Fans 1909 - 1910

Editor: This lovely watercolor and ink drawing is called "Fans," created around 1909 or 1910 by Kamisaka Sekka. I’m immediately struck by the patterns, especially the juxtaposition of organic floral designs against the more rigid, geometric shapes on the fans. It feels very modern. What can you tell me about this piece? Curator: It's tempting to only look at the images represented, but consider the materials and their origins. The paper itself, likely a carefully sourced washi, and the pigments...they all speak to specific methods of production within Japanese society at the turn of the century. Where were these materials coming from? Who was involved in their creation, distribution, and ultimately, their consumption? Editor: That's a good point; I tend to focus just on the image. Thinking about the *making* shifts my understanding. Does the choice of watercolor over traditional woodblock printing impact your reading of it? Curator: Absolutely. The choice to render this with watercolor, a more 'painterly' medium, complicates any easy association with traditional Ukiyo-e printmaking. Was this a deliberate distancing? Sekka's labour and skill is prominently on display using watercolours which has more in common with Western traditions, blurring these social and aesthetic boundaries. Editor: So, the artist's choices regarding materials and techniques challenge established notions of craft and fine art? Curator: Precisely! This challenges the status of traditional crafts in Japan with increasing Western influence and a departure from printmaking's collaborative manufacturing process.. Sekka perhaps encourages us to acknowledge artistic decisions which may otherwise be missed. Editor: I've never considered the socio-economic context so closely. Curator: Looking closely at production provides context for meaning beyond aesthetics, highlighting labour, access, and innovation. Editor: Thanks. I’ll remember that material lens going forward.