Visverkoper 1801

Curator: Here we have a vibrant woodblock print by Utagawa Toyokuni II, titled "Visverkoper," dating back to 1801. It's currently housed at the Rijksmuseum. Editor: My first impression? This is just pure everyday life! There's such a bustle of activity captured in a single scene. Almost makes me hear street vendors and playful dogs in my imagination. Curator: Absolutely. Genre scenes like this were popular within the Ukiyo-e tradition. Let's unpack it a little: the title refers to "fish seller." You can observe different individuals engaged in mundane activities. I see elements reflective of gendered labour roles in the society from which this image came. The woman carries a child, and we have other figures at leisure around her. Editor: The colors are so soft, almost watercolor-like, yet incredibly vivid, and there's something really endearing about those dogs running around. It does invite you to consider labor and how people found space for respite or entertainment in that social structure. What's your reading of this through a feminist theory perspective? Curator: Well, note the ways women's labour, and particularly their roles as caregivers, become normalized, made to appear seamless in the rhythms of daily life. But that very seeming naturalness might occlude the weight and impact of this labour. Editor: Ah, I see what you mean. It is very subtle, easy to overlook if you aren't actually paying attention! Curator: And further, looking through lens that foregrounds social and power dynamics helps unpack gender. Who has mobility? Whose needs are being met? How is value conferred or denied? It all impacts how these individuals and gendered bodies are seen and understood within the scene. Editor: Right! Well, thank you, this perspective just blew my mind, and next time I visit here, I will be definitely looking for these narratives embedded into artworks! Curator: It is artworks like this that offer multiple ways of examining cultural production to better assess our contemporary social landscape and reimagine how systems could function in radically equitable ways. Editor: Radically equitable. I love the sound of that. This whole piece now makes more sense with that in mind!