cop: contemporary woodblock printing

'The hand made paper used for these prints is called Washi and made from tree bark usually taken from mulberry trees which makes it strong and capable of being soaked in water then dried. The set of woodblocks are capable of printing a maximum of 3000 prints and the process involves soaking the Washi, painting the coloured ink pigments onto an individual carved woodblock, laying the wet Washi onto the block and rubbing the exposed back of the paper with a rounded wooden object called a Barron until the colour has been absorbed into the washi.

Once completed this partial print is dried, usually taking about a week then the process is repeated for the next woodblock until all six woodblocks have been printed and the entire picture can be seen.'

- Peter and Wivine Winch, 'http://woodblockprint.com.au/'

Here I have decided to look up some contemporary examples of Japanese woodblock printing. The reason that I decided to do this was because I wanted a section in my essay that talked about the development of woodblock printing and how it may have developed. I can also talk about the difference in types of communication, do they still use woodblock print to relay information? There are so many different types of technologies in this modern era that I don't think using woodblock is an necessary. However, I still think it would be interesting to look at examples.

Fujita Fumio

Fujita's aesthetic is a lot different then what I have been looking at. I think it's really interesting to see how the aesthetic of woodblock printing has changed so much. Fujita seems to have taken inspiration from a more graphic style, with not much linework or detail, but splodges of paint. There are similarities when it comes  to the use of bold graphic colour, however I think the styles are very different.

hirose takashi

Takashi's work is a lot more similar to the original aesthetic that I remember of the traditional prints. I think it's because there is still essence of the detail and energetic lines from the original aesthetic. However, i think there are differences in his use of colour, as it doesn't seem to be as rich as some of the original pieces were.

KATO, TERUHIDE

Teruhide's work is a even more similar to the original aesthetic. There are some pieces of his work which are very simple, however the linework is very bold and to the point. It's not quite as energetic as some of the original pieces that i have seen which would use large ink brushes which are harder to control. However I think this is leaning towards a more similar aesthetic i was looking for.

In the end, I think I want to talk about Fujita's work in my essay. This is because it's so different from the original woodblock printing aesthetic and style. I think it will be interesting to compare the styles and how it's changed, especially in terms of communication. It is used less as a means of communicating anything substantial, such as when marketing something or telling a story. Rather, it has a more decorative purpose.

cop: essay plan

Essay Plan

1.      Introduction –

What wood-block printing is
similarities to screenprinting – colour wood-block printing
carvers were regarded perhaps even more than the artists.
What It was initially used for – Buddhist
What am I going to talk about?

2.      Minimalism – picture comparison

Book that says it’s minimalist, why I think it’s not
process is very complex
backgrounds? Not used much
sepia colours, only started integrating colour in later years
ukiyo-e – just pictures of girls, same faces – marketing prostitutes – communication?
Same faces – prostitutes, character isn’t necessary, just the body and the fact they’re girls? Beauty – effective communication considering what’s being marketed
eyecatching – effective communication as people look at it

3.      Modern Day –

How is traditional aesthetic used today? – Merchandise etc – effective forms of communication for marketing japan culture to the western audience
Woodblock printing a staple of Japanese culture, recognised by western, woodblock is effective communication for japan in terms of tourism, foreign audience
Artist that still uses wood-block printing

4.      Use of words –

Artist comparison
Katakana use
Visual incorporation – words used as imagery today, traditional to go alongside
Words for the story – modern day comics etc

5.      Folk Tales

Catfish – earthquake
Imagination over Realism
Western style for devastation – Japanese style too sacred for war – JP pg.8
To research – Kabuki, did they use folk tales? – Banzuke

6.      Propaganda

Kawakami Sumio – Still life illustrations of the English alphabet – communicating the English language to a Japanese audience – incorporation of the west culture
Zukoshi – typology posters – collection of things, helped acquaint Japanese with western objects Newspapers - How most of it is just words – later incorporated imagery, No use of phonetic alphabet, meaning only literate could read it
Senso-e – helped keep Japanese people informed – communication – Russo Japanese War
Propaganda had to show Japanese in a positive light – was communicating but wasn’t communicating the truth. Was this effective or not? Both points – was shielding the truth a good thing or not? Is all propaganda posing themselves in a positive light?
To research – popular propaganda in the J/R War, public response – was it effective

cop: dainippon type organisation

I found these illustrators that call themselves the Dainippon Type Organisation. I really like how they play with words and use them to their advantage. I also think it would be interesting in my essay to talk about the repurposing of woodblock. It's interesting how this group use woodblock in their own kind of way, not just woodblock printing. It would be interesting to compare their work to some older traditional things I have seen.

cop: study task 7

In yesterday's session, we started on Study Task 7 which was like a peer review. I found that actually telling the group about my ideas was helpful and it helped me to get some perspective. For instance, what I should do next and where they think that my project is at. I think I need to make sure to do more work in my journal and blog, as I don't want them to fall behind too much, this was addressed in the crit. I also think it helped me to see where I could do things differently, like using different materials. However, there is a reason that I haven't been doing this and I think it wasn't really addressed properly, or I was confusing about it, because I don't want to use too many materials because of the aesthetic that I'm trying to achieve. I want my journal work to reflect on the Japanese style, so using lots of different materials wouldn't look right as this is not what they did. I understand that it would be confusing, but I think this is the best way for me to grasp the ideas that I have in my head.

cop: study task 6