Oct 22, 2020
Join me for the final part of my two part interview with
printmaker Will Francis. What started as a discussion about
pigments, used historically and currently in the world of
mokuhanga, quickly morphed into a lively discussion about
what it means to be a mokuhanga artist in modern times.
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Show Notes: all links are hyperlinked. Just click!
Will Francis: Patreon and website
Hokusai 36 Views of Mount Fuji
Natalie Stopka has a very good article written on her website
regarding indigo
pigment.
Shōzaburō Watanabe (1885-1945) - an entrepreneur and publisher who kicked off what would become one of the most significant chapters in mokuhanga history. It was his vision which brought together artists from the yōga and nihonga schools of Japanese art to help make woodblock prints in the ukiyo-e tradition. A fantastic book on the subject is Seven Masters: 20th Century Japanese Woodblock Prints from The Wells Collection. There is a detailed history of the shin-hanga movement and those involved.
ochre pigment - great article of earth pigments from ThoughtCo.
Harunobu Suzuki (1725- 1770) One of the original nishiki-e
printmakers. His prints would pave the way for many who would make
and design prints in design and subject matter.
overprinting - this is a term coined for printing the same spot
on a print over and over again to get the desired colour, depth and
richness.
Lucy Morrish is Will Francis’ partner. She works on illuminated
manuscripts and uses vellum for this work. Her work is spectacular.
Her website will tell you
everything you need to know regarding her process and her
works.
shell gold pigment - article is from naturalpigments.com
gouache pigment - great article on handprint.com
Laura Boswell - printmaker based in the UK and is a teacher of
Will Francis. You can find her work here, and her YouTube
channel here.
sōsaku hanga - a style of mokuhanga which involves a
more free approach to printmaking where one person
does the design, carving, and printing in their own. Good article
here from Ronin Gallery in NYC.
Hashiguchi Gōyō (1881-1921) - a yōga painter who
transitioned to designing a single woodblock print for Watanabe and
then designed on his own. His life was cut short at 40 by
meningitis. He left a lasting legacy on the Japanese print through
the design and construction of his work, especially with the design
of images of women.
CMYK
printing
Henri Matisse (1864-1954) - French artist who was arguably
influenced by Japanese woodblock prints. While although not
officially connected to the Japonisme movement of the later 19th
Century because of his age, Matisse did make the occasional
woodcut
as well as used the flat colouring of ukiyo-e for some of his work
especially in his Paris period and his later years with his
decoupage.
Shikō
Munakata (1903-1975) - eccentric folk woodblock artist who in
an almost free-hand manner created some of most fascinating
mokuhanga of the 20th century. He also painted oils and in
watercolour.
Toyohara Kunichika
(1835-1900) - is the greatest artist associated with the woodblock
print. His designs, for me, forever altered the way prints have
been seen. His use of movement and his use of the five elements,
especially for his triptychs, are powerful and electric. The
decadence of his work only enhances the visual power of what can be
done with the art form.
Tsukioka
Yoshitoshi (1839-1892) - one of the most famous woodblock
artists Yoshitoshi’s powerful, grotesque, and bloody images have
inspired tattoo culture in Japan and around the world. While
Kunichika stayed within the boundaries of ukiyo-e, Yoshitoshi bent
the rules and used a more “modern” perspective in his work which
mirrored the chaos of Japan historically at that time.
Hiroshi Yoshida (1876-1950) - an all encompassing artist Hiroshi
Yoshida was the person who really personifies the Japanese print of
the 20th century. Trained in Western oil painting, he developed an
affinity for the woodblock print before meeting with Watanabe in
the 1920’s. Yoshida would take what Watanabe was doing and would
continue it throughout his life, albeit with a different
philosophy. This influence on woodblock printing has been
felt well into the 21st century. Yoshida hired carvers and printers
for his works, as well as carved on his own. At the time of his
death he had produced 250 woodblock prints. His books on the
subject are some of the most important books an aspiring or
seasoned woodblock artist can own. Mokuhankan published his
work on their website for those who are interested.
kuroko - are the shadow men who help kabuki actors and
bunraku puppets with their garments and stage direction.
opening credit background music:
Born Under A Bad Sign by Albert King (1967)
© Popular Wheat Productions
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