Fishing in the Bay Uraga 

This print, Fishing in the Bay Uraga, was made by Katsushika Hokusai. The quiet atmosphere and cool palette of blues and greys creates an effect that is almost monochromatic. The composition is arranged in horizontal bands with the landscape, sea, and sky stacked one above the other. The placement of the fishermen in the lower foreground establishes a visual pathway into the scene. The viewer's eye is drawn along the winding shoreline dotted with people towards the horizon. Hokusai plays with perspective, compressing the distance between the foreground and background. This creates a flattened picture plane, characteristic of traditional Japanese prints, which affects our spatial perception. Note the abstract quality of the cloud-like formations in the foreground. Do they float on water or are they a feature of the landscape? Hokusai uses these ambiguous shapes to destabilize our understanding of space. In this way, the formal elements of line, color, and composition challenge fixed meanings and engage with new ways of thinking about perception and representation.