Travelers Crossing River/ Akiba, from the series Exhaustive Illustrations of the Fifty-Three Stations of the Tōkaidō (Tōkaidō gojÅ«santsugi ezukushi) Possibly 1810

Curator: This is Katsushika Hokusai’s “Travelers Crossing River/ Akiba,” from the series Exhaustive Illustrations of the Fifty-Three Stations of the Tōkaidō. Editor: It’s deceptively simple, isn't it? The flat planes of color, the way the water is just suggested by those lines... Curator: It speaks to the woodblock printing process, doesn’t it? Each color a separate block, the labor so clear. We can imagine the artisans working to fulfill Hokusai's vision. Editor: And considering travel was often restricted based on social class, who were these travelers? Were they defying social boundaries? What was the political climate? Curator: Perhaps this image is Hokusai’s comment on the transient nature of life and the journey of the human spirit. Editor: A powerful reminder that art invites us to contemplate not just what we see, but the conditions of its creation. Curator: Indeed, a conversation starter on many levels.