Sericulture Chamber c. 1768 - 1770

Curator: The eroticism in this print, made from ink and colors on paper, immediately leaps out, doesn’t it? Such detailed lines, such soft, natural coloration. Editor: It’s not just about pleasure. It’s a pointed representation of sexuality as entangled with labor and social visibility. This is Suzuki Harunobu’s "Sericulture Chamber," created around 1768-1770. Curator: Labor? Well, yes, the sericulture reference is intriguing—those silkworm trays certainly dominate the upper register—but it feels almost incidental. I’m far more drawn to the sinuous lines of the figures, the flat planes of color and the way that erotic tension is mirrored in the gaze of the voyeur. Editor: I read his gaze quite differently; his self-bondage functions as an allegory for societal constraints upon marginalized individuals and oppressed communities. And while you are taken with the sensual, Harunobu, and ukiyo-e prints in general, spoke volumes about the transient nature of life. The erotic print had specific meaning beyond immediate sexual titillation, and reflected political moods. Curator: Politically charged eroticism in the floating world of Edo period Japan… quite the heady cocktail. And yet, the lines, the subtle shading, all these aesthetic qualities can’t be ignored. To focus on socio-political dynamics is to dismiss what makes art, well, art. I feel that by solely focusing on issues of race, gender and class we end up undermining our appreciation for line, composition, color theory, which are also crucial aspects of this complex work of art. Editor: Dismissing these aesthetic concerns is hardly my intention. But dismissing the blatant socioeconomic commentary here would also seem amiss! How can we disentangle personal and interpersonal relations in “Sericulture Chamber” from the modes of production? Moreover, the act of erotic viewing also calls upon an interrogation of who is empowered to gaze and to be gazed upon. Curator: I still see the central narrative being the sensual, visual pleasure of a refined world expressed in graceful, subtle compositions. But maybe what intrigues is the ongoing tension of seeing it both ways. Editor: Yes. And with greater reflection, Harunobu also grants us room to investigate social realities, particularly those associated with sexuality and labor at this very important historic intersection.