UKIYO-E: Images of the Floating World - PowerPoint Presentation

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UKIYO-E:

Images of the Floating World

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ANTECEDENTS AND INFLUENCES

Hyakumanto

Darani (c. 764)Muromachi era (1338-1572)—used for book publication, typically Buddhist textsEdo period—less expensive materials and slightly different method of printing responds to rise in demand for literature among the merchant class/ chōnin, or “townsman.”**Kanō—artists in residence to Tokugawa family“one brush, unchanged for a thousand generationsTosa school of painting

Tanroku-bon—genre stories, printed with illustrations added by hand. (emulate Yamato-e painting)Kanazōshi—popular stories written in kana**Jōruribon—books of ballad playsEzōshi—picture books

Proto-

Ukiyo

-e

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Sumizuri

-e

(墨摺り絵?, "ink printed pictures")—monochrome printing using only black ink

Benizuri-e (紅摺り絵?, "crimson printed pictures")—red ink details or highlights added by hand after the printing process；green was sometimes used as wellTan-e (丹絵?)—orange highlights using a red pigment called tanAizuri-e (藍摺り絵?, "indigo printed pictures"), Murasaki-e (紫絵?, "purple pictures"), and other styles in which a single color was used in addition to, or instead of, black ink

Urushi-e (漆絵?)—a method that thickened the ink with glue, emboldening the image. Printers often used gold, mica, and other substances to enhance the image further. Urushi-e can also refer to paintings using lacquer instead of paint. Lacquer was rarely, if ever, used on prints.Nishiki-e (錦絵?, "brocade pictures")—a method of using multiple blocks for separate portions of the image, using a number of colors to achieve complex and detailed images. A separate block was carved to apply only the part of the image designated for a single color. Registration marks called

kentō

(

見当

) were used to ensure correspondence between the application of each block.

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Hishikawa

Moronobu (d. 1694) “Father of

Ukiyo-e”1672Sumizuri-eMonochromatic line reproduction of a drawing—one impression

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Early 18

th

century developments in use of color in the printsTan-e

(use of tan ink)Urushi-e (use of lacquer)Ichikawa Danjuro I in the role of Takenuki Goro

Torii Kiyomasuc. 1697

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ca. 1745 development:

using color blocks

Prior to this, images hand-colored

benizuri-e—”a picture printed with crimson ink” *(often juxtaposed with soft green tones)Ishikawa Toyonobuca. 1745

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Suzuki

Harunobu

(1724-1770)

1765—introduction of polychrome prints using multiple color blocksa.k.a. nishiki-e—brocade picture musha-e—over 100 impressions kimedashi—embossing kirazuri—using mica to obtain silver tone on the print**resulted in adoption of hōsho

paper

Otani

Oniji

II

,

c. 1794

Tōshūsai

Sharak

u

**140 prints in 10 months

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POPULAR SUBJECTS

KABUKI—

Images of the theater

Yakusha-e, or portraits of Famous actorsBijin-ga—Portraits of feminine beautyFamous courtesansYoshiwara, or the “Pleasure Quarters” in Edoshunga, or erotica prints (e.g. “dream of the fisherman’s wife”)Heroic narratives & other stories from the existing literary tradition (often reimagined in genre images of the familiar & mundane)Travel narratives

LandscapesGhosts (toward the later 19th century)NOTE: privileged elite, and humble genre images of mundane daily life—both depicted elegantly

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VISUAL CHARACTERISTICS

COLOR!

Decoration & ornament

Eloquent, fluid, and often complex network of linear elementsFlat, patterned shapes arranged across the picture plane (taking advantage of the flat surface) rather than constructing deep illusory space. **Asymmetrical compositions

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Cutting the Key block

TECHNIQUE

ARTIST

CARVERPRINTER

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Once the key block is finished, the printer runs several impressions and give them to the artist in order that they can

“map” in where the different colors should be printed. These individual color maps are used to cut the color blocks.

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The print set-up

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Ink is applied with brushes rather than brayers, and then spread evenly over the printable area with horse-hair brushes.

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Using a

baren

to transfer ink to the paperContrast:

Gutenberg style press

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Kanabara

from:

tōkaidō gojusan-tsugi (53 stages of the Tōkaidō), 1833Utagawa Hiroshige (1797-1858)Mono no aware

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http://www.asia.si.edu/explore/japan/pulverer/

sumidagawa.asp

Ehon Sumidagawa ryōgan ichiran, ca. 1805Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849)—”the one who is crazy about drawing”Freer Gallery of Art

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CULTURAL PRODUCTION:

Some central questions

How

does one’s work function in/ contribute to contemporary society—both within the discourse about art and beyond? (i.e. why is it important that you make this work now?)e.g. Hokusai & Hiroshige: palette as political resistanceVersatility as an artist and longevity of perspective; creative stamina.e.g. Hokusai—”the one who is mad about drawing” 60+ year careerRelationship and essential conversation between artist, art, and audience.

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COLLABORATIVE ARTISTIC PRODUCTION

vs.

SHIN HANGA

(creative printmaking movement in which artist’s hand is involved in and evident in every stage)

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LEGACY OF VISUAL CULTURE

The advantages of

becoming fluent in a visual language

AS WELL AS literary traditionWays of looking and interpreting (metaphor/poetics) as well as ways of making MITATE, YATSUSHI, FURYUPROTO-MANGA

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KATA

practice within a tradition

vs.

pressure to be the avant gardeIntegrated practice:Devotion to excellence and skill development by following the way of time-honored and time-tested methods that seek to integrate thought/ being with action.e.g. 10 yr apprentice before being released to cut key block“The craftsman’s dedication to the right way of working and the artist’s wonder at the infinite riches of experience.”~Oliver Statler