Carp swimming 1877 - 1897

Editor: Here we have Watanabe Seitei's "Carp Swimming," created sometime between 1877 and 1897 using watercolor. There's a quiet, almost ghostly quality to it because of the delicate washes. What do you see in this piece, particularly regarding the artist's technique? Curator: I see a meticulous attention to the materiality of both the subject and the medium. The watercolor technique isn't just about depicting carp; it’s about highlighting the qualities of water itself – its transparency and ephemerality. The artist clearly understands the interaction between the pigment, the water, and the paper surface, almost as though collaborating with the materials themselves. Editor: So you’re focusing on the…making of the piece itself rather than what it represents culturally? Curator: Precisely. Though we can discuss the symbolism of carp in Japanese art, for instance, I'm more interested in the labor and the process of production. Consider the deliberate choice of watercolor versus oil; the accessibility of materials suggests a different level of artistic consumption and a democratized form of art-making. Do you notice how the blurring creates a soft focus on the main images? Editor: Yes, it does. It gives a sense of movement but it could also suggest memory. I never really thought about watercolor as being tied to artistic consumption before. Curator: Consider how that contrasts with more monumental art forms, and how this potentially makes the art object itself more widely accessible to a burgeoning middle class in Japan during that period. Editor: That definitely offers a new way of thinking about this! I appreciate how this perspective highlights not just the image, but the entire process behind its creation. Curator: And that includes considering the art object as a product of labour, social dynamics, and the consumption of resources. Hopefully that provides some extra lenses to analyse other artwork!