Edo Pop: Woodblock Prints and Popular Culture in Premodern Japan
Kabukidō Enkyō, 1749-1803. Actor Ichikawa Yaozō III as Umeōmaru, 1796. Color woodblock print. Minneapolis Institute of Art, Bequest of Richard P. Gale, 74.1.192.
Matthew Welch, Ph.D.
Deputy Director and Chief Curator, Minneapolis Institute of Art
With their crisp outlines, unmodulated colors, and surprising vantage points, Japanese woodblock prints (ukiyo-e) from the 18th and 19th centuries seem as fresh and captivating today as when they were produced. Sensuality, fashion, decadent entertainments and urban pastimes all reflect the popular tastes of young sophisticates in the premodern era. Matthew Welch, Deputy Director and Chief Curator at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts will provide an overview of the social milieu of Japan's "floating world," and the artists who immortalized it through their prints. He will also discuss several contemporary artists whose works reference the ukiyo-e tradition.
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