Kanpei's Wife Okaru Possibly 1806

Editor: This woodblock print, “Kanpei’s Wife Okaru,” possibly from 1806, by Kitagawa Utamaro, has such an intriguing flat perspective and delicate coloring. It’s very different from the European art of the time! What can you tell me about the work through a materialist lens? Curator: The fascinating aspect here is the entire system of labor embedded within this image. Ukiyo-e prints weren't solitary artistic acts, but collaborative productions. Utamaro, the designer, relied on skilled block cutters and printers, often from marginalized social groups. Editor: So the process wasn't individual but rather something closer to factory-made. Curator: Exactly. Analyzing the woodblock’s production, the sourcing of materials like cherry wood for the blocks and the pigments used for color, all reflect the economic and social structures of Edo-period Japan. What kind of meaning is built by it being a "print," reproducible on some scale, instead of unique? Editor: It allowed for wider consumption and affordability. The image became a commodity, accessible to a broader audience than a painting on silk ever could. It challenges a hierarchy, and it's no longer the elites who get to access beauty or express meaning. Curator: And this democratization through the reproducible image disrupts traditional power structures. By viewing ukiyo-e as a product of collective labor, we start seeing this as more than just a pretty picture. We're seeing encoded production processes, cultural dissemination and socioeconomic relationships. Editor: That's a powerful perspective, considering artmaking as more collaborative and how the materials reflect and drive consumption and production processes. Thank you.