Print 1786 - 1854

Curator: This print, simply titled "Print," comes to us from the hand of Utagawa Kunisada, likely created between 1786 and 1854. What's grabbing your attention here? Editor: It’s almost a little unsettling, isn't it? There's a formalized elegance, sure, but the composition is odd, maybe a little...flat, and those almost identical faces… It gives me the heebie-jeebies! Curator: Interesting. Formally, consider how the arrangement places two figures against the backdrop, one presenting a red box that is emphasized using red outline. In this arrangement we have both figuration and a type of landscape; could this be ukiyo-e? I understand that they used similar processes. Editor: Definitely. This echoes popular art, even street-art culture, as I understand it. It's as if the artist knew that the essence and spirit could only come through flat affectations. So, yes to landscape but only after it has undergone significant cultural processes and filtering. In fact the red veins of the trees draw us into these types of observations if we are inclined to make them. Curator: True, Utagawa Kunisada worked primarily in the ukiyo-e style, emphasizing both the artistic vision and a market of urban-dwellers. Thinkers were inspired to capture the nuances of fleeting moments within social and aesthetic landscapes. Do the facial details mean to signal specific character qualities here? Or are the expressions part of a social and aesthetic theater for popular consumption? Editor: Maybe both? These kinds of pieces are full of layered intentions. And let's remember humor. To me, there is a trace of satirical edge that helps make these images really come alive. There's also an awareness of artifice that acknowledges a larger, even more important picture of self and social relationships. So who knows? Perhaps we’re not supposed to know *everything*! Curator: A reminder that meaning in visual art may resist absolute fixity; a fruitful position from which to think through art history, technique, social use, and emotional impact. Thank you for your spontaneous reflection on Utagawa Kunisada's intriguing image! Editor: My pleasure. It always excites me when a piece generates as many questions as it answers.