The significance given today to the fascinating world of the woodblock print (ukiyo-e) is impressively showcased in the works of Masumi Ishikawa (UKIYO-E PROJECT) and Megumi Ōishi (BALCOLONY) *and the graphic designer Andrew Archer. All of them resort to the typical visual elements and techniques of the Japanese woodblock print, nevertheless, the dominant subjects of their works include such contemporary themes as music and sport. *Original text, “Masumi Ishikawa and Megumi Ōishi (UKIYO-E PROJECT),” is corrected by translator.
The exhibition UKIYOENOW: Tradition and Experiment shows contemporary approaches to the traditional color woodcut and poses the question of how far the different production forms—traditional handicraft and digital print—are affecting the further development of the ukiyo-e.
This will be the first presentation in Europe of works by Masumi Ishikawa (b. 1978 in Tokyo) and Megumi Ōishi and the graphic designer Andrew Archer (b. in Auckland), which translate motifs from pop culture and sport into the aesthetic of the ukiyo-e. Both artists stand for the renewal of the idiom and visual imagery of the Edo Period (1603–1868) and are trailblazers for the globalization of Japanese art.
While theme, style and technique of the ukiyo-e were specifically Japanese until the twentieth century, a hundred years later an artistic language evolved out of it that has served artists throughout the world. Ishikawa, Ōishi and Archer borrow from the typical visual elements and techniques of the Japanese color woodcut, but their subjects are contemporary phenomena from the global world of entertainment: music and sport.
With the aim of reviving the ukiyo-e, in 2014 the Ukiyo-e Project was founded, which interprets new motifs using traditional production techniques. In the MAK exhibition UKIYOENOW the elaborately designed prints are on show for the first time in their entirety outside Japan.
In contrast to traditional production methods in the Ukiyo-e Project, Andrew Archer’s works are produced digitally. The graphic designer, who lives in Melbourne, combines his passion for basketball and ukiyo-e in his most extensive series yet, EDO-BALL, in publication since 2013. This dynamic picture series produced in high-quality digital print follows Kuniyoshi and his pupil Yoshitoshi in style and spellbinds viewers with its individual wit and humor.