Annual Japanese Woodblock Print Salon - Los Angeles
Recently I had the pleasure of attending, for the second time, a Japanese woodblock Print Salon event in Los Angeles. This Print Salon has been running for about 15 years and is hosted by Chris Walther of CW American Modernism, a private gallery specializing in 20th Century American art with a particular focus on the period between 1910 and 1960.
The Print Salon was attended by an impressive group of Asian art experts, including curators from LACMA, the Saint Louis Museum of Art, and the Honolulu Museum of Art, art gallery owners from Collecting Japanese Prints, Osaka Prints, and Mie Gallery, plus several private Japanese print collectors. It was a great privilege, and a bit overwhelming to be surrounded by so much collective knowledge about Japanese print artists. The majority of the salon focused on Sosaku Hanga artists. From Wikipedia:
Sōsaku-hanga (創作版画, "creative prints") was an art movement of woodblock printing which was conceived in early 20th-century Japan. It stressed the artist as the sole creator motivated by a desire for self-expression, and advocated principles of art that is "self-drawn" (自画 jiga), "self-carved" (自刻 jikoku) and "self-printed" (自摺 jizuri). As opposed to the parallel shin-hanga ("new prints") movement that maintained the traditional ukiyo-e collaborative system where the artist, carver, printer, and publisher engaged in division of labor.
Mie Gallery doesn't really deal in Sosaku or Shin Hanga, since our focus is on traditional Edo and Meji era ukiyo-e, but there is so much value in experiencing the synergy, relevence, and creativity that is shared between all the eras and genres of Japanese art.
To help impart the feel of the Print Salon, below are some candid photos from the event along with short descriptions. I definitely focused on the Edo/Meiji era work - apologies in advance for the quality of the photos.
The prints came out fast and furious. Most of the prints were passed around the table as the group discussed the artist, history, or aspects of the print. (above).
A gorgeous print by Yamamoto Kanae (1918) "Bathing in Brittany".
There were many prints by the artist Umetaro Azechi - a whole series of mountain landscapes, each quite different.
Umetaro Azechi also created many prints of mystical mountain men, above are some examples that show his simplicity of form and the rich color palettes.
Osaka artists were well represented at the Print Salon. Above is a triptych print in amazing condition of a kabuki scene by Utagawa Hirosada, the actors Nakamura Tamashichi I, Sawamura Kitō I and Arashi Rikaku II as spirits of mandarin ducks, 1849.
This was one of the groups favorite Osaka prints. An amazing design by Shunkōsai Hokushū, the actor Nakamura Utaemon III as Ichikawa Goemon disguised as the farmer Gosaku, 1830. In the stylized smoke background you can make out the hidden forms of 7 or more warriors.
The Actor Nakamura Tomijuro II as the Courtesan Kikukawa, 1833, by Shunbaisai Hokuei.
An interesting print by Kobayashi Kiyochika of men riding penny farthing bicycles made of pocket watches.
One of the highlights of the Print Salon was this restored Hokusai painting of the six immortal poets on silk.
The absolute highlight for me was an original sketch book by Katsushika Hokusai and possibly some other artists. The book was an assemblage of various sketches on a variety of real and fantastic subjects. Below is a sketch of Tengu.
The above print looks to be a different artist (probably not Hokusai) but the subject matter is interesting.
I am wondering if the above sketch is a Hokusai self portrait since I think he represented himself in a similar way in other sketches and prints.
I thouroughly enjoyed attending the Print Salon and encourage print collectors to look for, or organize similar events. The exchange of knowledge and the variety of artistic work is very inspiring. I made several connections that could lead to further collaboration on print-related books and seminars. Hopefully I'll be invited back next year. Happy collecting!