Utagawa Hiroshige (Japanese: 歌川 広重), also Andō Hiroshige (Japanese: 安藤 広重; 1797 – 12 October 1858), was a Japanese ukiyo-e artist, considered the last great master of that tradition.
Hiroshige is best known for his landscapes, such as the series The Fifty-three Stations of the Tōkaidō and The Sixty-nine Stations of the Kiso Kaidō; and for his depictions of birds and flowers. The subjects of his work were atypical of the ukiyo-e genre, whose typical focus was on beautiful women, popular actors, and other scenes of the urban pleasure districts of Japan’s Edo period (1603–1868). The popular Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji series by Hokusai was a strong influence on Hiroshige’s choice of subject, though Hiroshige’s approach was more poetic and ambient than Hokusai’s bolder, more formal prints. (Wikipedia)
As a child, I collected the little cards with Japanese prints that came in ochazuke (breakfast rice soup sprinkles). The compositions were asymmetrical (diagonals!), the illustrations imaginative, and the colors shifted elegantly from the blunt American palette – the inks both vibrant and subtle. I loved them. I knew about Japanese artworks before I knew about the European impressionists who were so inspired by them. I knew the Japanese works so well that the impressionists seemed clumsy and heavy handed compared to the delicate craftsmanship of Japanese artists. Eventually the influence grew conduits in my mind, and I came to appreciate and enjoy both. (More on Japonisme soon.)
Below is a collection of Hiroshige prints featuring rain. The plants outside my window may be different, and my neighbors don’t wear yellow hats, but the rain looks much the same.
Utagawa Hiroshige: Travellers surprised by sudden rain
Not all sections of a surface are equal. Movement, space, and placement can be used to suggest time. Within the composition we can infer a sequence, a past, and a future. In part, this is due to how we read. Generally, we read top to bottom, and left to right. Within a scene in a …
Day 13: Op Art Create a piece of Op Art, inspired by Bridget Riley. This challenge was dizzying! Here are a few from the dozens that were submitted. These really caught my eye.
[image_with_animation image_url=”7694″ alignment=”center” animation=”None” box_shadow=”none” max_width=”100%”] Hey – who mailed us the gnarly stick with the bobcat stamp? We love it. For the creative challenge today, let standardized paper and implements be darned. Mail us something strange. Do not post your strange mail to our facebook page. You wouldn’t want to spoil the surprise, would …
PROCESS UPDATE: It has been a delight to have our official “Artist Not In Residence” Patty Haller around the studios. She has been at the studio almost every day, and openly sharing her process with students and guests. Today, NPR news is playing from a little boombox on the floor. On the table, a single potted fern …
Hiroshige’s Rainy Moments
From Wikipedia:
As a child, I collected the little cards with Japanese prints that came in ochazuke (breakfast rice soup sprinkles). The compositions were asymmetrical (diagonals!), the illustrations imaginative, and the colors shifted elegantly from the blunt American palette – the inks both vibrant and subtle. I loved them. I knew about Japanese artworks before I knew about the European impressionists who were so inspired by them. I knew the Japanese works so well that the impressionists seemed clumsy and heavy handed compared to the delicate craftsmanship of Japanese artists. Eventually the influence grew conduits in my mind, and I came to appreciate and enjoy both. (More on Japonisme soon.)
Below is a collection of Hiroshige prints featuring rain. The plants outside my window may be different, and my neighbors don’t wear yellow hats, but the rain looks much the same.
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PROCESS UPDATE: It has been a delight to have our official “Artist Not In Residence” Patty Haller around the studios. She has been at the studio almost every day, and openly sharing her process with students and guests. Today, NPR news is playing from a little boombox on the floor. On the table, a single potted fern …