| NOTA |
(★)(´AC-0014´ es mismo libro.)(Bustles and bonnets, the ´hai kara (high collar)´ gentlemen, lessons in Western-style protocol for the imperial family, and eating meat for ´civilization and enlightenment´ --such were the symbols of social reform in Meiji Japan. From the time that Perry arrived in 1853, and for roughly fifty years thereafter, Japan threw itself into one of the most amazing efforts for intense social change the world has ever seen.／ The slogan ´civilization and enlightenment´ blazed the way for this onslaught of change, and the woodblock print became the most popular means for conveying these changes to the populace. Printed in large quantities and readily available, these woodcuts have rarely been considered fine art. ´The World of the Meiji Print´ shows, however, that when viewed in the proper cultural context, their real significance can truly be appreciated, for their development closely paralleled the ideals of the Meiji oligarchy.／ Beginning with the first depictions of foreigners by woodblock artists in Yokohama in the 1860s, we then follow the national mood of pride in progress through the woodcuts of the 1870s, where everything from Western undershirts to the first trains or gas lights on the Ginza were portrayed in great detail. The 1880s vaunted the royal family and upper class as ´enlightened´ models of Western manners and style. During the 1890s Japan ventured for the first time into the international arena --on the battlefield-- and the woodcuts of the Sino-Japanese and Russo-Japanese wars demonstrate how prints instilled patriotic fervor.／ Julia Meech-Pekarik´s work with the Lincoln Kirstein collection of woodblock prints in ´The Metropolitan Museum of Art´ forms the basis of this lively and informative book about ´prints with a purpose´. She leads us right to the heart of Meiji´s love affair with ´new´ things, and brings to our attention many heretofore unknown woodcuts of great skill and charm. With over 200 illustrations --40 vividly reproducing the bold and brilliant colors so often associated with Meiji-- the spirit of the times comes alive in these pages. We understand how these prints, educational or satirical, often fanciful --but never dull-- offered ´graphic guidance to the citizens of a self-conscious society´.／ Surveying an unprecedented period in Japanese history, ´The World of the Meiji Print´ captures the spirit of these fascinating years and the exuberance of the artists who paid homage to the Cause. Important sociocultural documents, Meiji woodcuts have long deserved the thorough treatment they receive in this valuable addition to Japanese art history.／ ◆Julia Meech-Pekarik was guest curator of The Metropolitan Museum of Art exhibition of the Lincoln Kirstein collection of woodblock prints (May-September, 1986). Born in Toronto, Canada, she is a graduate of Smith College, and received her Ph. D. from Harvard University. Dr. Meech-Pekarik has lived in Europe and Japan, and has taught Japanese art history at Yale, Princeton, and the Institute of Fine Arts, New York University. During ten years on the curatorial staff at The Metropolitan Museum of Art she organized numerous exhibits, and she has written articles ranging from Japanese porcelain to the iconography of ´The Tale of Genji´.) |
BASE de DATOS, Biblioteca del Centro Cultural de la Embajada de Japon
Print Page