Hokusai: Life and Work

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Summary: The Eastern printmaker that the West knows
Review: "The Great Wave" may be the one lasting impression some people have of Japanese printmaking. That's by Hokusai. He worked about 200 years ago, but his work is still fresh and vital.

"Fresh" may seem an odd word to use about images made by the hundreds, and "vital" may seem odd when describing the days, weeks, or months needed to carve a set of wood block. Still, the images are clear, communicative, and decisive, as if one thought were held for the days or weeks of cutting a set of wood printing blocks.

That freshness aslo belies the huge labor that went into each print, or set of prints (36 of Fuji, 100 of Edo). Each of them was based on a "key" block, the one that created the black outlines. Then there were more blocks in each color, usually one for each color, sometimes four or more of them. Then there were the various trial proofs of each block and combination of blocks. Then there was the effort of inking each block and pulling each impression uniquely. The "100 views" is beatiful, but also a statement of Hokusai's endurance.

Hokusai also printed some shunga, "pillow books" allegedly used to show baffled newlyweds what goes where. Some are charming, some have outlandish exaggerations of both his and her genitals, and some (see the diptych p.157) are just strange - funny, but strange funny.

This is a wonderful colletion of Hokusai's color and B&W printing, along with a few brush drawings, and a very informative text. It's a wonderful book in its own right, but a wonderful addition to any library on printmaking or on world art.

//wiredweird