Special Spring Exhibition Munakata Shiko – The Hanga Challenge
Exhibit Period
April 20 (Fri) to June 3, 2007 (Sun)
Exhibit Times
9:30 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.
(last admissions at 4:30 p.m.)
Museum closed
Closed Mondays, but open on April 30
Admission Fee
Adults: 700 (630) yen; High School, College Students: 400 (360) yen Elementary, Junior High School Students: 100 (90) yen * Fees in parentheses are group rates for 20 or more patrons * Free admission for patrons aged 70 years and over * Half-price for patrons with accessibility and special needs,and for one accompanying caregiver
Overview
In cooperation with Munakata Shiko Memorial Museum of Art, we bring to you “Munakata Shiko - The Hanga Challenge.”
Munakata Shiko was born in 1903 in Aomori City, Aomori, the third son of a blacksmith. From a young age, he possessed a talent for art and a love for literature. He quietly pursued his infatuation with art by studying oil painting on his own. However, at eighteen years of age, he was deeply impressed by Van Gogh’s works and resolved to be an artist. Not long after, he switched his focus to woodblock print production. It was through encounters with poets and artists who led folklore reform that Munakata gave birth to works featuring literature and religion as motifs.
Each of these works is labeled hanga, where the han used here means the wood boards, which to Munakata were the very essence of woodblock printing. Munakata’s intense character is let loose through bold compositions of stark, black-and-white contrasts.
Our museum has endeavored to introduce the ukiyoe that flourished in the Edo period, but in Munakata’s post-ukiyoe woodblock prints, the possibilities of the woodblock itself reach one of its highest expressions.
We welcome you to discover, through these independently crafted woodblock prints, Munakata’s view of the world.
Museum Talk
Presented by one of our curators on the following Saturdays:
April 21, 2007 from 1:30 p.m.
May 5, 2007 from 1:30 p.m.
May 26, 2007 from 1:30 p.m.