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Hokusai – Japan’s most internationally-renowned artist, a master of Ukiyo-e art
His style of art and subject evolved as many times as he changed his name, but Hokusai’s talent as an artist remained constant and his influential role in later art movements such as Art Nouveau and Impressionism remains eternal.
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The Japanese art world, the flesh, the devil
Modern art has always been widely discussed. We all know some people who claim they could have done the same (maybe even you said it; the Tate saved you their best wall). There are also those who get their kicks out of an abandoned pair of glasses sitting on the ground. This debate being nowhere near its end, let’s just agree to never agree and mutually concede one simple thing: in the contemporary art world, Japan is a UFO. For all the Jeff Koonses and Damien Hirsts on the artsy planet, for all the prattle and tattle that come with their kind, none came closer, and with such a truly…
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Shunga: Traditional Japanese Pornography
Manga? Yes Anime? Yes Shunga? Ummmm… That’s one that not many people have heard of. Literally translated as “picture of spring”, it is an age-old Japanese erotic art form usually printed on woodblock. A sub genre of ukiyo-e, Shunga (春画) reached its pinnacle in the Edo Period from 1603 to 1867 and survived repeated government attempts at suppression. However, before they were shunned their widespread use and availability was commonplace and endeavoured to depict everyday life in the Edo. Carried around as lucky charms by Samurais and merchants as well as being offered to newly-wed’s as a type of sex education; shunga was accepted and used by everyone, regardless of…
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Faszination eines Berges
Im Jahr 1830 befindet sich ein Mann um die 70 Jahre in der näheren Umgebung eines gewaltigen Vulkans, von dessen Anblick er fasziniert ist. So beginnt dieser Mann, ein Künstler, der seine Bilder selbst mit „der vom Zeichnen Besessene“ unterschreibt, in mehreren Serien diesen Berg – Wahrzeichen und Sinnbild eines ganzen Landes – festzuhalten. Sein Name: Katsushika Hokusai (1760-1849), einer der bekanntesten Ukiyo-e-Künstler Japans. Ukiyo-e kann im Deutschen mit „Bilder der fließenden Welt“ übersetzt werden. Zwischen 1830 und 1832 fertigt Hokusai erstmals eine Serie von Ukiyo-e mit dem Titel Fugaku sanjūrokkei (Die sechsunddreißig Ansichten des Berges Fuji) an. Der höchste Berg Japans gilt aufgrund seines sehr symmetrischen Vulkankegels als einer…
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Una acción discutible
Todo empezó una mañana del 8 de julio de 1853. El comodoro Matthew Calbraith Perry a bordo del USS Susquehanna llegó a las costas de Japón, al puerto de Edo (actual Tokio), con la intención de negociar un tratado comercial con EE.UU. Sus demandas eran la apertura de al menos un puerto al comercio extranjero y la seguridad de que las propiedades y pescadores americanos serían respetados. Al verse opuesto por una negativa amenazó con emplear la muy superior fuerza armamentística de que disponía. Ante semejante disparidad, los gobernantes japoneses no tuvieron otra opción que ceder. El tratado se firmó el 31 de marzo de 1854. Este singular evento tuvo drásticas…
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