Roy Lichtenstein at the Tate: the Quest for Authenticity? By toshidama The retrospective exhibition of the paintings of Roy Lichtenstein dominates the London art scene this month, with posters and billboards, plastic bags and T-shirts everywhere. Lichtenstein occupies a peculiar position in recent art history: less respected than his contemporaries Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg; and less famous [...]
Japanese Art and the World of Yakusha-e: The Quiet Artist of the Utagawa School Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Utagawa Toyokuni changed the emphasis of his art from bijin-ga – images of beautiful ladies – to focusing on yakusha-e. It was his art of yakusha-e which opened up new doors and which he became [...]
Japanese Art and Culture: Japan Ukiyo-e Museum in Matsumoto Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Ukiyo-e expresses the richness of Japanese culture, nature, history, mythology, theatre, stunning landscapes, and highlights the importance of entertainment and other areas. Also, ukiyo-e shows vivid images of sexuality and some shunga is extremely explicit even by the standards of [...]
Japanese art and Meiji period: Chikanobu, cultural fusions and modernity Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Yoshu Chikanobu (Chikanobu Toyohara) was a Meiji artist (1838-1912) who highlighted many aspects of this revolutionary period in Japan. Chikanobu, like other Meiji artists, was often overlooked in the past but today the art world is changing. Therefore, artists [...]
Amazing art of Paul Gauguin: “I am inclined to a primitive state” Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Paul Gauguin left sublime art behind but it appears that his greatness isn’t being fully recognized. Somehow, the chaos and poverty of his own lifetime appears to be a shadow which still hangs over this man of [...]
Magical Foxes Always Ring Twice Alex Faulkner By toshidama There is a curious story concerning the electrification of Japan and the introduction of the earliest telegraphic service in Japan in 1869. The story neatly shows the clash of the old, traditional values and superstitions and the resistance that many, especially rural people had to the new progressive [...]
Japanese art and Keisai Eisen: Reality and unreality and the View of Shogetsu Pond Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times If one views the stunning image of the View of Shogetsu Pond by Keisai Eisen, then only images of tranquility, order and a nation at peace comes to mind. It appears that nature, order and [...]
Art of the Meiji – The Empire Strikes Back Alex Faulkner By toshidama Toshidama Gallery is currently showing an exhibition of twenty-two great woodblock prints of the Meiji period. The history of art appreciation – connoisseurship – is often a story of snobbery, misplaced enthusiasms and opinion, often by enthusiastic amateurs and via self-published tracts. The [...]
Pierre Bonnard and Yasui Sotaro: Japanese art and European art Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Pierre Bonnard (1867-1947) and Yasui Sotaro (1888-1955) bless the art world because of their respective creativity. Yasui Sotaro was born in the cultural city of Kyoto and just like Pierre Bonnard, the vibrant culture of Paris would play an [...]
Boys and Girls: Gender, Kabuki and Japanese Prints By toshidama Japanese prints can be confusing territory for those seeking certainty. Artists of the ukiyo-e revelled in “look and compare” pictures or mitate-e as it is called. Borrowing from the traditions of poetry, mitate-e pictures play ironically with the knowingness of the audience, substituting contemporary actors for historical characters or [...]
Italian Art and Artemisia Gentileschi: Female Artist in Catholic Italy and Rape Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1656) was a female painter in a world dominated by men but many aspects of her life highlight certain aspects of Catholic culture within Italy and this part of Europe. Her life also highlights [...]
Japanese Art and Kasa Obake: The Umbrella Ghost and the Tsukumogami Lee Jay Walker Modern Tokyo Times Japanese folklore is full of fascinating spirits which have a wide variety of power. Some spirits and ghosts may be extremely dangerous while others may be much less harmless. The Kasa-obake (One Legged Umbrella Ghost) is an example [...]
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