Surimono 1860

Curator: This striking work is a Surimono print, created around 1860 by Shibata Zeshin. You can currently find it residing at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Editor: It feels very quiet and contemplative. The lines are so delicate, almost like whispers. I'm immediately drawn to the flowing water—there's a gentle quality despite the defined lines of the woodblock. Curator: The gentle feeling you note is interesting. Surimono, meaning "printed things," were often commissioned privately for special occasions, mostly within artistic circles or poetry societies. Given that context, would that change your perception about how the composition is working? Editor: Absolutely. Knowing it's intended for a select audience sheds a new light. Water has rich connotations within East Asian iconography—renewal, purification, but also the ephemeral nature of life. Curator: I see how that fits in with how you see the work, but I can’t help seeing it as part of the rich history of Ukiyo-e prints. Ukiyo-e, or "pictures of the floating world," typically portrayed the pleasures of urban life, the theatre district, beautiful women and striking landscapes, sometimes tinged with the transience of pleasure. In many instances the geisha or actors depicted are engaged in various socio-cultural activities. I see that history continuing here. What does it represent for those engaged in verse and poetic musing? Editor: Perhaps a space for contemplation outside the strictures of societal expectations. The artwork does represent the artistic freedom to explore more subdued emotion through familiar imagery. Consider its relation to our day. A simple flowing waterfall and tree can contain so many symbolic connections, making it a visual mantra almost. Curator: Thinking about those layers enriches how I understand it too, by positioning artistic expression in a network of social and political meanings of that moment. I think we're in agreement. Editor: Exactly! An elegant piece that sparks a surprising number of conversations between aesthetics and meaning.