Waterfall, Eagle and Monkey 1877 - 1897

Editor: We are looking at "Waterfall, Eagle and Monkey" by Kawanabe Kyōsai, created sometime between 1877 and 1897 using ink. The work seems so dynamic with the contrast between the eagle in flight and the static waterfall. How would you interpret the scene depicted in this artwork? Curator: I see a profound tension in the materiality itself. Look at the unforgiving starkness of the ink—applied to depict not just the scenery, but a sort of hierarchical consumption: The eagle, potent and free, poised above the defenseless monkeys below. Consider ink as a commodity, carefully produced and distributed. Its very application here, creating this predator-prey power dynamic, hints at the social structures outside the frame. Editor: That’s an interesting angle. So, are you suggesting that the materials used are influencing our understanding of power structures? Curator: Precisely! And going further, think about the labor involved. Who sourced the ink? Who prepared the paper? And whose story gets told, and whose is left out, when we frame this as simply a beautiful landscape? Kyosai, though working within established genres, could also critique the socio-economic reality surrounding its production. Editor: It shifts my understanding from merely observing nature to questioning labor, access, and the narrative told by the artwork’s existence. I initially only perceived a dramatic scene but hadn't fully considered the production cycle. Curator: The image appears spontaneous, gestural, even easy. It belies, and perhaps purposefully obscures, its constructed nature. Examining the material reality helps uncover some uncomfortable truths embedded within. Editor: It definitely makes me want to explore the role of materials and process in other Ukiyo-e works. Curator: Exactly! Hopefully you’ll continue thinking about who benefits from the labor involved, even when we are ostensibly appreciating aesthetic beauty.