Dec 28, 2021
The world wide connection of mokuhanga is a vast one. Working and living in Cape Town, South Africa; Natasha Norman is a talented artist involved in several types of printmaking. One of those types of printmaking is, of course, mokuhanga. Along with her independent work as a mokuhanga printmaker, Natasha is involved in the Mokuhanga-kai, a group she co-founded with printmaker Oliver Hambsch, where as a group, they attempt to spread the message and ideals of mokuhanga and Japanese culture. In this episode of The Unfinished Print I speak with Natasha Norman about her mokuhanga journey, from MI Lab to her current mokuhanga works. Natasha also speaks on what it's like to source materials for her mokuhanga work while living in South Africa.
Please follow The Unfinished Print and my own print work on Instagram @popular_wheatprints, Twitter @unfinishedprint, or email me at theunfinishedprint@gmail.com
Notes: may contain a hyperlink. Simply click on the highlighted word or phrase.
Mokuhanga-Kai - website
Natasha Norman - website, Instagram
University of Cape Town - founded inn 1829 and became a full university between 1880-1900. More info can be found, here.
Jennifer L. Roberts Mellon Lectures - Contact: Art and the Pull of Print is a series of online lectures dedicated to the art of printmaking and the relationship between the person making it and the essence of the medium. It can be found, here.
Idyllic Colonial Postcards - Natasha speaks on the South African colonial project through idyllic postcards. More information can be found, here via the Library of Congress.
South African Art History - South African art has a long and distinguished history. The Contemporary African Art website has a very good introduction to the history of South African art, here. Some history of the South African modernists, here. Contemporary artist landscape, here.
Black Consciousness Movement - led by anti-apartheid leader Steve Biko (1946-1977), the BCM was a movement which empowered South African black people to believe that they have the power to organize and control their own destiny. More info can be found, here.
Nelson Mandela - (1918-2013) was a black nationalist and the first black Prime Minister of South Africa from 1994-1999. He was jailed from 1964-1990 for his political beliefs, being deemed a threat to the South African colonial government. More information about his life and legacy can be found here, at the Nelson Mandela Foundation.
Rainbow Nation - used first by Desmond Tutu (1931-2021), it is a term used to describe a post-apartheid South Africa, to describe the country as multicultural and as a call for unity of all South African peoples.
South African Biennale - held from February 28 - April 30, 1995, this biennale was hosted by Johannesburg and contained 63 national pavilions and 20 South African pavilions. It was the first biennale held in a post-apartheid South Africa focused on "decolonizing the mind." More information can be found, here. Link to the 2nd biennale held in 1997 can be found, here.
Mongezi Ncaphayi - is a South African artist who lives and works in Cape Town. His medium is Indian ink and watercolour on Fabriano. Lots of colour and a very unique perspective. His Instagram can be found, here. His work can be found, here.
South African Printmaking - there is a long history of printmaking in South Africa. From apartheid South Africa to post-apartheid South Africa printmaking has made an indelible difference to the landscape of South African art through resistance and dialogue. More information can be found, here, here, and here.
Printmaking Today - is a printmaking magazine published by Cello Press in the UK and began in 1991.
Embassy of Japan in South Africa - located in Pretoria. Information for the Culture and Information Centre can be found, here.
Japanese Relations with South Africa - Japan has had a long history of relations with South Africa since the 19th Century, with trade beginning in 1910. Although raw material trade began in earnest in the 1960's. For more information on Japan's, at times tenuous, relationship with South Africa look, here.
monotype printmaking - a type of printmaking which creates a "painted" type of print. More information can be found by the MoMA, here.
The Printing Girls - is a printmaking collective based in South Africa in which Natasha Norman is a member. More information can be found, here.
Ozuwashi - is a brick and mortar paper store located in the Nihonbashi district of Tokyo. It has been in business since 1653. More info can be found, here.
Cameron Bailey - is a mokuhanga printmaker who focuses on reduction woodblock. His Unfinished Print interview can be found, here. website, Instagram.
mokulito - a type of lithography which incorporated woodblock. Artist Danielle Creenaune uses mokulito in her work. She has a fine detailed explanation on its uses, here.
Winsor & Newton - is an artist supply company based in the UK. website.
kiaat - is a hardwood, also called muninga. More information can be found, here.
Woodstock, Cape Town - is an old suburb of Cape Town, South Africa known for its shopping and art galleries. More info can be found, here.
Salon Ninety One - a gallery located in Cape Town with a focus on contemporary artists of all mediums.
Yoshida Hiroshi (1876-1950) - originally a watercolorist and painter Yoshida started designing woodblock prints for Watanabe in 1920. By 1925 he was designing prints for his own studio. The works which came from his studio were meticulous and masterpieces of the medium in their own right. Ukiyoe.org has a good collection of Yoshida works.
Andy Warhol (1928-1987) was an influential artist and filmmaker who ushered in the genre of art considered "pop art."
Roy Lichtenstein (1923-1997) was another artist considered a part of the pop art movement through imitation. The MoMA has a great description of his work, here.
Benoit Varaillon - is a mokuhanga printmaker based in France. His interview with The Unfinished Print can be found, here.
William Kentridge - is an award winning South African artist, animator and printmaker. An interesting studio visit with Kentridge can be found, here.
japonisme - is the influence of Japanese art on Western art practices, specifically in Europe of the 19th Century. The MET Museum has a fine essay on the subject, here.
Waza - is an importer, retailer, and distributor of Japanese goods into South Africa. website
opening and closing credit background sound from the 2021 Mokuhanga Conference, discussing how animals are involved in mokuhanga, and whether we can, as artists, be sustainable.
© Popular Wheat Productions
logo designed and produced by Douglas Batchelor and André Zadorozny
Disclaimer: Please do not reproduce or use anything from this podcast without shooting me an email and getting my express written or verbal consent. I'm friendly :) if you find any issue with something in the show notes please let me know. The opinions expressed in The Unfinished Print podcast are not necessarily those of Andre Zadorozny and of Popular Wheat Productions.