Floating wonderment
The ethereal spirit of Japan's ukiyo-e prints lives on in contemporary art, writes Richard James Havis
The more things change, the more things stay the same. A new exhibition at New York's Japan Society, entitled "Edo Pop: The Graphic Impact of Japanese Prints", looks at the relationship between modern art and the ukiyo-e woodblock prints that were popular in Japan during the 18th and 19th centuries.
until June 9, draws parallels between the techniques, style and content of contemporary artists and those of the Edo period. The surprise is that there is a remarkable correlation between artists across the centuries. What's more, the times themselves have a lot in common, too, Tezuka says.
"Ukiyo-e prints never seem to get old. They date from the 18th and 19th centuries, but they still look vibrant and lively," she says. "Although they depict the lives of people from the past, you can find many connections with our lives today in them."
The similarities make the art produced during the Edo period relevant to the modern viewer, Tezuka says. "Because of this correlation, the visual arts produced at that time become even closer to us when we look at them. So in this exhibition, I decided to explore the synergy and dialogue between the past and the present. I was interested in how contemporary artists digest the visual impact of the ukiyo-e prints."