The Great Wave

THE GREAT WAVE

“The Great Wave off Kanagawa” (circa 1831) is a classic woodblock print by the Japanese ukiyo-e artist Hokusai. It is the first and probably most famous of the artist’s series “Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji.” This was one of the prints that inspired my earliest interest in Japanese art. I was enthralled by this depiction of the power of nature, the dynamic force of the flowing and crashing of the magnificent wave juxtaposed against the stillness of the distant holy mountain Fuji-san (Mount Fuji).

Back in the mid-seventies, I saw an exhibit of Japanese woodblocks at the British Museum and was amazed at the cultural sensibilities of the art form in which emotions were expressed through the textiles worn by the subjects rather than the Western paradigm of facial expression or bodily posture. I was drawn into the line, the color, and the idealized simplicity of the prints, which so reflected my naive perception of the culture itself.

See also this link to my Pinterest page of Japanese prints,
or this Pinterest link to (other peoples') photos of Japan

A few years ago, Cindy and I took a long weekend trip to Chicago and stopped at the Botanic Gardens. While visiting the gardens we came across a temporary exhibition of bonsai trees, which summarily interested the horticulturist in Cindy. 

As she viewed the restrained curvatures of the miniature arbors, I wandered off taking photographs as usual. I came upon a stall that was selling hundreds of small Japanese prints, which I proceeded to examine finding myself, once again, to be profoundly moved by the unfamiliar forms and the exotic subject matter. I was sitting meditatively waiting for Cindy, when a clear vision arose in me. When my wife returned, I asked her to simply listen to me for a few minutes as I outlined my inspired plan to her. I told her without a note of doubt or forbearing that over the course of the following year I was going to study Japanese print making and then we would go to Japan and seek out significant print makers.

My enthusiasm waned along with the events surrounding the Fukushima disaster and the trip was put on the back burner for a few years until a series of serendipitous events brought Japan back into the valence of my interest. We are now extremely excited to visit Japan. The focus of our visit no longer rotates solely around the woodblock prints. We are now also looking forward to viewing the relationships between ancient and contemporary aspects of the culture: of technology and ritual, and of locating the still places within the cauldron of humanity.