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Unveiling the Inner Artist: InterArts Cabinet of Curiosity

Ukiyo-e woodblock printmaking with Keizaburo Matsuzaki

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The Mekong Life
By Venghour Than
Komakata Azuma Bridge - One Hundred Famous Views of Edo (1857)

Artist: Hiroshige Ando 1797-1858

Technique: Woodblock print

Edo Period (1603-1868)

During the Edo period in Japan, there is a flourishing genre of Japanese art known as Ukiyo-e that unveils its cultural aesthetic in the form of woodblock print. The main purpose of Ukiyo-e art was to depict “the inimitable word of the Edo period,” stated by Dale Roylance in Japanese Prints and Illustrated Books. Specifically, the prints mostly feature various subjects such as female characters; scenes from classical narratives and folk tales; landscapes; erotica; and kabuki actors (a classical form of Japanese dance-drama performed by men). The word Ukiyo in the language means “the floating or transient world” while e translates to “picture.” Together, this ancient art form was being practiced in the period to capture the exotic culture that is incredible and strange, and beyond the daily scenery of the society. For the artists of Ukiyo-e, it is the “obsessive pursuit of pleasure in the theater, erotic fantasy, and high fashion” of the society (Roylance 95).

Since the artform is a woodblock printing, different aspects within the process explains a strong collaboration between the artists, the wood cutters, and printers. This collaboration also reveals a sense of complexity of the work production, which is laborious, requiring a sufficient amount of patience and precision. Color is a major element of the printing art that provides the identity to the subjects. In the aspect of landscape printings, the colors immensely enhance the realism of the natural beauty of the different geographical views in the work. In addition, the intricacy of well-defined, bold, flat lines presented in the work is another fundamental element of Ukiyo-e. Their assistance is crucial in offering the precise outlines of the subjects, the expression and the perspective—the different thickness of the lines. Last, the composition of various elements (humans, nature, and architectures) strongly communicates the artists’ ability to comprehend the science of nature and world surrounding them. For instance, the segregation of the foreground, middle ground, and background. The subjects in the foreground are clear, intricate, and huge compared to the elements in the background, which are less-defined and small.

Specifically for many landscape prints in Ukiyo-e, their aesthetic principles, specifically the landscape perspective stated previously, reveals a strong influence of Chinese ink painting during the Southern Tang (618 to 906 A.D), Northern Song (960 to 1127 A.D), and Yuan (1279 to 1368 A.D) dynasties. There are similar traits between the two cultures, Chinese and Japanese, with their interests in landscape art of mountains and human presence. For instance, there is a resemblance between the two artworks with their sharing compositional aspect. One is from China during the Nothern Song dynasty that was attributed to Juran called Xiao Yi Seizing the Lanting by Trickery. Another one is from Japan during the Edo period, painted by Utagawa Kuniyoshi called The Stream of Asazawa in Spring.

For Komakata Azuma Bridge, it is one of the exquisite prints produced by Ando Hiroshige. He became one of the greatest masters of Ukiyo-e. Throughout his entire life, Utagawa Hiroshige created numerous splendid illustration series. It has been estimated that he created more than 5,000 prints. Komakata Azuma Bridge is a print from his series One Hundred Famous Views of Edo in 1857 about a year before his death in 1858. All of ANdo Hiroshige’s works reveals travel and topographical views. His works “established the conventional, and very beautiful, image of serene countryside and picturesque cityscape so intimately associated with 19th-century Japan” (Roylance 107). Komakata Azuma Bridge presents the view of the rainy sky that is seen from the Komakata Hall in Honjo district. In the distance, there is a vast plane of Azuma bridge on the left, several fishing boats, houses in the distance along the river, and a cuckoo bird flying in the sky.

The Mekong Life (2021)

Artist: Venghour Than

Technique: Mixed Media (Watercolor painting and Photography)

The Kingdom of Cambodia

Komakata Azuma Bridge reveals an important way of life in Japan with water. This presentation allows for a response to The Mekong Life to illustrate the living of Khmer people living a long a prominent river known as the Mekong River. In the work, it shows the authentic lifestyle of people residing on floating houses, which is also known as the floating village. The villagers at the site are mostly fishermen whose daily lives highly depends on water which is where they find fish for selling to support their families. Beside rice, fish is another staple for the nation in which it can provide adequate amount of protein to the people.

The work is divided into two sections: the watercolor and the photography sections. The watercolor part shows the view of a small floating village, residing in the body of the Mekong River. The houses are clustered with bamboo sticks coming out of the water. With the straight horizontal lines presenting on the water, it shows how calm the river, which is one purpose of the utilization of line in Ukiyo-e. For the sky, it is a photo of Sunny day. It is almost a perfect interpretation of the monsoon weather in Cambodia in which in most days, they are humid.

The purpose of merging two different mediums (watercolor painting and photography) is to express the sense of time. As a matter of fact, many landscapes printing that were produced during the Edo period served as a traveling resource for those who could not travel. They were like the photographs for the people before the camera was invented. Therefore, creating this mixed media work allows me to communicate the difference of time, how today people can capture numerous picturesque views of the nature, villages, and cities, how in the past, people utilized printing (a traditional, effective platform of copying and distributing) to capture the views and shared with the entire nation.
Bibliography:
ROYLANCE, DALE. “JAPANESE PRINTS AND ILLUSTRATED BOOKS.” The Princeton University Library Chronicle, vol. 49, no. 1, 1987, pp. 94–109. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/26404215. Accessed 7 May 2021.
Utagawa, Kuniyoshi. “Fuji No y Kei.” Home, 1 Jan. 1970, www.loc.gov/pictures/item/2002700076/.
“Xiao Yi Acquiring the ‘Orchid Pavilion Preface’ by Deception.” Juran: Xiao Yi Acquiring the "Orchid Pavilion Preface" by Deception Chinese Art Gallery, China Online Museum, www.chinaonlinemuseum.com/painting-juran-xiao-yi-deception.php.
“Komakata Hall and Azuma Bridge, No. 62 from One Hundred Famous Views of Edo.” Brooklyn Museum, www.brooklynmuseum.org/opencollection/objects/121669.
“Azuma Bridge.” Omeka RSS, tclibrary.omeka.net/exhibits/show/trinity-college-art-collection/item/144.
Wanczura, Dieter. “Komakata Azuma Bridge - One Hundred Famous Views of Edo - Hiroshige Ando 1797-1858.” Artelino, Artelino GmbH, 1 Oct. 2018, www.artelino.com/show/japanese_single_print.asp?mbk=17698.