from the illustrated book "Kachō gaden" 

Curator: This is a page from the illustrated book "Kachō Gaden" by Katsushika Taito II, housed here at the Harvard Art Museums. Editor: It feels like a quiet moment caught in time, almost voyeuristic—the bird so focused on those flowers. Curator: Woodblock prints like these, often overlooked, are incredibly insightful when we consider the history of artistic representation and the colonial gaze. These images served to exoticize and romanticize Japan for Western audiences. Editor: That's heavy, but the lines are so delicate, almost like a whisper. It makes me want to sketch something similar, to capture that fleeting beauty. Curator: Exactly, and by understanding this context, we can begin to deconstruct the power dynamics inherent in these seemingly simple images. Editor: Hmm, I guess it makes me think about how we all filter and frame our experiences. Curator: Precisely, now let's move on.