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(★)(Everyone knows Kyoto as one of the world´s great cities, Japan´s ancient capital, bathed in a refined and gentle spirit, the center of Japanese culture and history. But rarely do people see beneath Kyoto´s elegance to the strong, living framework on which this vibrant metropolis rests. In the present volume, noted artist Clifton Karhu brings forth his twenty years of residence in Kyoto in an extraordinary series of woodblock prints, revealing a vital new side of his adopted city.／ Karhu is one of the few non-Japanese to have received wide acclaim in Japan for work in a traditional Japanese art form. Since he took up print-making in 1963, his works have been highly praised in the Japanese press and professional art circles. Karhu´s paintings in oils, water-colors, and sumi ink have also received numerous prizes.／ Rather than concentrating on the famous tourist sights, Karhu draws the Kyoto he sees every day --the lively geisha districts of Gion and Pontocho, the graceful sea of town-house roof tiles, the historical temples, shrines, and palaces, and rural scenes from the surrounding countryside. Karhu´s medium of wood is perfectly suited to the combination of strength and elegance he has found in Kyoto. And his bold style --black outlines accented by a perceptive use of color-- opens our eyes to the city as if for the first time.／ Here the Kyoto prints are collected in one volume, with Karhu´s personal comments on both the designs and his unusual life as a woodblock artist in Japan. This combination of thoughtful, informative text and colorful woodblock prints provides a unique opportunity to rediscover Kyoto, for everyone from the armchair traveler to the long-time resident of Japan.／ ◆Clifton Karhu, artist and connoisseur of Japanese life, was born in Minnesota in 1927. He first came to Japan in 1947 with the Occupation forces. After attending art school in America, Karhu returned to Japan in 1955. He lived in several Japanese cities, finally moving in 1962 to Kyoto, where he began to study woodblock printing techniques. Since then, his superb prints have been exhibited and admired all over the world. Karhu still makes his home in Kyoto with his wife, Lois, and three children. ▼CONTENTS／ ●Woodblock Prints／ Amusements／ City Life／ Worship／ Elegance／ Countryside／ ●Making a Woodblock Print／ ●A Woodblock Artist´s Life／) |
BASE de DATOS, Biblioteca del Centro Cultural de la Embajada de Japon
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