Yanagawa's Picture Book- Humans c. 1856

Curator: I find myself immediately drawn to the sheer abundance of life depicted here, an unpretentious and joyful everydayness. Editor: Indeed. This print, "Yanagawa's Picture Book- Humans," comes to us from Yanagawa Shigenobu, dating back to about 1856. It’s part of the collection here at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, created using ink and color on paper. The composition is quite intriguing in that it appears as two pages with separate framed drawings, though the artist does seem to aim to encompass scenes with an array of people, presumably representative of daily activities, united across the single work. Curator: Absolutely. Each framed miniature seems like a frozen tableau capturing candid moments, rather than posed representations. Consider, for example, the figures fishing to the upper-left; the eye isn't drawn to them, but instead glances over to find these almost-forgotten characters. It invites a consideration of the composition and distribution of human form. Editor: Focusing on symbols, you could interpret each scenario as representative of a common type in that era. From vendors to entertainers and scholars, even simply the act of relaxing, Shigenobu condenses numerous Japanese life styles. Curator: The lines contribute to the sense of immediacy. Look how varied they are from bold strokes that define shapes to thin lines, particularly around the faces, imbuing each figure with character and movement, creating depth with their distinct styles of contouring and shading. Editor: It's fascinating to consider how these kinds of seemingly commonplace activities carry great cultural weight; the family making offerings, perhaps celebrating their ancestor. Also consider the various trade goods from that era being circulated in an almost informational or archival approach to documenting how different commodities shaped day-to-day life and culture in Japanese society. Curator: Precisely! We cannot understate the cultural coding involved with this approach, nor deny that it stands up to modern formal assessment of style, line, composition and arrangement, despite the relative lack of shadowing, perspective, or photorealism in general. Editor: It appears that Shigenobu's work successfully provides lasting insights into the traditions and symbolism inherent to this snapshot of Japanese life. Curator: Yes, in short the image holds both striking examples of technical acumen, but more endearingly holds powerful insight to Japanese art styles as well as culture in everyday settings.