art and War in Modern Japan, ed. Philip K. Hu w/ Rhiannon Paget, and The Politics of Painting by Asato Ikeda. My interview with Rhiannon Paget PhD can be found, here.    Russo-Japanese War (February 8, 1904 - September 5, 1905) - was a war between two colonial powers, the Imperial Russian and Imperial Japanese military, taking place in China. Information about its background can be found here at history.com, and here.    bijin-ga - (美人画) is the Japanese term for beautiful women in mokuhanga.  Itō Shinsui (1898-1972) After Washing Her Hair (1936)   yakusha-e - (役者絵) is the Japanese term for actor prints in mokuhanga.  Utagawa Yoshiiku (1833-1904) Oyama Doll - Ichikawa Udanji (1893)   Taishō Period  (1912-1926) - a short lived period of Japanese modern history but an important one in world history. This is where the militarism of fascist Japan began to take seed, leading to The Pacific War (1931-1945). More info can be found, here.   hanmoto system - is the Edo Period (1603-1868) collaboration system of making woodblock prints in Japan. The system was about using, carvers, printers, and craftsmen by various print publishers in order to produce woodblock prints. The system consisted of the following professions; publisher, artist, carver, and printer.   Yamato Take no Mikoto with His Sword Kusanagi - is the print by Ogata Gekkō which Carol mentions as one of her favourite prints.     Oliver Statler (1915-2002) -  was an American author and scholar and collector of mokuhanga. He had been a soldier in world war 2, having been stationed in Japan. After his time in the war Statler moved back to Japan, where he wrote about Japanese prints. His interests were of many facets of Japanese culture such as acoomodation, and the 88 Temple Pilgrammage of Shikoku. Oliver Statler, in my opinion, wrote one of the most important books on the sōsaku-hanga movement, “Modern Japanese Prints: An Art Reborn.”   John Stevenson -  is an American author who has written extenisvely on Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (1839-1892).    Tsukioka Yoshitoshi (月岡 芳年) was a mokuhanga designer who is famous for his prints depicting violence and gore. His work is powerful, colourful, and one of the last vibrant moments of the ukiyo-e genre of woodblock prints. More information about Yoshitoshi's life and his copious amount of work can be found, here.    The Flower of Edo (1858) Utagawa Kuniyoshi (歌川 國芳) - was a print designer and painter known for his triptychs, yoko-e (horizontal landscape prints), Yokohama-e (prints with Yokohama as its subject), and yakusha-e (actor prints). Considered as one of the last of the "golden age" print designers of the ukiyo-e genre.  Ichikawa Kodanji IV as the ghost of Asakura Togo (possibly 1851) Kunisada/Kuniyoshi Exhibit - was an art exhibition held at the Museum of Fine Arts Boston from August 11 - December 10, 2017. There was also an excellent catalogue printed for this show and would add to any woodblock print fan's library. more info, here. The book I reference about Toyohara Kunichika is "Time Present and Time Past of a Forgotten Master: Toyohara Kunichika 1835-1900"  There are various online print collections that the aspiring mokuhanga scholar can seek out to help in their studies. The Library of Congress has their collection online, as does ukiyo-e.org, who have various impressions af their prints throughout their website.  Scholten Japanese Art - is a mokuhanga focused art gallery located in midtown Manhattan. It was founded by René Scholten, an avid collector of the Japanese print. More info can be found, here. Acadia Books - is a vintage and unique used bookstore located at Sherbourne and Queent St. East in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In my opinion it is one of the best bookstores I have had the priviledge to visit. More info, here.  © Popular Wheat Productions opening and closing musical credit - intro music is Spill Yer Lungs and outro music is Tailor  both by Julie Doiron from her album I Can Wonder What You Did With Your Day (2009) on Jagjaguar Records logo designed and produced by Douglas Batchelor and André Zadorozny  Disclaimer: Please do not reproduce or use anything from this podcast without shooting me an email and getting my express written or verbal consent. I'm friendly :) Слава Україну If you find any issue with something in the show notes please let me know. ***The opinions expressed by guests in The Unfinished Print podcast are not necessarily those of André Zadorozny and of Popular Wheat Productions.***                

The Unfinished Print
Katie Baldwin: Printmaker - It's An Exchange Amongst Friends

The Unfinished Print

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 30, 2022 65:33


Many mokuhanga printmakers today touch on different mediums when they create their work. It could be sculpture, bookbinding, or installation. There is no limit as to what can be accomplished with mokuhanga.  On this episode of The Unfinished Print I speak with mokuhanga printmaker and artist Katie Baldwin. Based in Alabama where she is an Assistant Professor at the University of Alabama, Huntsville. Katie has travelled the world, from Poland to Taiwan. She is involved in several collaborative groups, such as ShiftLab, wood+paper+box, and The Mokuhanga Sisters.  Katie speaks on her early days of making mokuhanga, her time at Nagasawa Art Park, the influence of her artist father, studio space and what it does to her work. We also discuss the concept of "craft," and her evolution as an artist.  Please follow The Unfinished Print and my own mokuhanga work on Instagram @andrezadoroznyprints or email me at theunfinishedprint@gmail.com  Notes: may contain a hyperlink. Simply click on the highlighted word or phrase. Artists works follow after the note. Pieces are mokuhanga unless otherwise noted. Katie Baldwin - website, Instagram   Progress from the Two Stories Series (2013) - woodblock and letterpress  Tornado Shelter (Practice Evacuation) [2021]  Neighbourhood 2 from Things Left Behind Series (2010)  portion from Multiple Discovery by Shift-Lab (2022) artists book Fire Drill (ca. 2020) Evergreen State College - is a state funded college located in Olympia, Washington, USA. It covers environmental justice, history, amongst other subjects. More info can be found, here.  letterpress - is a type of relief printing by using a printing press. It was popular during Industrialization and the modernity of the West. By the mid twentieth century, letterpress began to become more of an art form, with artists using the medium for books, stationary, and greeting cards. woodblock printing in Europe - first starting in and around 1400, woodblock printing in Europe used the medium to represent Chirstian subjects. Albrecht Dührer (1471-1528) made detailed devotional works with woodcuts. Another famous style of woodcutting in Europe was using the chiaroscuro (light and dark) method of drawing within a woodcut as seen in the work of Louis Cranach the Elder (1472-1553). More info can be found, here.  The Four Horseman of The Apocalypse (1496-1498) woodcut The Werewolf or the Cannibal (date unknown) woodcut Nagasawa Art Park (MI Lab) Awaji City - Nagasawa Art Park was an artist-in-residence program located in Awaji City, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. It was open for 12 years before evolving into MI Lab in 2012. More info, here.    Awaji Island - is located in the Seto Inland Sea in Japan. It is famous for its Naruto whirlpools, the longest suspension bridge in the world in the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge. It is also a connection to both Shikoku Island, and the main land of Honshu. More info can be found, here.    Vandercook Press - is a proof printing press manufactured by Vandercook & Sons, beginning in 1909. They made different types of presses, such as letterpress and offset. They are now a part of NA Graphics.    shina - is a type of Japanese plywood used in mokuhanga. Not all shina is made equally, buyer beware.    intaglio printing - is a printing method, also called etching, using metal plates such as zinc, and copper, creating “recessed” areas which are printed with ink on the surface of these "recesses.” More info, here. The MET has info, here.    codex - is a type of book binding in the Western method and is a precursor to the modern book.    Wells College - is a private college located in Aurora, New York, USA. The school provides various courses in the social sciences, science, and environmental studies. More info can be found, here.    National Taiwan Normal University -  was founded in 1922 and serves many different avenues of study. Their Department of Fine Arts, holds a Bienniel Print Exhibit, more info here  and here.   Taoyan International Print Exhibition 2021 - was a print exhibition showcasing international printmakers in the town of Taoyan, Taiwan. More info, here.    aizuri-e - a late Edo Period (1603-1867) type of printmaking where the woodblock print is predominantly in blue, or shades of the color blue. The blue colour was usually a Prussian Blue imported into Japan around 1790. artelino have a great description of Prussian Blue and aizuri-e, here.   Fullbright Scholarship - is a scholarship that covers various types of grants. Beginning in 1946, this particular scholarship provides grants and exchanges for many countries and for various students, scholars, and professionals. More info, here.    Puli, Nantou, Taiwan (埔里鎮) - is a township located in the Nantou County, a mountainous and landlocked portion of Taiwan. Known for its nature, lakes, and national parks. More info, here.    sizing paper - at times mokuhanga printmakers will size their paper. Size is made from water, animal glue (rabbit, horse), and alum. What the size does is keep the pigments the artist uses from “bleeding” into the outer edges of the paper. There are many recipes of size, here is one that artist Walter J. Phillips used.   kozo paper -  is paper made from mulberry bark and is commonly used in woodblock printmaking, and cloth.    Art Taipei - is organized by the Taiwan Art Gallery Association (TAGA) and is an art fair which takes place once a year in October. More info can be found, here.    Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall (國立中正紀念堂) - is a landmark located in Taipei, Taiwan. It is in memoriam to the leader of the Republic of China, Chiang Kai-shek (1887-1975), who lived in exile in Taiwan from 1949-1975.    sumi - is a rich black stick, or liquid used by artists, calligraphers, and traditional Japanese horimono tattoo artists.  It is made from the soot of burnt lamp oil. Used in key blocks predominantly in traditional mokuhanga, it can also be used to mix pigments. Pigment Tōkyō conducts a great interview with their chief of pigments, Kei Iwaizumi, about sumi ink, here.   Shift-Lab  - is an international artists collective which started in 2013. The collective is made up of Katie Baldwin, Denise Bookwalter, Sarah Bryant, Macy Chadwick, and Tricia Treacy. Their works are a blend of bookmaking, sculpture, mokuhanga, printmaking, and drawing. More info can be found, here. Below is work from Shift-Lab and each individual artist within the collective, other than Katie Baldwin, whose work can be found above. Info regarding the collective can be found, here. Click on the artists name for their respective website's.    Tetrahedron (2011) by Denise Bookwalter - digital/dimensional print    The pine cone is an object of veneration (2012) by Sarah Bryant - letterpress   Observations on Listening (2012) by Macy Chadwick - letterpress, polymer plate   SLOT (2018) by Tricia Treacy - one page from the SLOT piece. - risograph, hand binding, foil-stamping    CODEX Book Fair and Symposium - is a biennaly held book fair and is hosted by CODEX, a foundation created in 2005 by Peter Rutledge Koch, and Susan Filter. Their aim is to promote the book form as art. The next book fair will take place in 2024. More info can be found, here.    The Mokuhanga Sisters - are a mokuhanga collective consisting of Yoonmi Nam, Mariko Jesse, Lucy May Schofield, Melissa Schulenberg, Kate MacDonagh, Katie Baldwin, Mia-O, Patty Hudak, and Natasha Norman. website,  Instagram   wood+paper+box - is a collaborative art group made up of Katie Baldwin, Mariko Jesse, and Yoonmi Nam. It is based on their experiences at Nagasawa Art Park, the precursor of MI Lab.    Yoonmi Nam (b. 1974) - is a contemporary mokuhanga printmaker, lithographer, sculptor, and teacher, based in Lawrence, Kansas. Her work can be found, here. Her interview with The Unfinished Print can be found, here.   Cover of Kansas City Collection (2014-2015), catalogue   Mariko Jesse - is an illustrator, and mokuhanga printmaker based in Tōkyō, London, and California. Her work can be found, here. Mariko is also a part of the collective, wood+paper+box, which can be found, here.  Berry Flower (2020) The Group of Seven - were a group of landscape painters from Canada. The artists were, Franklin Carmichael (1890–1945), Lawren Harris (1885–1970), A.Y. Jackson  1882–1974), Frank Johnston (1888–1949), Arthur Lismer  (1885–1969), J.E.H MacDonald (1873–1932), and Frederick Varley (1881–1969). Later, A.J. Casson (1898–1992) was invited to join in 1926, Edwin Holdgate (1892–1977) became a member in 1930, and LeMoine FitzGerald (1890–1956) joined in 1932. While Tom Thomspon (1877–1917), and Emily Carr (1871–1945) were not "official" members it is generally accepted that they were a part of the group without being "officially" a part of the group because of the group relationship with the artists. More info can be found, here.    Collaborative Mokuhanga Groups of the past - usually associated with the sōsaku hanga movement of the early 20th century, these collaborative mokuhanga groups shared and disseminated their work amongst themselves, teaching techniques and methods, strengthening the creative print movement in Japan. Some famous print groups were The First Thursday Society as founded by Onchi Kōshirō (1891-1955), and the Yoyogi Group founded by Un'ichi Hiratsuka (1895-1997). Printmaking during this time was predominantly male, so we see Japan and that time period through the eyes of men. There were female printmakers, such as Keiko Minami (1911-2007), although she lived abroad and not in Japan. In Japan you had the Joryū Hanga Kyōkai, the first woman's printmaking society who held their first show in Tōkyō. Artists such as Iwami Reika (1927-2020), and Kobayashi Donge from this group, made mokuhanga prints.    Moon and Water (ca. 1972) - by Iwami Reika    Eve In A Circus by Kobayashi Donge (date unknown) - etching on paper   In Cahoots - is a residency program based in Petaluma, California, USA. It focuses on letterpress, relief printmaking, and artists books. It is run by Mary Chadwick. More info can be found, here.    Mise-en-Scène  - is an artists project by wood+paper+box, currently in progress. More info, here.      © Popular Wheat Productions opening and closing musical credit - Planet Rock by Afrika Bambaataa (1982) logo designed and produced by Douglas Batchelor and André Zadorozny  Disclaimer: Please do not reproduce or use anything from this podcast without shooting me an email and getting my express written or verbal consent. I'm friendly :) Слава Україну If you find any issue with something in the show notes please let me know. ***The opinions expressed by guests in The Unfinished Print podcast are not necessarily those of André Zadorozny and of Popular Wheat Productions.***      

The Unfinished Print
Karen Pittman - Printmaker : Try To Keep It Balanced

The Unfinished Print

Play Episode Listen Later Nov 9, 2022 48:47


When making mokuhanga there are many way to get to the final product. However you get there, you need to enjoy every single moment you have with it. So many twists and turns, indulging your passions with your work, anything can happen. On this episode of The Unfinished Print I speak with printmaker Karen Pittman. With her varied CV, Karen has explored many ways of making, of creating. Her influences come from the traditional, working from the ground up. Karen's mokuhanga exudes that tradition, the patience and serenity of a seasoned mokuhanga artist.  I speak with Karen Pittman about how she got involved with mokuhanga, her time at Mokuhankan and David Bull, her blog; Vivid Laboratories, he own work and what she learned from her mother as an artist.  Please follow The Unfinished Print and my own mokuhanga work on Instagram @andrezadoroznyprints or email me at theunfinishedprint@gmail.com  Notes: may contain a hyperlink. Simply click on the highlighted word or phrase. Artists works follow after the note. Pieces are mokuhanga unless otherwise noted. Karen Pittman - blog, Instagram  星空に - By Starlight (2019) Balcones Canyonlands (2020) Annie Bissett - is an American mokuhanga printmaker and graphic designer based in Rhode Island, USA. Her work touches on politics, and beauty. Her interview with The Unfinished Print cane be found, here. Annie's work can be found, here. April Vollmer - is a mokuhanga artist based in New York City. She has been working in the medium for over thirty years. Her book, Japanese Woodblock Print Workshop, is a classic of the genre and a fantastic instructional book on mokuhanga. Her interview with The Unfinished Print can be found, here.  Zea Mays Workshop  - is a printmaking workshop located in Florence, Massachusetts, USA. They conduct in person and online workshops, as well as tutorials and private lessons for many types of printmaking. More info, here.    temari - (手まり) is a Japanese folk art where balls are embroidered with different types of decorations. They are used as toys, gifts, games, or for collection. More info can be found about this delightful craft, here. For Karen Pittman's temari balls, you can find them here.    two point perspective - also known as linear perspective, is a drawing style which creates a 3D perspective on a two dimensional surface. It is one point of the three points of perspective. One point perspective is where the vanishing point is on the horizon line, and three point perspective is where three points are on the horizon line. The above information is found on The Virtual Instructor, by Matt Fussell, where all points are discussed in detail.    Naoshima (直島) - is a an island and part of an archipelago of islands located between Shikoku and Honshu islands in Japan. It is known for its comteporary art galleries, fishing, and nature tourism. More info, here.    shin hanga - is a style of Japanese woodblock printmaking which began during the end of the ukiyo-e period of Japanese printmaking, in the early 20th Century. Focusing on the foreign demand for “traditional” Japanese imagery and motifs such as castles, bridges, famous landscapes, bamboo forests, to name just a few.  Shin hanga was born in 1915 by Watanabe Shōzaburō (1885-1962) when he found Austrian artist Frtiz Capelari (1884-1950) and commissioned Capelari to design some prints for Watanabe's feldgling printing house . From there shin-hanga evolved into its own distinct “new” style of Japanese woodblock printing. It lasted as this distinct style until its innevitable decline after the Second World War (1939-1945).     Emil Orlick (1870-1932) - 日本の刷り師 (1901)   Yoshida Family of Artists - The Yoshida's are one of the most famous family of artists from Japan. Begun with painter Yoshida Kasaburō (1861-1894), made famous by Yoshida Hiroshi (1876-1950) and his work with woodblock printing. The Yoshida family has helped shape many artists around the world. More info from the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum, here.     Tōshi Yoshida (1911-1995) - 白塀 (Shirobei)   Studio Ghibli - (株式会社スタジオジブリ)  is an animation production house based in Tōkyō, Japan. The studio was founded in 1985 by Hayao Miyazaki, Isao Takahata (1935-2018), and Toshio Suzuki. It has a long line of animated films which have influenced artists, and animators around the world. One such film is Princess Mononoke (もののけ姫) an historical fantasy taking place during the Muromachi Period (1336-1573 CE) of Japan. It is a fantasy story based on the relationship between nature, gods, and man. More info can be found here for Ghibli.    David Bull - is a Canadian woodblock printmaker, and educator who lives and works in Japan. His love of mokuhanga has almost singlehandedly promoted the art form around the world. His company, Mokuhankan, has a brick and mortar store in Asakusa, Tōkyō, and online, here.      The Seacoast in Autumn from the My Solitudes Series (2007-2009)   Mokuhankan  - is a brick and mortar woodblock print shop located in Asakusa, Tōkyō. It is a learning and working space, where it sells the works of artist Jed Henry, master carvers of the past, and various print series. All are printed and carved by Mokuhankan printmakers and carvers. Started by printmaker David Bull as a way to sell his own series and reprints of old carvers of the past, Mokuhankan has grown exponentially over the years and is a must visit when coming to Tōkyō. More info, here.    Awagami Mini Print Exhibtion - is a an exhibiton sponsored by the Awagami Factory. Awagami is a company which produces washi in Tokushima, Shikoku, Japan. This exhibtion, focuses on small size prints. More info can be found, here.   Cameron Hilker - was an employee at Mokuhankan from 2017-2022. Cameron worked at Mokuhankan as the Businnes Operations and Social Media Marketing Manager. His interview with The Unfinished Print, can be found, here.    Asakusa, Tōkyō - is a vibrant and exciting part of the metropolis of Tōkyō. It is rich with history, and rich in the tradition of entertainment, theatre, and religion. Today, Asakusa is known for it's temple system, with Sensō-ji as its centrepiece. Shopping, within the Nakamise, leading you from Kaminarimon to Sensō-ji, you are surrounded by so many opportunities to spend your money, it's quite the experience. You can also go to Kappa-bashi, where you can shop for kitchen-ware and random tchochke's. More information can be found at gotokyo.org.    Don Quijote - (株式会社ドン・キホーテ)  founded in 1989, Don Quijote is a chain of department stores located throughout Japan, parts of Asia and The United States. As a discount realtor, Don Quijote caters to tourists and locals who want a good price. More info can be found on their website, here.    Daiso - (株式会社大創産業)  founded in 1977, Daiso is a discount realtor based in Japan but with outlets throughout the world. While known for being “the 100 Yen shop", Daiso sells a variety of items at different price points.  More info, here.    Fabiola Gil Alares - is a mokuhanga artist and business person who lives and works in Spain. Her book on mokuhanga, Mokuhanga: Manual Ilustrado de Xilografia Japonesa, has become one of the go to books about mokuhanga, in any language. Her interview with The Unfinished Print can be found, here. Her website can be found, here.      Adentro    Print which Karen helped to print when working at Mokuhankan.     Owl In Moonlight (みみずくのうたた寝)printed by Mokuhankan. Based on a print by Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858)   Shin-Torinoko paper - is a mass produced, machine made Japanese paper that is relatively inexpensive. It comes in various weights and colours. More info can be found, here.    Kitaro Japanese Paper Company -  founded in 1872, Kitaro focuses on making high quality Japanese washi in Fukui Prefecture.  More info, here.    murasaki baren - is a mid-range mokuhanga baren. “murasaki” meaning “purple” , come in two types of weight (medium and heavy), and two types of sizes (10cm and 12cm). They are reasonably priced baren.    McClains Woodblock Print Supply Co.  - based in Portland, Oregon, McClains is the go to supplier of woodblock print tools in the United States. Their website can be found, here. The interview with the Unfinished Print with Daniel Jasa of McClain's can be found, here.   mudabori - "waste carving" is a technique in mokuhanga which involves the artist carving away any unwanted wood deemed unecessary for their finished print. These can be guides, as to where the colour blocks will be carved, and then carved away later after it has served its purpose.  More info can be found over at Mokuhankan, here.   Edo Period (1603-1868 CE) pigments for mokuhanga - during the Edo Period, mixing four or five colours was common as they were mineral and vegetal pigments, which could last a long time. According to Japanese Print-Making by Tōshi Yoshida, the best colours to use for their steadfastness was sumi (black ink), gofun (shell powder), shu (Chinese vermillion), kuchinashi (jasmine/gardenia yellow), ai (indigo), and taisha (red ochre).   John Amoss of Tanuki Prints in Georgia, has written and produced a video of some of his work with Mokuhankan, and his experience grinding traditional pigments with their team. You can find that, here. From David Bull's woodblock.com there is a posting about preparing powdered pigments in the traditional method, here. My interview with John Amoss can be found, here.      Morning Tree by John Amoss (2022)   Winsor & Newton - is a British artist supply company, started in 1832,  which sells artist materials such as pigments, brushes, paper, etc. More info can be found, here.    Print Austin -  is an annual printmaking expo in Austin, Texas where artists of all different types of printmaking come and show their work. As Karen says in her interview, there are workshops, classes and interactive modules. More info can be found, here.    New Leaf Gallery - is a relief print focused gallery located in Wybridge, Vermont, USA. More info can be found, here.    Cormark International - is an international supplier of exotic woods, and are based in South Africa. More info, here.    Ocooch Hardwoods - is a wood supplier based in Wisconsin. More info can be found, here.    © Popular Wheat Productions opening and closing musical credit - One Love (LG Main remix) from From Illmatic to Stillmatic: The Remixes (2002) logo designed and produced by Douglas Batchelor and André Zadorozny  Disclaimer: Please do not reproduce or use anything from this podcast without shooting me an email and getting my express written or verbal consent. I'm friendly :) Слава Україну If you find any issue with something in the show notes please let me know. ***The opinions expressed by guests in The Unfinished Print podcast are not necessarily those of André Zadorozny and of Popular Wheat Productions.***      

The Unfinished Print
Mia O - Printmaker: I Just Want To Make

The Unfinished Print

Play Episode Listen Later Oct 27, 2022 41:00


 Mia O is one of the most interesting and creative mokuhanga printmakers working in the medium, today. Her work moves outside the traditional formats of mokuhanga, through shape, collage, colour, and even the folds of washi.  Join me on this episode of The Unfinished Print where I speak with Mia O about how mokuhanga has been such an important part of her life. We discuss specific pieces of hers and how they were made, her life in Japan and how her environment inspires her.  Mia also delves into her collaboration with The Mokuhanga Sisters Collective, and her time at Nagasawa Art Park. Please follow The Unfinished Print and my own mokuhanga work on Instagram @andrezadoroznyprints Twitter @unfinishedprint, or email me at theunfinishedprint@gmail.com  Artists works follow after the note about them. Notes: may contain a hyperlink. Simply click on the highlighted word or phrase. Artists works follow after the note. Pieces are mokuhanga unless otherwise noted. Mia O - website, Instagram Brooklyn Museum - is a museum located in New York City in the Borough of Brooklyn.  With a history which stretches from 1823, the current museum was founded in 1898. It contains predominantly American works of art. More info, here.   intaglio printing - is a printing method, also called etching, using metal plates such as zinc, and copper, creating “recessed” areas which are printed with ink on the surface of these "recesses.” More info, here. The MET has info, here.    Keiko Kadota - (d. 2017) was a director of MI Lab and of Nagasawa Art Park, previously. She was a mentor to many mokuhanga practitioners and helped to promote mokuhanga around the world.   Nagasawa Art Park (MI Lab) Awaji City - Nagasawa Art Park was an artist-in-residence program located in Awaji City, Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan. It was open for 12 years before evolving into MI Lab in 2012. More info, here.    Awaji Island - is located in the Seto Inland Sea in Japan. It is famous for its Naruto whirlpools, the longest suspension bridge in the world in the Akashi Kaikyo Bridge. It is also a connection to both Shikoku Island, and the main land of Honshu. More info can be found, here.    CfSHE Gallery - is a gallery located in Chiyoda, Tōkyō. It is associated with MI Lab. More info, here. Their Instagram can be found, here.   hanmoto system - is the Edo Period (1603-1868) collaboration system of making woodblock prints in Japan. The system was about using, carvers, printers, and craftsmen, by various print publishers in order to produce woodblock prints. The system consisted of the following professions; publisher, artist, carver, and printer. kentō - is the registration system used by printmakers in order to line up the colour woodblocks with your key block, or outline block, carved first.   shina - is a type of Japanese plywood used in mokuhanga. Not all shina is made equally, buyer beware.  powdered pigments - have been used in mokuhanga since the Edo Period (1602-1868). Mineral pigments can still be used but are generally hurtful and toxic. More information can be found on grinding and the types of powdered pigmetns used today from John Amoss of Tanuki Prints, here.    Mino, Gifu, Japan - is a city located in the Japanese Prefecture of Gifu. It is famous for its ceramics and for the washi that Mia speaks about in her interview. Mino, also has a festival which uses their locally produced washi for some portable shrines. More info can be found here, about Mino tourism, and here, for the Mino festival.    floating kentō - is a removable registration system attached to the block when printing. As the kentō isn't affixed to the block; blotting, and very clean borders are one of the positives of using this method of registration. It is an "L" shape.    Mia O pieces discussed in her interview -    Bamboo Green Landscape (2016)   Yellow Ochre Landscape (2016)   Orange Landscape (2016)   PW Octagon (2017)   B+W Holes (2021)   The World  Beteween The Block and the Paper - was a mokuhanga centered show held at the Southern Vermont Arts Center in Manchester, Vermont from December, 11, 2021 to March, 27, 2022. It was hosted and presented by SVAC and the Mokuhanga Sisters, a mokuhanga collective of mokuhanga artists and teachers from around the world. More info, here.    The Mokuhanga Sisters - are a mokuhanga collective consisting of Yoonmi Nam, Mariko Jesse, Lucy May Schofield, Melissa Schulenberg, Kate MacDonagh, Katie Baldwin, Mia-O, Patty Hudak, and Natasha Norman. Instagram   MI Lab - Mokuhanga Innovation Laboratory is located in Tōkyō. It is a place set up for learning mokuhanga. The artist-in-residence program, having been held since 2011 on Lake Kawaguchi near Mt. Fuji, is an application based program hosting international mokuhanga practitioners who are looking to move their work forward. More information can be found, here.   Patty Hudak - is an American artist who splits her time between Vermont and NYC, who works in installation, and mokuhanga. She has travelled the world, and is a part of three artist collectives. Patty's interview with The Unfinished Print can be found, here.     Patterning   Yoonmi Nam (b. 1974) - is a contemporary mokuhanga printmaker, lithographer, sculptor, and teacher, based in Lawrence, Kansas. Her work can be found, here. Her interview with The Unfinished Print can be found, here.   Winter Walk - lithograph and monotype (2016)   Kate MacDonagh - is an Irish mokuhanga printmaker based in Dublin, Ireland. Kanreki was an exhibition curated by Kate MacDonagh at The Model, Sligo. Kate's website.   Dark Light II (2020)   International Mokuhanga Conference - is a bi-yearly conference dedicated to mokuhanga which started in 2011 by the International Mokuhanga Association. Each conference is themed. The latest conference was in 2021, delayed a year because of the pandemic. More information can be found, here.     © Popular Wheat Productions opening and closing musical credit - Fall Line by Jack Johnson form the album On And On (2003)  logo designed and produced by Douglas Batchelor and André Zadorozny  Disclaimer: Please do not reproduce or use anything from this podcast without shooting me an email and getting my express written or verbal consent. I'm friendly :) Слава Україну If you find any issue with something in the show notes please let me know. ***The opinions expressed by guests in The Unfinished Print podcast are not necessarily those of André Zadorozny and of Popular Wheat Productions.***          

The Unfinished Print
Lucy May Schofield - Printmaker: Light, Time, Process

The Unfinished Print

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 26, 2022 94:30


The time and dedication that it takes to make mokuhanga is well known. And if it isn't then it really should be. It feels that it's easy to follow social media, and watch the pretty prints come out of nowhere, but behind all those nice pictures is a lot of hard work, and dedication. One person who is a prime example of this hard work, dedication and passion for the craft, is Lucy May Schofield. Based in England, Lucy has been making mokuhanga for some time. She has travelled the world, using her environment, and her passion to create mokuhanga that is expressive and powerful.  On this episode of The Unfinished Print, I speak with Lucy about how she discovered mokuhanga, her time at MI Lab, Lucy's love of bokashi,  and her mokuhanga relationships; those that have helped her along the way. Lucy also speaks on the Mokuhanga Sisters Collective, how grants and scholarships assist in Lucy's artistic pursuits, as well as how her other artistic endeavours affect her mokuhanga. Lucy's is a story which explores independence, pilgrimage, freedom, and how it affects a persons life.  Please follow The Unfinished Print and my own mokuhanga work on Instagram @andrezadoroznyprints Twitter @unfinishedprint, or email me at theunfinishedprint@gmail.com  Artists works follow after the note about them. Notes: may contain a hyperlink. Simply click on the highlighted word or phrase. Artists works follow after the note. Lucy May Schofield - website, Instagram Rebecca Salter - is the President of The Royal Academy of Arts, in London, England. She is also an artist who has written two books about Japanese woodblock printing, Japanese Woodblock Printing (2001), and Japanese Popular Prints (2006). She worked with the Satō Woodblock Print Workshop, documenting their process. Her interview with The Unfinished Print can be found, here.  Untitled 2015-14 (2015) Royal Academy of Arts - is an English art institution which as been in operation for 250 years. More info, here.  Fukuoka, Prefecture, Japan - is a Prefecture in the second most southern part of the Japanese archipelago.  It is known for is temples, hot springs, and natural beauty. Fukuoka tourist website, here. kotatsu - is a low table, electrically heated by an internal heater underneath the table itself, more info, here.  Munakata Shikō (志功棟方) - (1903-1975) arguably one of the most famous modern printmakers, Shiko is famous for his prints of women, animals, the supernatural, and Buddhist deities. He made his prints with an esoteric fervour where his philosophies about mokuhanga were just as interesting as his print work.  Hizakura no Saku (1978) colour lithograph New Year Card - called nengajo (年賀状) in Japanese, these cards have been traditionally passed from person to person  since the Heian Period (794-1185). Mokuhanga practitioners make them as well, creating a new one every year focusing on the zodiac sign of the year as a theme. shina - is a type of wood used in mokuhanga. It is part of the linden family of trees. This wood is produced in various parts of the world, such as Japan and Russia. Not all shina is created equal so buyer beware. magnolia wood - a straight grained hard wood located in North America and Asia. more info, here. washi paper - (和紙) is a type of Japanese paper made with the fibres of either gampi, mitsumata, or mulberry. It is versatile and can be used in many ways.  International Mokuhanga Conference - is a bi-yearly conference dedicated to mokuhanga which started in 2011 by the International Mokuhanga Association. Each conference is themed. The latest conference was in 2021, delayed a year because of the pandemic. More information can be found, here.  Ralph Kiggell (1960-2022) -  was one of the most important mokuhanga practitioners to have made work. Originally from England, Ralph lived and worked in Thailand. Ralph pushed the boundaries of mokuhanga with extremely large pieces, jigsaw carving, and by using fantastic colour for his work. He also worked with the International Mokuhanga Conference to promote mokuhanga around the world. He will be greatly missed. Ralph's work can be found, here. His obituary in The Guardian can be found, here. His interview with The Unfinished Print can be found, here. Pool Diver (1996) Keiko Hara - is an artist who works, and teaches in Walla Walla, Washington. She is a painter, and printmaker in various relief mediums, such as mokuhanga.  Untitled (2019) Keiko Kadota - (d. 2017) was a director of MI Lab and of Nagasawa Art Park, previously. She was a mentor to many mokuhanga practitioners and helped to promote mokuhanga around the world. MI Lab - is a mokuhanga residency located in Kawaguchi-ko, near Mount Fuji. More info can be found, here.  Kate MacDonagh - is an Irish mokuhanga printmaker based in Dublin, Ireland. Kanreki was an exhibition curated by Kate MacDonagh at The Model, Sligo. Kate's website. Katsutoshi Yuasa - is a printmaker and artist based in Tokyo, Japan. His work tends to be large scale, and created through photography, bits, and focuses on the overall "image" itself. His interview with The Unfinished Print can be found, here. website, Instagram I-know-not-what (2022) oil-based mokuhanga kirazruri  - is a style of printing which uses mica to give a silver, glittering tone to the print. Mica is used as a lovely addition to your print. You can find more information, here.  Hiroki Satake - is a mokuhanga printmaker, and instructor based in Japan. He has taught at MI Lab, as well as given demonstrations regarding tool sharpening, around the world.  Carol Wilhide Justin - is a mokuhanga printmaker based in London, England. Her work focuses on the natural world and the process of making mokuhanga. Carol's interview with The Unfinished Print can be found, here.  Asemic Writing  Tochigi, Prefecture - is a Japanese Prefecture sandwiched between Saitama, Ibaraki, Fukushima, and Gunma Prefectures. It is famous for its autumnal leaves,  temples, and UNESCO World Heritage Site, Nikkō. More info, here.  Nishijin - is an area in Fukuoka City known for its shopping district.  inaka (田舎) - is a Japanese word for “country-side.” Kurokawa Onsen (黒川温泉) - is a hot spring town located on the island of Kyushu, near Mount Aso, the largest active volcano in Japan. It is famous of its traditional style inns, hot springs, baths, and food. More info, here.   Beppu (別府市) - is a hot spring town located in Kyushu. More info, here. matsuri (祭り)- is the Japanese word for “festival.” Japan is a country famous of it's festivals. Each Prefecture, city, town, municipality has a special festival for their area, connected to the seasons, gods, or harvests.  Itoshima (糸島市) - is a city in Fukuoka Prefecture, popular for its beaches, surfing, and nature.  Northumberland, Britain - is a county located in the northernmost area of Britain. It shares a border with Scotland. It is known for its nature, industry, castles, and history. https://www.visitnorthumberland.com cyanotype -  a type of work which uses iron compounds, and when exposed to UV light creates various blues. More info, here.  Indigo dyeing - made famous in the Edo Period (1603-1968), indigo dyeing has been a part of Japanese handicrafts for a long time. Shikoku is famous for it, towns such as Mima, Wakimachi, Tokushima, amongst others continue to produce hand dyed garments of indigo.More info can be found, here, and here.  Awagami -  is arguably the largest paper making company in Japan at the moment. With a large International name, Awagami sponsors, and promotes its paper all over the world. More information can be found on its website, here.  88 Temple Pilgrimage - associated with the Buddhist priest Kōbō Daishi (Kūkai) [774-835]. It is one of the few circular pilgrimages in the world. You can walk, or drive the pilgrimage. You can also see it in parts, called kuguri-uchi. Essentially you can walk this pilgrimage in order, backwards or frontwards as they are all temples associated with Kūkai. If you do make the pilgrimage by foot, it is a commitment, but extremely rewarding. Pilgrims are called ō-henro. More info, here.   Ō-settai - are gifts, such as lodging, food, money, or clothing. They are given by non-pilgrims to pilgrims on they journey of the 88 Temples. More info can be found, here. QEST - is the Queen Elizabeth Scholarship Trust, and is given to British craftspeople who are given money to pursue training and education in their specific field and medium.  More info, here.  kōzo - is a paper made from the bark of the mulberry bush. It is used in mokuhanga frequently, and comes in various weights. YInMn - is a blue colour discovered by Professor Mas Subramanian in 2009.  Helen Frankenthaler (1928-2011) -  was an American abstract impressionist painter who enjoyed experimenting, discovering new ways of expression through paint. More info, here.  Echizen - is a region in Fukui Prefecture, Japan associated with Japanese paper making. It has a long history of paper making. There are many paper artisans in the area. One famous person is Iwano Ichibei whom Megan mentions in this episode. He is a Living National Treasure in paper making, and the ninth generation of his family still making paper today. More info can be found here in English, and here in Japanese.  Paul Furneaux - is a Scottish born mokuhanga printmaker and teacher who uses the medium of  mokuhanga in order to create pieces of work that are third dimensional, and abstract.  The Mokuhanga Sisters - are a mokuhanga collective consisting of Yoonmi Nam, Mariko Jesse, Lucy May Schofield, Melissa Schulenberg, Kate MacDonagh, Katie Baldwin, Mia-O, Patty Hudak, and Natasha Norman. Instagram Yasuyuki Sato - is the Chair of Center for the Science of Human Endeavor/CfSHE, and Director of the Mokuhanga Conference.  Yoonmi Nam (b. 1974) - is a contemporary mokuhanga printmaker, lithographer, sculptor, and teacher, based in Lawrence, Kansas. Her work can be found, here. Her interview with The Unfinished Print can be found, here. More Beer...For Instance (2013) Katie Baldwin - a woodblock printmaker, letterpress, screen printer. website, Instagram Raft (shore) #2 (2013) Mariko Jesse - is an illustrator, and mokuhanga printmaker based in Tōkyō, London, and California. Her work can be found, here. Mariko is also a part of the collective, wood+paper+box, which can be found, here.  Between Times - folded screen with mokuhanga wood+paper+box - is a collaborative art group made up of Katie Baldwin, Mariko Jesse, and Yoonmi Nam. It is based on their experiences at Nagasawa Art Park, the precursor of MI Lab.  Patty Hudak - is an American artist who splits her time between Vermont and NYC, who works in installation, and mokuhanga. She has travelled the world, and is a part of three artist collectives. Patty's interview with The Unfinished Print can be found, here.    Melissa Schulenberg - is a woodblock printmaker and professor of Art and Art History at St. Lawrence University, Canton, NY. Some of her work can be found, here.  Newcastle University - is a public research university located in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, Britain. London College of Printing - now called the London College of Communication, is an art college associated with the University of the Arts London.  Toshio Sayama - is an instructor at MI Lab as well as on the MI Lab Committee Board.  Borderless scroll - is the Mokuhanga Sisters collaborative scroll. Shown in Nara during the International Mokuhanga Conference, as well as at the Southern Vermont Art Center. nori - is a type of paste made from starch. It is usually used when making mokuhanga. You can make nori from any type of material made of starch. For instance, paste can be made with tapioca,  rice, corn, even potato. You can purchase nori pretty much anywhere but making it is more environmentally friendly. Laura Boswell has a great recipe, here.  bokashi -  is a Japanese term associated with the gradation of water into ink. There are several types of bokashi. For more information regarding these types of bokashi please check out Professor Claire Cuccio's lecture called “A Story in Layers,” for the Library of Congress, and the book Japanese Printmaking by Tōshi Yoshida, and Rei Yuki. Below are the following types of bokashi. This is from the Yoshida book: ichimonji bokashi - straight line gradation ichimonji mura bokashi - straight line gradation with an uneven edg. Ō-bokashi - a gradual shading over a wide area atenashi bokashi - gradation without definition futairo bokashi - two tone gradation Utamaro - A Prelude To Desire Series - is a series created by Kitagawa Utamaro (1750-1806) in 1799. His designs changed the whole perspective of shunga, erotic prints. Below is as print as designed by Utamaro and Lucy's self-produced print, Prelude To Desire IV.  shunga (春画)- is a type of mokuhanga which is connected with the ukiyo-e period of the Japanese print. The theme is sexuality, whether male-female, or male-male. Many print designers helped to create these prints, and were very popular.  Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858) - born in Edo, Hiroshige is famous for his landscape series of that burgeoning city. The most famous series being, One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (1856-1859), and the landcape series, Fifty-Three Stations of the Tōkaidō (1833-1834). His work highlights bokashi, and bright colours. More info about his work can be found, here.  Ōmayagashi - from One Hundred Famous Views of Edo Northumberland National Park - is a park in Northumberland , England. It is considered a “dark skies” park where the night sky is preserved by having no artificial lighting in the area. Holbein -  is a pigment company with offices located in Japan, The United States, and Canada. They offer high end gouache, watercolour, and pigment pastes.  scrolls - called kakemono 掛物 or emakimono 絵巻物  in Japanese. These scrolls contain many different types of themes and subjects. More info can be found, here.  The Legend of Gisho Turner Design Gouache - is a company based in Osaka, Japan. The make acrylic and design (water based) gouache.  Oak gall - is a type of plant swelling, which can be found in various plants. Oak gall is made by the Gall Wasp. The ink and pigment made form oak gall has been used for centuries. hanshita - is a thin sheet of gampi paper that is pasted, reverse side, on a piece of wood. This is a guide, carved onto the block and is generally used for the key block and subsequent colour blocks. Methods such as acetate with water based pigment, can also be used rather than the thin gampi paper, which can cause misregistration if not pasted correctly. The Japanese Paper Place - is a Toronto based Japanese paper store servicing the Mokuhanga community for many years.  Interview with the Nancy Jacobi of the JPP can be found, here. Ozuwashi -  is a brick and mortar paper store located in the Nihonbashi district of Tōkyō. More info here. You can purchase all types of paper that Lucy mentions ion her interview, such as pansion, and sekishu. Chine-collé - is a two layered printmaking process where the paper is  placed onto an inked metal plated run through a press. More info, here.  © Popular Wheat Productions opening and closing musical credit - The Smiths - The Headmaster Ritual from the album Meat Is Murder (1985) logo designed and produced by Douglas Batchelor and André Zadorozny  Disclaimer: Please do not reproduce or use anything from this podcast without shooting me an email and getting my express written or verbal consent. I'm friendly :) Слава Україну If you find any issue with something in the show notes please let me know. ***The opinions expressed by guests in The Unfinished Print podcast are not necessarily those of André Zadorozny and of Popular Wheat Productions.***    

The Unfinished Print
Matthew Willie Garcia - Printmaker: Future Nostalgia

The Unfinished Print

Play Episode Listen Later Sep 4, 2022 82:19


Matthew Willie Garcia is an incredibly promising mokuhanga printmaker. Having only, relatively recently, begun his mokuhanga journey, Matthew has already travelled to Japan to participate in MI Lab, and is about to have his first solo mokuhanga show at COOP Gallery in Nashville, Tennessee.  On this episode of The Unfinished Print I speak with mokuhanga printmaker, Matthew Willie Garcia, about his mokuhanga journey, his technique,  and learning new ways of printing. Matthew speaks on the concept of queer mokuhanga, the generosity of the mokuhanga community, and we discuss his other forays in printmaking, compared to his mokuhanga work.  This episode was recorded before Matthew headed off to Japan to participate in the advanced MI Lab workshop in June of 2022. Please stay tuned until after the end credits for my bonus conversation with Matthew about his time at MI Lab.  Please follow The Unfinished Print and my own mokuhanga work on Instagram @andrezadoroznyprints Twitter @unfinishedprint, or email me at theunfinishedprint@gmail.com  Artists works follow after the note about them. Notes: may contain a hyperlink. Simply click on the highlighted word or phrase. Artists works follow after their note about them. Matthew Willie Garcia - website, Instagram Yoonmi Nam (b. 1974) - is a contemporary mokuhanga printmaker, lithographer, sculptor, and teacher, based in Lawrence, Kansas. Her work can be found, here. Her interview with The Unfinished Print can be found, here. Jazz (2017) Meiji Era Prints - The Meiji Era of Japan was between 1868-1912 CE. This was a period of immense modernization and industrialization in Japan, where the Japanese economy was booming. New ideas within mokuhanga was occurring as well. Perspective, colour, through new pigments (gamboge, certain yellows), the advancement of photography, and new topics and themes (war, industry, architecture), the Meiji era print designer and publisher had a lot of choice when producing their prints.  Kansas University - founded in 1866 and is the state's flagship University. More info, here. They have a fine printmaking department as taught by Yoonmi Nam, Shawn Bitters, and Michael J. Kreuger. This department focuses on screen printing, lithography, and relief printing. Shawn Bitters - is a printmaker, painter, draftsperson, and photographer. He is Associate Professor, and Undergraduate Director at Kansas University.  Leftward (2007) Michael J. Kreuger - is a printmaker, ceramicist, painter, and animator. He is a Professor at Kansas University.  Two Moons on The River from the series Nondoing (2016) Lawrence Arts Center - is an arts space founded in 1975 in Lawrence, Kansas. More info, here.  Awagami Bamboo Select - is a heavy washi paper (170g), used in printmaking, letterpress, amongst other mediums. It can be purchased by Awagami Factory in Japan, here.  Pansion paper - is a medium-heavy, between 89-95g, paper used in printmaking.  Rives-BFK (Blanchet Frères & Kiebler) - is a type of paper made of 100% cotton, which comes in a variety of colours and weights.  Richard Steiner - is a mokuhanga printmaker who has been making prints for over fifty years. He has lived and worked in Kyōto, Japan since 1980. He is currently still making work. His interview with The Unfinished Print can be found, here.  Nine Left, One Thanked (2017) Rebecca Salter - is the President of The Royal Academy of Arts, in London, England. She is also an artist who has written two books about Japanese woodblock printing, Japanese Woodblock Printing (2001), and Japanese Popular Prints (2006). She worked with the Satō Woodblock Print Workshop, documenting their process. Her interview with The Unfinished Print can be found, here.  riff (2021) David Bull - is a Canadian woodblock printmaker, and educator who lives and works in Japan. His love of mokuhanga has almost singlehandedly promoted the art form outside Japan. His company, Mokuhankan, has a brick and mortar store in Asakusa, Tōkyō, and online, here.  bokashi -  is a Japanese term associated with the gradation of water into ink. There are several types of bokashi. For more information regarding these types of bokashi please check out Professor Claire Cuccio's lecture called “A Story in Layers,” for the Library of Congress, and the book Japanese Printmaking by Tōshi Yoshida, and Rei Yuki. Below are the following types of bokashi. This is from the Yoshida book: ichimonji bokashi - straight line gradation ichimonji mura bokashi - straight line gradation with an uneven edg. Ō-bokashi - a gradual shading over a wide area atenashi bokashi - gradation without definition futairo bokashi - two tone gradation Marvel Comics - is an American comic book publisher founded in 1961. Famous for Spider-Man, Wolverine, and the X-Men.  Jack Kirby (1917-1994) - was an artist and comic book innovator who focused on narrative in his work. More info can be found at the Kirby Museum, here.  from The Eternals (1976) Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997) - was an American Pop artist, who worked in New York City. His early work was based on comic books, and later developed into abstract and the melding of different types of Western artistic genres such as Cubism, and Futurism. More info on Lichtenstein's work can be found, here, at the Roy Lichtenstein Foundation.  serigraphy - is another word for the art of silk screen printing. Silk screen printing can be in on various materials, silk, canvas, paper.  reduction printmaking - is a process in printmaking where the printmaker cuts away on a piece of wood, or linoleum. After every carving, the printmaker makes an impression with pigments, beginning with lighter colours, gradually using darker colours. William H. Mays has a fine description of reduction on his website, here.  Cameron Bailey - is a mokuhanga printmaker based in Queens, New York. He works predominantly in the reduction method. His interview with the Unfinished Print can be found, here.   Paul Binnie (b. 1967) - is a Scottish born, mokuhanga printmaker, painter, and portraitist, based in San Diego, California. Paul's theme's in all of his mediums are of landscapes, beautiful men and women, as well as the kabuki theatre. You can find more information about his work, here, and on his Instagram, here.  Romanticism - was a Western art movement in the 1800's focusing on imagination and emotion. Coming after the Enlightenment, a period of order and morality, Romanticism focused on the power of nature, and the chaos of the world. More info can be found at the MET, here.   mudabori - is a technique in mokuhanga where the printmaker carves away unwanted wood in their key block during the colour separation process when planning their work. Power Grip - made by Mikisyo, Japan, Power Grip are wood carving tools of various types. Usually used by beginners, but are used by woodblock printmakers of all levels. masa paper - is a machine-made Japanese washi. Can be used in printmaking and is 100% sulphite pulp.  codex - is a type of book binding in the Western method and is a precursor to the modern book.  Japanese book-binding - in Japan the binding of books began with scroll books based on the Chinese method. Other binding methods evolved over time, such as flutter books (sempūyō) and butterfly books (detchōsō). By the Edo Period (1603-1868) and with the relative peace of the period, paper began to be produced at a steady rate creating a demand for books. Tale of Genji. and Tales of Ise were published for the very first time in this form. * Jon Lee - is a mokuhanga printmaker and tool maker based in Arizona. His interview with The Unfinished Print can be found, here.  LO912 (2009) Gotō Hidehiko (b.1953) - is a mokuhanga printmaker and tool maker based in Japan. He makes and teaches seminars about the construction of the mokuhanga tool, the baren.  Nothingness (Kyomu) [2010] Chihiro Taki (b. 1988) - is a mokuhanga printmaker who lives and works in Japan. She helps to teach students at MI Lab as an instructor.  とばり - Shroud of Night  Michiko Hamada - is a mokuhanga printmaker based in Japan. She is an instructor at MI Lab. Her Instagram can be found, here.  AB and K ball-bearing baren - is a type of baren used in mokuhanga. It is considered an alternative to the traditional hon baren which is made of a bamboo sheathe, and cord. The ball-bearing baren is made up of plastic, metal, and ball-bearing balls of various types.  Bumpōdō - is an art store based in Tōkyō, Japan, and founded in 1887. The website can be found here, in Japanese. The English pdf, can be found, here.  Lucy May Schofield - is a British printmaker who works in mokuhanga, book binding, byōbu (screens), kakemono (scrolls). Her work has been shown all over the world. Her website can be found, here. Her Instagram, here.  The Mokuhanga Sisters - are a mokuhanga collective consisting of Yoonmi Nam, Mariko Jesse, Lucy May Schofield, Melissa Schulenberg, Kate MacDonagh, Katie Baldwin, Mia-O, Patty Hudak, and Natasha Norman. Instagram CfSHE Gallery - is a gallery located in Chiyoda, Tōkyō. It is associated with MI Lab. More info, here. Their Instagram can be found, here. MI Lab - is a mokuhanga residency located in Kawaguchi-ko, near Mount Fuji. More info can be found, here.  * Ikegami, Kojiro, and Barbara B. Stephan. Japanese Book Binding: Instructions from a Master Craftsman. New York etc.: Weatherhill, 1990. © Popular Wheat Productions opening and closing musical credit -Life is What You Make It,  by Diamon D from his newest record, The Rear View. (2022) logo designed and produced by Douglas Batchelor and André Zadorozny  Disclaimer: Please do not reproduce or use anything from this podcast without shooting me an email and getting my express written or verbal consent. I'm friendly :) Слава Україну If you find any issue with something in the show notes please let me know. ***The opinions expressed by guests in The Unfinished Print podcast are not necessarily those of André Zadorozny and of Popular Wheat Productions.***  

History of Japan
Episode 450 - Gimme that Old Time Religion

History of Japan

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 19, 2022 37:13


This week, we're covering the rise of the Hirata school of kokugaku, or national studies, during the Edo Period. How did an intellectual movement devoted to linguistics become a powerful political, social, and arguably religious force by the end of samurai rule--and why did that movement fall from power after just a few short years of influence? Show notes here.

The Unfinished Print
April Vollmer - Printmaker: The Balance of Paste, Water, and Colour

The Unfinished Print

Play Episode Listen Later Aug 3, 2022 61:33


April Vollmer is one of the most important mokuhanga printmakers and authors working today. Her book, Japanese Woodblock Print Workshop, is a must have for any person interested in mokuhanga. its process, history, and the artists making it.  On this epsiode of The Unfinished Print, I speak with April Vollmer about her travels throughout the mokuhanga landscape. Her time at Nagasawa Art Park, and then onto MI Lab. How she got into becoming an author, writing Japanese Woodblock Print Workshop, her influences and her process.  Please follow The Unfinished Print and my own mokuhanga work on Instagram @andrezadoroznyprints Twitter @unfinishedprint, or email me at theunfinishedprint@gmail.com  Artists works follow after the note about them. Notes: may contain a hyperlink. Simply click on the highlighted word or phrase. April Vollmer -website, Instagram, Facebook. April was recently a part of the mokuhanga exhibition at the Kentler International Drawing Space, in Red Hook, Brooklyn, New York. This show was curated by the Mokuhanga Sisters collective and is called Between Worlds from, June 17 - July 31st, 2022. Rochester, New York - is a city located in Upstate New York. It was originally inhabited by the Seneca peoples. Shaped by the Genesee River, Rochester was once a flour making city as well as a city famous for its horticulture. More information can be found, here. Hunter College - Is a public college located in Manhattan, New York, and was founded in 1870 as a college for women. More info, here.  abstract art - is an art type which moved away from a 19th Century artistic idea of perspective.  Abstract art was a rebellion of colour, shape, and experience, for both the viewer and the maker. It corresponds to the modernism of the industrial world, with science, technology, and architecture. More info can be found, here.  colour field - is a term in painting associated with the abstract painters of the 1950's and 1960's using large swaths of flat colour. Mark Rothko (1903-1970) is one such painter associated with colour field. More info, here.  Vincent Longo (1923-2017) -  was a painter, printmaker and teacher based in New York City. He was a part of the New York School of artist's of the 1950's and 1960's. His work was based in geometry. You can find more information about Vinnie, here. 4 Blocks (1985) Bill Paden (1930-2004) - was a woodblock printmaker and artist who studied under the American expat Clifton Karhu (1927-2007) in Kyoto. More info, here. Beppu Beach Water Bay Mountain (ca. 1970's) hanmoto system - is the Edo Period (1603-1868) collaboration system of making woodblock prints in Japan. The system was about using, carvers, printers, and craftsmen, by various print publishers in order to produce woodblock prints. The system consisted of the following professions; publisher, artist, carver, and printer. Tetsuya Noda (b 1940) - is a contemporary print artist, photographer and professor emeritus at Tokyo University of the Arts (Tōkyō Geidai).  His process uses photographs through a mimeograph machine, then woodblock and silk screen. Considered one of Japan's most famous living artists, Noda's work is a wonderful representation of what can be done with the print medium. More info, with video, can be found, here.  The LeRoy Neiman Center for Print Studies - is a not for profit centre at the Columbia University School of the Arts, which provides an atmosphere of print education for students and invited guests.  Tōkyō v Kyōto (Ōsaka) school of mokuhanga - Tōkyō and Kyōto have, historically, been culturally different throughout Japanese history. Even today, especially with foreign expats, which side of the border you pledge allegiance to can make or break a pleasant conversation. Regarding woodblock printing, it was the moving of the capital to Edo from Kyōto by Tokugawa Ieyasu (1542-1616), officially in 1603, which centred the world for an entire nation. Edo became the business, and cultural district in which most people found themselves. The sankin kōtai system, where daimyō from the entire country, were obligated to spend alternating years in the capital, allowed the merchant classes to grow prosperous, spending their time and money on entertainments such as ukiyo-e, kabuki, and sumo.  This didn't mean that Kyōto and Ōsaka didn't have ukiyo-e, it simply meant that it was overshadowed by Edo. This is because many publishers and artists lived and worked in Edo's environs. Kabuki from Edo and kabuki from Kyōto thrived, therefore there were many prints published for the plays performed in both cities. Stylistically the prints are different, with Ōsaka ukiyo-e being called Kamigata-e, the region where Ōsaka, and Kyōto are situated. For instance, the work of Ōsaka artist, and painter Shunkōsai Hokushū (active 1802-1832) is famous in Ōsaka for his kabuki prints, but is relatively unknown today, as compared to Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849) who lived and worked around the same time in Edo. Comparing the two is perhaps comparing Brad Pitt (b. 1963), with Steve Buscemi (b. 1957), but I feel that it shows what both artists, successful in their fields, can accomplish for the genre. More information on Ōsaka ukiyo-e, can be found, here.  Keiko Kadota (1942-2017) - was the director of Nagasawa Art Park at Awaji City from 1997-2011, and then of MI Lab at Lake Kawaguchi from 2011 until her passing. Minimalism - is an art movement based on simplicity and geometry. Generally connected to 1960's New York City. More info, here. Yoonmi Nam (b. 1974) - is a contemporary mokuhanga printmaker, lithographer, sculptor, and teacher, based in Lawrence, Kansas. Her work can be found, here. Her interview with The Unfinished Print can be found, here. Yakult  (2018) Katie Baldwin -  is a contemporary mokuhanga printmaker, illustrator, book maker, and artist based in Huntsville, Alabama.  Her work can be found, here. The Dance (2015) Mariko Jesse - is an illustrator, and mokuhanga printmaker based in Tōkyō, London, and California.  Her work can be found, here. Mariko, Katie, and Yoonmi are also a part of the collective, wood+paper+box, which can be found, here.  Summer Flowers (2021) Daniel Heyman (b. 1963) - is a painter and printmaker based in Rhode Island at the Rhode Island School of Design, where he is Assistant Professor. His work can be found, here. Janus (2019/2020) IMPACT Conference - started by The Center for Print Research, IMPACT stands for "International Multi-discipinary Printmaking, Artists, Concepts and Techniques'. Based in Europe, it is an academic conference discussing printmaking and how it fits into this world. More info about the most recent conference can be found, here.  Kari Laitinen (b. 1952) - is a Finnish artist and printmaker based in Finland. His works explore colour and dimension. More information can be found, here. He helped write, with Tuula Moilanen, the book Woodblock Printmaking with Oil-based Inks and the Japanese Watercolour Woodcut. It was published in 1999. Secret Space II (2014) Tuula Moilanen - is a Finnish mokuhanga printmaker and painter based in Finland. She lived and studied in Kyōto from 1989-2012,  where she learned her printmaking at Kyōto Seika University and from printmaker Akira Kurosaki (1937-2019). Her work can be found, here. Clear Day Fuji (2014) Arches - is a brand of Western watercolour paper that is acid-free. BFK - also knowns as Rives BFK, is a Western printmaking paper, made in France. Like Arches, it is 100% cotton. Lower East Side Print Shop - founded in 1968, and is a not-for- profit printmaking studio located in New York City. More information can be found, here.  Jennifer Mack-Watkins -  is a contemporary mokuhanga printmaker, and serigrapher based in New York City and New Jersey. Her work explores American culture through a personal lens. Her work has been featured  in Vogue and the New York Times. More information can be found, here.  What To Do (2013) Andrew Stone - is based in Florence, Italy. Andrew is a wine maker and former full-time doctor who has been making mokuhanga and baren, for years. His blog can be found, here. his interview with The Unfinished Print can be found, here.  Mons Veneris (2016) Frogman's Print Workshop - is a print space, opened in 1979,  in South Dakota. In 2016 the space moved to the University of Nebraska. More info can be found, here.  The Adachi Institute of Woodblock Prints - is a print studio located in Tōkyō. Established in 1994 in order to promote and preserve the colour woodblock print of Japan. More information, in English and in Japanese.  bokashi -  is a Japanese term associated with the gradation of water into ink. There are several types of bokashi. For more information regarding these types of bokashi please check out Professor Claire Cuccio's lecture called “A Story in Layers,” for the Library of Congress, and the book Japanese Printmaking by Tōshi Yoshida, and Rei Yuki. Below are the following types of bokashi. This is from the Yoshida book: ichimonji bokashi - straight line gradation ichimonji mura bokashi - straight line gradation with an uneven edg. Ō-bokashi - a gradual shading over a wide area atenashi bokashi - gradation without definition futairo bokashi - two tone gradation Ansei Uchima (1921-2000) - was a mokuhanga printmaker in the sōsaku hanga style of Japanese printmaking. He was the translator for Japanologist Oliver Statler (1915-2002). In Memoriam (1958) Keiji Shinohara (b. 1955) - is a Japanese mokuhanga printmaker who apprenticed under Uesugi Keiichiro in Ōsaka. He is the artist-in-residence at Wesleyan University in Connecticut. More info about Keiji can be found here, and here. Twilight (2012) Ursula Schneider - is a painter, woodblock printmaker and teacher at Sarah Lawrence College in Yonkers, New York. More info about her work can be found, here. Leaf and Wood (2018) Jackie Battenfield - is a painter, printmaker, collagist, author, and motivational speaker. April alludes to Jackie's  book, “The Artist's Guide: How to Make a Living Doing What You Love,” (2009). More information about Jackie's work can be found, here. Soundings (1999) International Mokuhanga Conference - is a bi-yearly conference dedicated to mokuhanga which started in 2011 by the International Mokuhanga Association. Each conference is themed. The latest conference was in 2021, delayed a year because of the pandemic. More information can be found, here.  Tōhoku Earthquake and Tsunami 2011 - (東北地方太平洋沖地震) was a massive earthquake and subsequent tsunami which struck the coast of North East Japan on March, 11, 2011. The earthquake was 9.0 - 9.1 on the Richter scale. Watson-Guptill - is an American publishing house, starting business in 1937. It is now a part of Ten Speed Press.  Mina Takahashi - is the editor of Hand Papermaking magazine dedicated to the production and preservation of handmade paper. Was the editor of Dieu Donné in New York City from 1990-2004. She is also a curator. Printmaking Today - is a magazine published by Cello Press in England, and is published quarterly. The magazine focuses on printmaking themes and artists. More info, here. Mid-America Print Council - promotes the art of printmaking of all types. It was started in 1990 in Des Moines, Iowa. It publishes an annual journal with essays and articles about printmaking. More information can be found, here. Edvard Munch (1863-1944) - was a Norwegian artist, who at the time of his death in 1944 had amassed thousands of his own works, including 15,391 prints of all types. Munch loved printmaking, using various mediums. The National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. has an excellent exploration of his prints, here.  Mokuhanga books in English -  Here is a list of books for those interested in studying and understanding mokuhanga, that I am aware of. This list is by no means exhaustive, so if you believe I've missed one please message me. If the book is in print (or even out of print and there are PDF's) you will see the authors name hyper-linked so you can get the books : April Vollmer - Japanese Woodblock Printshop: A Modern Guide to the Ancient Art of Mokuhanga. (2015) Watson-Guptill Publications Tuula Moilanen, Kari Laitinen, and Antti Tanttu - The Art and Craft of Woodblock Printmaking. (2013) Aalto Books Laura Boswell - Making Japanese Woodblock Prints. (2020) The Crowood Press. Hiroshi Yoshida - Japanese Woodblock Printing. (1939) Sanseido Company, Ltd. Walter J. Phillips -  The Technique of the Colour Woodcut. (1926) Brown-Robertson, New York. Rebecca Salter - Japanese Woodblock Printing. (2001) A&C Black. Tōshi Yoshida & Rei Yuki - Japanese Print Making: A Handbook of Traditional and Modern Techniques. (1966) Tuttle Publishing. Marilyn Chesterton and Rod Nelson - Making Woodblock Prints. (2015) Crowood Press  Terry McKenna - Terry has written two excellent woodblock primers for the beginner and the intermediate practitioner. The first is Mokuhanga Fundamentals: Core Skills... & the second book is, Creative Print. Both can be purchased directly from here, and other fine establishments in e-book or physical form. Self Published.  Fabiola Gil Alares - her book, Mokuhanga: Manual Ilustrado de Xilografía Japonesa, is one of the finest books on the subject of mokuhanga. This book is in Spanish. Her interview with The Unfinished Print can be found, here.  Keiko Hara (b.1942) - is a painter, printmaker in mokuhanga, lithograph, and stencil. She is also a sculptor, and collagist. More info can be found, here. Verse R - Black and White (2017) floating kentō - is a removable registration system attached to the block when printing. As the kentō isn't affixed to the block; blotting, and very clean borders are one of the positives of using this method of registration. It is an "L" shape.  baren - is a Japanese word to describe the flat, round shaped disc which is predominantly used in the creation of Japanese woodblock prints. It is traditionally made of cord of various types, and a bamboo sheath, although baren come in many variations.  Guerra & Paint Pigment Corp. - is a brick and mortar store located in Brooklyn, New York that sells artists pigments. More info, here.  Endi Poskovich - is a printmaker and artist who focuses on symbols, and language for his work. More info about his work can be found, here.  Two (Hälftberg) (2004-2017) Holbein - is a pigment company with offices in Japan, Canada, and the United States. More info, here Benjamin Selby - is an artist who works in mokuhanga, as well as touching on serigraphy and installations. More information about Benjamin's work can be found, here.  Turbulent Waters (2020) Auto Mach Reciprocating Wood Carver -  is an automatic chisel that is made in Japan. It is plugged into an outlet. It comes with a variety of bits for carving. It makes carving large areas of hard wood a breeze. More information can be found, here.  acetate - is a plant based, non-petroleum product. It is made from wood pulp and cotton. It is bendable, and stiff enough to use for getting into your kentō registration if you decide to use it for key block transfer. Yoshida Family of Artists - The Yoshida's are one of the most famous family of artists from Japan. Started with painter Yoshida Kasaburō (1861-1894), and made famous by Yoshida Hiroshi (1876-1950) and his work with the shin-hanga movement and woodblock printing. The Yoshida family has helped shape many artists around the world. More info from the Mount Holyoke College Art Museum, here. Generation by April Vollmer (2002) © Popular Wheat Productions opening and closing credit - Anyone Can Have a Good Time by OWLS (2001). From their self-titled album, and released on Jade Tree.  logo designed and produced by Douglas Batchelor and André Zadorozny  Disclaimer: Please do not reproduce or use anything from this podcast without shooting me an email and getting my express written or verbal consent. I'm friendly :) Слава Україну If you find any issue with something in the show notes please let me know. ***The opinions expressed by guests in The Unfinished Print podcast are not necessarily those of André Zadorozny and of Popular Wheat Productions.***        

The Unfinished Print
Rebecca Salter - Printmaker: Skilled Unknowing

The Unfinished Print

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 14, 2022 56:32


On this episode of The Unfinished Print it is with honour, and great pleasure that I am able to present to you, my interview, with British  artist Rebecca Salter. We speak on her mokuhanga, her own work and work produced together with the Satō woodblock workshop in Kyōto. We discuss where Rebecca believes mokuhanga has gone since writing her book, Japanese Woodblock Printing (2001), a book which constantly inspires me in my own work. This book helps me to understand, what has felt at times to be such an esoteric and complicated art form, just a little bit more.  Please follow The Unfinished Print and my own mokuhanga work on Instagram @andrezadoroznyprints Twitter @unfinishedprint, or email me at theunfinishedprint@gmail.com Notes: may contain a hyperlink. Simply click on the highlighted word or phrase. Rebecca Salter - website, interviews with Royal Academy, 1 and 2. University of West England - once called Bristol Polytechnic, is a public research University located in Bristol, England. British Museum - is a public museum, located in London, England, and is focused on human history, arts and culture. It was established in 1753.  Kyoto City University of Arts - is a public university of the arts located in Kyōto, Japan, and was established in 1880. lithography - is a printing process which requires a stone or aluminum plate, and was invented in the 18th Century. More info, here from the Tate.  screen printing - also called, serigraphy, is a method of printing by using stencils and forcing the ink through a screen onto paper, or other fabric. More info, here. Akira Kurosaki 黒崎彰 (1937-2019) - one of the most influential woodblock print artists of the modern era. His work, while seemingly abstract, moved people with its vibrant colour and powerful composition. He was a teacher and invented the “Disc Baren,” which is a great baren to begin your mokuhanga journey with. At the 2021 Mokuhanga Conference in Nara, Japan there was a tribute exhibit of his life works. Azusa Gallery has a nice selection of his work, here. intaglio printmaking - is a style of printmaking, the opposite of relief printmaking, where scratches are made with a burin on the plate (copper, zinc, aluminum) and then dipped in acid. Ink and pigment is rubbed on with a brayer, brushes, etc. More info can be found, here.    scrolls - called kakemono 掛物 or emakimono 絵巻物  in Japanese. These scrolls contain many different types of themes and subjects. More info can be found, here. monoprint - is a print made from a re-printable block, such as wood, or an etched plate. It is usually a one and done type of printing with only one print being made. blue and white Japanese ceramics - are ceramics made for the Japanese market. Originally imported into Japan in the 17th Century from China, local Japanese ceramists from northern and southern Japan began locally producing ceramics. As trading with the Dutch escalated more porcelain wares were being imported from Europe into the Japanese port of Imari. Imari became the word to describe these types of blue and white ceramics.  Genji Monogatari emaki - is an elaborate scroll produced in 12th Century, Japan. It is based on the famous Tale of Genji, a tale written in the 11th Century and is attributed to Murasaki Shikibu (around 973-1014). You can find images of this scroll, here.  Edo Culture - the Edo Period of Japan (1603-1868) was a period of peace and prosperity for the Japanese military government, or bakufu. Led by the Tokugawa family, Edo period culture flourished in theatre, literature, and the arts. For a fantastic book on the subject please seek out, Edo Culture: Daily Life and Diversions of Urban Japan by Kazuo Nishiyama (trans. Gerald Groemer) and Edo Kabuki in Transition: From the Worlds of the Samurai to the Vengeful Ghost by Satoko Shimazaki.  Edo v. Kyōto Kabuki - kabuki theatre is a bombastic and powerful theatre from Japan. In its long history it has been generally attributed to both  Edo (Tōkyō) and Kyōto.  Edo kabuki is called aragoto kabuki and Kyōto kabuki is called wagoto kabuki. Aragoto kabuki is generally very loud and external, whereas Kyōto kabuki is more understated and gentle.  Satō woodblock workshop - is a traditional Japanese woodblock production house based in Kyōto, Japan. Here is an article from The Journal of Modern Craft with Rebecca Salter regarding this workshop.  Japanese woodblock of the 1950's and 1960's - post-war Japan was growing at an exponential rate, and this was true for the Japanese woodblock print. As the sōsaku-hanga movement began to out last the shin-hanga of the 1920's in terms of production, where most people could produce prints on their own,  American scholars , Oliver Statler (1915-2000), and James Michener (1907-1997), helped catalogue and document the burgeoning Japanese woodblock print movement through their books, The Floating World (1954), by Michener, and Modern Japanese Prints: An Art Reborn (1956) by Statler, for a Western audience. Along with the Western art scene and the 1951 São Paulo Art Biennial, Japanese woodblock prints began to be respected as a stand alone piece of fine art.  kozo paper -  is paper made from mulberry bark and is commonly used in woodblock printmaking, and cloth.  Echizen, Fukui - is a city located tin the prefecture of Fukui. The paper produced from this region is kozo, mitsumata, and gampi.  More information can be found from the website of Echizen Washi Village. Mosquito net technique - is a technique in ukiyo-e, and can of course be reproduced by the modern mokuhanga practitioner, where very fine lines are carved on two wood blocks and, when printed together, create the image of slight, thin netting. Rebecca Salter details this technique in her book, Japanese Woodblock Printing (2001)   Yale Center for British Art - located in New Haven, Connecticut, the YCBA is dedicated to British art of all types.  Louise Caan - is a British architect and teacher based in Oxford where she teaches architecture at the Oxford Brookes School of Architecture.  urushi zuri - is a technique which is used in traditional Japanese woodblock and mokuhanga, where pigment is mixed with nikawa (animal glue), and printed to enhance the enjoyment of the print. Usually seen in black hair, or garments represented in the print.  Japanese museums dedicated to Japanese woodblock -  if you are visiting Japan and are interested in the Japanese woodblock print you are spoiled for choice. This list is definitely not complete so I would advise doing some research for local museums which may be open in different parts of Japan you may be visiting. This list is a mix of museums dedicated specifically to the woodblock print, or museums dedicated to woodblock print artisans.  Finally, check online for larger art museums , galleries, and department stores, in the area that you're visiting to see whether they are having any shows dedicated to woodblock print artists, genres, etc. while you're there. I've added hyper-links. The Japan Ukiyo-e Museum  - Matsumoto, Nagano Sumida Hokusai Museum - Ryogoku, Tōkyō Ōta Memorial Museum of Art -  Harajukiu/Omotesando, Tōkyō Tokaidō Hiroshige Museum - Shizuoka City, Shizuoka Hokusai Museum - Obuse, Nagano Kamigata Ukiyo-e Museum -  Ōsaka CIty, Ōsaka Nakagawa Batō Hiroshige Museum - Nakagawa, Tōchigi Kawanabe Kyōsai Museum - Warabi, Saitama Naoko Matsubara - is a Japanese/Canadian contemporary artist, and sculptor, who lives and works in Oakville, Ontario, Canada.  She has focused much of her artistic life on making mokuhanga and has gained critical acclaim for it. My interview with Naoko Matsubara can be found, here.  Katsutoshi Yuasa - is a Japanese contemporary artist, and sculptor, who works predominantly in mokuhanga. He has  produced an incredible mount of work. My interview with Katsu can be found, here.  Brook Andrew - is an Australian contemporary artist who has shown internationally.  Ukiyo-e Censorship - the military Tokugawa government (bakufu) was not happy about being criticized. Ukiyo-e prints often lampooned authority with their imagery. Other artistic pursuits in Japan at the time, such as kabuki theatre, did the same. In ukiyo-e and Tokugawa history there were “reforms” which the bakufu created in order to stem this type of criticism. The Ehon Taikōki of 1804, which focused on woodblock prints and poetry, and The Tempo Reforms of 1841/42 that focused on actor prints, the manufacturing of woodblock prints,  and their price, to name just a few reasons.  William Evertson - is an American woodblock printmaker and sculptor based in Connecticut, USA, who's themes focus on the politics and process of The United States.   Annie Bissett - is an American mokuhanga printmaker based in Rhode Island, USA. She explores American life, past and present,  sexuality, and the esoteric through her prints. My interview with Annie Bissett can be found, here.  Paul Binnie - is a Scottish mokuhanga printmaker and painter, based in San Diego, USA. Having lived and worked in Japan in the 1990's, studying at the Yoshida atelier while there, Paul has successfully continued to make mokuhanga and his paintings.  Royal Academy of Arts Summer Exhibition - is a summer exhibition held at the Royal Academy in London, England. It is an open submission, one which started in 1769, showcasing all types of artistic mediums.  余韻 - (yoin) - is a Japanese word which means “lingering memory.” The Lake District - is an area in North West of England which has numerous mountains, lakes, and a National Park. It has been an inspiration for many artists, writers, and actors for years. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site.  © Popular Wheat Productions opening and closing credit music - Cut/Copy - Rendevous from the album, I Thought of Numbers (2001) logo designed and produced by Douglas Batchelor and André Zadorozny  Disclaimer: Please do not reproduce or use anything from this podcast without shooting me an email and getting my express written or verbal consent. I'm friendly :) Слава Україну If you find any issue with something in the show notes please let me know. ***The opinions expressed by guests in The Unfinished Print podcast are not necessarily those of André Zadorozny and of Popular Wheat Productions.***      

Voices in Japan
Is Japan Ready for Overseas Tourists??

Voices in Japan

Play Episode Listen Later Jun 1, 2022 50:09


Starting from June 10th, overseas tourists will be allowed back into Japan!!! Well ... kind of. A very limited number of groups chaperoned under very specific schedules will be able to enjoy tightly controlled tour packages. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Japan was throwing all its weight into reaching a lofty goal of having 60 million overseas tourists yearly - close to double the 31 million visitors it let in during pre-pandemic 2019. But with the current uncertainty surrounding where the pandemic might be heading next, it seems more than half of the Japanese population remains opposed to opening the borders to tourists. How are the tours supposed to work, and who can actually enter the country, and what do the guys think about it all? Listen now to find out!Sponsors:Bearfoot BarLocated in downtown Sapporo, walking distance from the subway station. There are  variety of Japanese made craft bottled beers. A range of whiskeys and basic cocktails also available. Burgers and pub style snacks. Friendly English and Japanese speaking staff.  https://www.facebook.com/bearfootbarThe Red HouseLocated in the heart of Rusutsu Ski Resort, just cross the main road and it's behind the Seicomart Convenience store. The restaurant features a mix of Japanese, Asian fusion, and western Style dishes, including shabu-shabu with wagyu beef and Hokkaido wagyu beef steak. Open winter and summer, 12-3pm for lunch, 5-9pm for dinner, with prices ranging from under Yen 1000 to about Yen 5000. https://theredhouse.jp/Rusutsu LodgesOpen all year round. Located 5 minutes walk to the main Rusutsu Ski Resort Gondola. There are Japanese, Western, and apartment style rooms with breakfast packages available. There's a Japanese sento (public bath), two convenience stores less than a minute walk, ski room and tune up tables, plenty of free parking space, and summer BBQ packages available. Check out the website for more information and availability. http://rusutsulodges.comHokkaido GuideEstablished over 10 years ago, written by locals for locals and international tourists. The guide contains information on all types of businesses and locations around Hokkaido. There's information regarding all things Hokkaido such as sightseeing, nightlife, events, services, food and restaurants, entertainment, outdoor activities, and more. Currently offered in English and Thai, advertising space available. Check out website for everything you need to know about this beautiful prefecture. https://hokkaidoguide.comUse our Buzzsprout affiliate link to start your podcast today!Website:https://www.voicesinjapan.com/Follow us and check out our other content:https://twitter.com/voicesinjapanhttps://www.facebook.com/voicesinjapan/https://www.instagram.com/voicesinjapan/Get in touch:voicesinjapan@gmail.comSupport the show

The Unfinished Print
Cameron Hilker of Mokuhankan - A Beautiful Object

The Unfinished Print

Play Episode Listen Later May 27, 2022 63:34


How does one get a job at on of the most sought after positions in the mokuhanga community, Mokuhankan, and go on to be a large part of the success of the company while there? Cameron Hilker did just that. We don't make mokuhanga alone. We ask advice, search out tutorials, workshops, and have mokuhanga conversations with each other. But when your business has many moving parts and is expanding everyday,  then things can become a little more complicated.  On this episode of The Unfinished Print I speak with Cameron Hilker, who worked with David Bull at Mokuhankan from 2017-2022, as Business Operations and Social Media Marketing Manager. Cameron's work with David Bull and Mokuhankan was important work for the rise of mokuhanga and the new found interest in the making and production of the Japanese woodblock print.  Please follow The Unfinished Print and my own mokuhanga work on Instagram @andrezadoroznyprints Twitter @unfinishedprint, or email me at theunfinishedprint@gmail.com Notes: may contain a hyperlink. Simply click on the highlighted word or phrase. David Bull - is a Canadian woodblock printmaker, and educator who lives and works in Japan. His love of mokuhanga has almost singlehandedly promoted the art form around the world. His company, Mokuhankan, has a brick and mortar store in Asakusa, Tōkyō, and online, here.  Jed Henry - is an American artist and graphic designer. His work with woodblock prints is as designer. He works with Mokuhankan, as well as various other mokuhanga artists who carve/laser, and print his designs. His work under the Ukiyo-e Heroes banner is very popular.  Ukiyo-e Heroes - is a series of designs created by Jed Henry, collaborating with the woodblock printing house, Mokuhankan, in Tōkyō. Starting in 2012, Ukiyo-e Heroes has expanded year after year with many different designs. You can find more information, here.  Provo, Utah - is the fourth largest city in the United States. It has a large Mormon community. It is close to beautiful canyons and nature.  Brigham Young University  - was founded in 1875, and is associated with the Church of Latter Day Saints. BYU is a liberal arts university located in Provo, Utah.  Niigata Prefecture, Japan - located in the northern Chūbu region of Japan, Niigata Prefecture is a quiet and beautiful Prefecture. Known for winter sports such as skiing, and agriculture.  Mokuhankan  - is a brick and mortar woodblock print shop located in Asakusa, Tōkyō. It is a learning and working space, where it sells the works of artist Jed Henry, master carvers of the past, and various print series. All are printed and carved by Mokuhankan printmakers and carvers. Started by printmaker David Bull as a way to sell his own series and reprints of old carvers of the past, Mokuhankan has grown exponentially over the years and is a must visit when coming to Tōkyō. More info, here.  Tsukuba Express Line - founded in 2005 this train line services two Prefectures (Tōkyō and Ibaraki) within the Kantō Region of Japan. The Kantō Region consists of the following Prefectures: Tōkyō, Saitama, Ibaraki, Tochigi, Gunma, Chiba and Kanagawa.  Infestation Print - from the Ukiyo-e Heroes series. Designed by Jed Henry and carved and printed by Mokuhankan, Tōkyō.  Kickstarter - started in 2009, Kickstarter is an online platform and Public Benefit Corporation used to promote and raise money for independent projects which cannot receive funding by other means.  ukiyo-e - is a multi colour woodblock print generally associated with the Edo Period (1603-1867) of Japan. What began in the 17th Century as prints of only a few colours, evolved into an elaborate system of production and technique into the Meiji Period (1868-1912). With the advent of photography and other forms of printmaking, ukiyo-e as we know it today, ceased production by the late 19th Century.  anime - is a term associated with Japanese animation.  Japanese animation first began in 1917, but became famous to the West in the 1950's with Tōei Dōga. Nippon.com has a fine history of anime, here.  David Bull's Twitch - his stream can be found, here, titled Japanese Printmaking.  Twitch - was created from its previous platform Justin.tv in 2011. It focuses on gaming.  Wisconsin, United States - located in the mid-west of the United States and became a U.S state in 1848. It was originally inhabited by the Mississippi and Oneota peoples.  Early Japanese COVID Protocols - Japan currently is one of the last affluent democratic countries to open their borders to tourism. Early in the pandemic, Japan prevented many Japanese nationals, and foreign citizens, from re-entering the country. This went on for most of 2020, and all of 2021. This also adapted with the different SARS-CoV variants. JNTO has more information, here.  Don Quijote - also known as DONKI, is a a large discount store founded in 1995, and is located throughout most major cities in Japan and Asia, today.  Okutama - is a city located near the Okutama Mountains in Western Tōkyō.  Ōme - is a city located near the Okutama Mountain in Western Tōkyō. Tsushima Yasue - is a printmaker who works at Mokuhankan and has been with the company since 2011.  Yoko Ishikawa  - is a printmaker who works at Mokuhankan.  Ayumi Ohashi - is a printmaker working at Mokuhankan. Ayumi Shiba - is a printmaker working at Mokuhankan.   Your First Print: David Bull - this was the first DVD I ever purchased on how to make mokuhanga. This was in 2007. While I look back at that time thinking about why I didn't take it up as seriously as I do now, I sometime wonder, "Where would I be now in my Mokuhanga journey?" I realize that that is a redundant way of thinking. I am where I am now today, and to be happy with just that. You can still find this product on Dave's website.  Pikachu - is an electric-like  Pokéman first appearing in 1996.  Mario - is a video game character created by Shigeru Miyamoto. Famous for the Mario Bros. Nintendo video games. The print by Mokuhankan with Mario, called The Rickshaw Cart was the first print in the Ukiyo-e Heroes series.  Link - is a character from the Nintendo video game series the Legend of Zelda, first seen in 1986. the Mokuhankan woodblock print starring this character is called The Hero Rests.  The Fourth Wall - is a term in the performing arts which separates us from what we are watching on screen or on the stage. If the actor begins to speak to the audience, they are "breaking the fourth wall" and are bringing us into the story. woodblock.com - is one of the first websites created by David Bull in order to describe the process of Japanese woodblock printmaking in English. It was and is an asset for those of us continuing the art form today.  The Japan Times - the oldest newspaper in Japan, and first printed in 1897.  Yomiuri Shimbun - is a Japanese newspaper founded in 1874 and is considered a conservative newspaper.  US Time zones - there are nine times zones in the United States. They are as follows - Atlantic Standard Time, Eastern Standard Saving Time, Central Daylight Saving Time, Mountain Standard Time, Pacific Daylight Saving Time, Alaska Daylight Saving Time, Hawaiian Aleutian Standard Time, Samoa Standard Time, and Chamorro Standard Time.  Yuzawa Town, Niigata  - is a resort town located in the Japanese Alps. Known for its skiing and other winter activities.  karoshi (過労死) - is the Japanese word for "death by overwork." Haneda Airport (羽田空港) - is one of two International airports (Narita International in Chiba Prefecture is the other) which supports travel into Japan. First built in 1931 from reclaimed land in Tōkyō, it was the primary International airport to and from Japan form 1978-2010. Sensō-ji Temple - is the crown jewel of Asakusa in Tōkyō. The oldest temple in Tōkyō, it holds the image of Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva, the Bodhisattva of Mercy. The entire property of Sensō-ji is heavily touristed and has many shops (nakamise) and places to visit.  Asakusa, Tōkyō - is a famous part of Tōkyō with restaurants, festivals, shops, shopping arcades, places to purchase anything from Buddhist statues, to pots and pans (Kappabashi). You can see kabuki theatre and buy woodblock prints. It is a special place.  toro (灯籠) - is the name of traditional lanterns.  kappabashi - is the avenue located near Ueno and is in the Asakusa area of Tōkyō. It is famous for servicing restaurants with their wide array of kitchen utensils like pots, pans, etc. © Popular Wheat Productions opening and closing credit music - The Promise Ring - Everywhere In Denver (1996) from the album 30 Degrees Everywhere.  logo designed and produced by Douglas Batchelor and André Zadorozny  Disclaimer: Please do not reproduce or use anything from this podcast without shooting me an email and getting my express written or verbal consent. I'm friendly :) Слава Україну If you find any issue with something in the show notes please let me know. ***The opinions expressed by guests in The Unfinished Print podcast are not necessarily those of André Zadorozny and of Popular Wheat Productions.***          

Japan Eats!
The Troubles Shoguns Created in Japanese Food Markets (And How Ordinary Citizens Solved Them)

Japan Eats!

Play Episode Listen Later May 23, 2022 61:50


Our guest today is Akira Shimizu who is the associate professor of History at Wilkes University and his focus has been our favorite topic: food. Professor Shimizu recently published an intriguing book titled, “Specialty Food, Market Culture, and Daily Life in Early Modern Japan: Regulating and Deregulating the Market in Edo, 1780–1870”. The book features the very unique period of Japanese history. The Edo era was a more peaceful time than ever thanks to the strong leadership of the shoguns. But because of the strong shoguns, the food supply system was highly regulated and manipulated back then. Professor Shimizu unfolds how the system unfairly worked for small players and how they tried to change it with fascinating examples. In this episode, we will discuss how the shoguns managed to eat the best of the best foods in the market, how privileged merchants enjoyed and suffered their status at the same time, how ordinary citizens bravely challenged the system, lessons we can learn from the Edo period, and much, much more!!!Heritage Radio Network is a listener supported nonprofit podcast network. Support Japan Eats by becoming a member!Japan Eats is Powered by Simplecast.

Weekly Games Chat
Trek to Yomi

Weekly Games Chat

Play Episode Listen Later May 11, 2022 122:19 Very Popular


This week is all about a Samurai game that Chris and Shaun played via Xbox's Game Pass - and that game is Trek to Yomi. A 2D side scroller type game that is visually stunning and takes you into the world of the main character Hiroki. Set in the Edo Period - it literally feels like you are playing a movie at times - but that play thing is somewhat clunky if we're being honest. That's right - it's not perfect. How different did Shaun and Chris rate this? Jon , oh he played Breath of the Wild on his switch the whole show. #jokes #thanksshaun Shout out to our new folks who have seen us live on twitch.tv recently, now ask yourself - where have you been? Next time join us - twitch.tv/weeklygameschat - we can't wait! Thank you for listening and being the most alright-est fans in the world! #GameOn Topic Time: 25:21 News!: 1:06:11 All sounds brought to you by zapsplat.com