This just in from my friend Saskia in Kansas via Bad At Sports (browse this too if you haven't before.) Opens this Friday in Chicago atFacets Cinémathèque. Wish I could be there, but I'll have to settle for putting it on my Netflix wait list, or driving across town to Scarecrow.
From Facets:
“A middle-aged slacker living in a rundown, graffiti-ridden slum, Daisato’s job involves being shocked by bolts of electricity that transform him into a stocky, stick-wielding giant several stories high who is entrusted with defending Japan from a host of bizarre monsters. But while his predecessors were national heroes, he is a pariah among the citizens he protects, who bitterly complain about the noise and destruction of property he causes. And Daisato has his own problems – an agent insistent on branding him with sponsor advertisements, an Alzheimer-afflicted grandfather who transforms into a giant in dirty underwear, and a family who is embarrassed by his often cowardly exploits. A wickedly deadpan spin on the giant Japanese superhero, Big Man Japan is an outrageous portrait of a pathetic but truly unique hero. Directed by Hitoshi Matsumoto, Japan, 2007, 35mm, 113 mins. In Japanese with English subtitles.”
Through July 18th, I am showcasing a group of 25 woodblock prints and print folios by a group of 18 artists who were part of the modern Japanese print movement known as sosakuhanga, or the 'creative print' movement. The sosaku hanga movement started in the very early years of the 20th century. Sosaku hanga artists rejected the techniques and prescribed content of traditional ukiyo-e prints. They were interested in exploring their own individual artistic expression rather than following in the footsteps of a teacher, or catering to the commercial motivations ukiyo-e publishers. These artists instead, looked around, and took subjects from their surroundings: a view out a kitchen window, a pet cat, or these peaches.
These artists also believed that everyone could be a printmaker - and in the beginning years, it seemed everyone was. Encouraged by each other, or a bona fide artist-friend (often a painter-turned-printmaker), or even by the general wave of interest in 'individualism' sweeping through Japanese society at the time, hundreds of neophyte printmakers tried their hand at carving and printing. Some produced only a handful of images. For others it was the beginning of decades-long printmaking careers.
This period, particularly sosaku hanga produced before WWII, I am finding to be one of my favorite periods and styles. I like it because of its emphasis on urban life, and the glimpse it gives into an emerging Japanese modern graphic style. I also love the challenge of tracking down some of these obscure artists, or finding early work by artists who are better known for their later prints. Truth be told, there are some bad sosaku hanga; when everyone thinks that they are an artist, there are bound to be some dogs in the final heap. But there are also so many fine prints that emerged from this period. I've enjoyed pulling together what I hope you will think is a good group. You can see the whole show here.
prints illustrated top to bottom: Peaches, 1925, by Tomoo Inagaki (1902-1980); Mars, 1968 & Morning of New Year's Day, Ginza, 1958, both by Toshi Yoshida (1911-1995)
I was happy to add these three paper cuts to the gallery show and online exhibit, Panic Attack(!) (Don't Panic): Paper cuts by Ryohei Tanaka, that continues at Cullom Gallery through May 30th. Blow Fish Girl and Oscar's Cousin were done by Ryohei during his visit to the Gallery.
A big thanks to all who made it to the Gallery Thursday night. Watching Ryohei cut on-the-spot portraits and answer questions was a lot of fun. I appreciate all your support! A few follow up things:
If you haven't found it on your own, here is a link to Ryohei's own website. His painting and illustration work is not to miss. Also, for those in Los Angeles, through May 2nd, you can see more of Ryohei's paper cuts in the 9-artist group show, PaperShapers (at Scion Space (3521 Helms Ave, Culver City, CA 90232). More info about that show at www.scion.com/space.
If you were there Thursday, you may have also met Rob Sato, a friend of Ryohei's, who is an amazing artist and illustrator himself. Check out his work & see a schedule of his upcoming shows at http://www.robsato.com/index.html.
My exhibit of paper cuts, Panic Attack(!) (Don't Panic): Paper Cuts by Ryohei Tanaka, continues at Cullom Gallery through May 30, 2009, but tonight is a special treat: Ryohei is in Seattle and snipping away in the gallery until 7:30 tonight.I met Ryohei while browsing an online group show at Giant Robot Gallery in San Francisco last year. I was delighted by what I saw as a mixture of old and new in his paper cuts. Clearly urban, youth oriented content done using a very traditonal medium of Japanese art/craft called kiri-e, or cut pictures.
The exhibit features 57 new works. Tanaka’s intricate, hand-cut paper cuts are cut into both unaltered white paper and papers prepared with spattered colored pigments. Like the stuff of dreams or a drug trip, their intertwined elements bounce from caricatures of Tokyo "types:" the school girl, the jug-headed Yakuza, the anime geek, to images of urban malaise and economic anxiety, to titillating riffs on sex, drugs, love, and violence.
For over twenty years, Ryohei Tanaka has been spinning his own version of the traditional art of hand-cut Japanese paper cut designs known as kiri-e, which date back to the early 17th century. What started as a solitary childhood game of paper heroes vs. paper villains (born of, and then snipped to pieces by the same genius boy and his scissors) has grown to wide-spread recognition for the artist in Japan and the West. Tanaka’s paper cuts have been shown in numerous solo and group exhibits in San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose, and multiple Tokyo venues.
If you're in Seattle tonight, come on down!
Cullom Gallery 313 Occidental Ave S Seattle, WA 98104 P: 206-919-8278 www.cullomgallery.com
Grab an umbrella and come on down. (and after, go sip and nibble something at my new favorite aprés-Walk spot, Elisian Fields - just down the street at 1st and King.)
Fresh from my Inbox, is this mention of what looks to be an incredible up-coming show of woodblock prints by ukiyo-e master, Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797-1861).
"LONDON - The Royal Academy of Arts will present an exhibition on one of the greatest Japanese print artists, Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1797 – 1861). Featuring over 150 works, the exhibition will present Kuniyoshi as a master of imaginative design. It will reveal the graphic power and beauty of his prints across an unprecedented range of subjects highlighting his ingenuous use of the triptych format. The majority of the exhibition will be drawn from the outstanding collection of Professor Arthur R. Miller which has recently been donated to the American Friends of the British Museum. This is the first major exhibition in the United Kingdom on Utagawa Kuniyoshi since 1961, on view 21 March through 7 June, 2009."(photo caption - "Sakata Kaido-maru wrestles with a giant carp" c. 1837...American Friends of the British Museum (The Arthur R. Miller Collection)More information at the Royal Academy and Art Knowledge News.
I am the Owner and Director of Cullom Gallery (603 S Main Street, Seattle, WA 98104), a Seattle art gallery,
specializing in the tradition and influence of Japanese woodblock prints & works on paper. Cullom Gallery is open Tuesday through Thursday and Saturday, from 10 to 5, and every first Thursday from 6 to 9 pm. We are also online at www.cullomgallery.com.
Megane is an outlet for exploring subjects related to Japanese prints & paper: artists, history, design, trends, exhibits, events, and musings.
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