Dec 26, 2023
When it comes to the idea of longevity, my guest on this
episode of The Unfinished Print has just that: the hard work and
sacrifice to make a career in making mokuhanga, bringing the art
form to people worldwide.
Today I speak with mokuhanga printmaker, graphic designer, and
writer, Tuula Moilanen. Currently living in Finland, Tuula has made
mokuhanga for almost 40 years and has been an essential part of the
worldwide mokuhanga community, teaching, instructing and overseeing
the art form’s growth.
Tuula speaks about her twenty years in Japan, her teachers,
and how she views her mokuhanga. We discuss creating work, social
media, and the philosophy of art.
Please follow The Unfinished Print and my
own mokuhanga work on Instagram @andrezadoroznyprints or
email me at theunfinishedprint@gmail.com
Notes: may contain a hyperlink. Simply click on
the highlighted word or phrase.
Artists works follow
after the note if available. Pieces are mokuhanga unless otherwise
noted. Dimensions are given if known. Publishers are given if
known.
Tuula Moilanen
- website
Tetsuya Noda -is a respected printmaker
and artist who works with photography, mokuhanga, and serigraphy
(silkscreen). Was head of the printmaking department at the
National Fine Arts and Music University in Tōkyō until 2006. More
info can be found
here.
Diary: Nov. 7th ‘68 (#1) 31 15/16" × 31" (1963-1976)
Akira Kurosaki 黒崎彰 (1937-2019) -
was one of the most influential woodblock print artists of the
modern era. His work, while seemingly abstract, moved people with
its vibrant colour and powerful composition. He was a teacher and
invented the “Disc
Baren,” which is a great baren to begin your mokuhanga journey
with. At the 2021 Mokuhanga Conference in Nara, Japan there was a
tribute exhibit of his life works.
Azusa Gallery has a nice selection of his work, here.
Meeting of Comets (1980) 5.7"x 3.9"
Kyoto Seika University - is a private
university based in Kyōto, Japan. It is a university focused on art
and scholarship. More info,
here.
nagashizuki - is a style of paper making
in Japan. This way of making paper creates a strong, translucent
paper good for multiple uses. For a more detailed analysis of
creating this type of
washi check out Awagami's
description,
here.
shodo -is the name attributed to
calligraphy in the Japanese style, which involves writing
characters using a brush and ink.
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.
shina - is a type of Japanese
plywood used in mokuhanga. Not all shina is made equally,
buyer beware.
Utagawa Kuniyoshi (1798-1861) - is considered
one of the last “masters” of the ukiyo-e genre of Japanese
woodblock printmaking. His designs range from landscapes, samurai
and Chinese military heroes, as well as using various formats for
his designs such as diptychs and triptychs.
Taira Kiyomori from the series Meiko hyaku yuden 名高百勇傳
published by Izumiya Ichibei
Keizo Sato - is a mokuhanga printmaker
who owns and operates a shop in Kyoto making reproductions
of
ukiyo-e prints. He has demonstrated at the
International Mokuhanga Conference, in 2011. Has been associated
with the
Adachi
Foundation of Woodblock Print Preservation.
takuhon - is a style of printmaking one
in which the pigments are rubbed into
the
washi with a type of pad. Printmaking At
Newcastle University on YouTube has a fine video about the process,
here.
hyōgu - is a traditional Japanese
process of mounting calligraphy and paper works such as
paintings.
intaglio printing - is a printing
method, also called etching, using metal plates such as zinc, and
copper, creating “recessed” areas which are printed with ink on the
surface of these "recesses.” More info,
here. The
MET has info,
here.
European woodcuts - woodcuts began in Europe
in 1400; the woodcut/woodblock tradition has long been in Western
Europe. These prints gained prominence during the late Middle Ages
(500-14/1500 AD) and the Renaissance (14th Century - 17th Century
AD), spreading visual information from religious iconography to
political propaganda. Some famous artists we know today are
Albrecht Dürer (1471-1528) and Titian (? - 1576).
© Popular Wheat Productions
opening and closing musical credit - Put It
Down by Otis McDonald, John Patittuci, and Mike
Chiavarro, from their single Put It Down released on TrackTribe
(2023)
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 :)
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let me know.
***The opinions expressed by guests in The Unfinished Print
podcast are not necessarily those of André Zadorozny and of Popular
Wheat Productions.***
