White doves on drum Possibly 1861

Curator: Let’s talk about this work entitled "White doves on drum", which the Minneapolis Institute of Art dates possibly to 1861. It is an ink and color-on-paper woodblock print by Busetsu. My first thought: spare. What about you? Editor: That's precisely the word that jumped to mind. The palette is hushed, the lines minimal. It’s as if the artist aimed for the essence of things. The doves perched atop the drum immediately draw the eye, their white plumage contrasting with the dark tomoe symbol on the drum itself. I love how the almost ghostlike quality lends a serene, meditative quality. Curator: Ukiyo-e prints, particularly those done in landscape style, often reflect that search for a certain harmony in nature and a rather sublime, fleeting moment. But there is that striking text and the presence of symbols in a tight pictorial plane; all are designed for visual interplay between figure and ground. Editor: Absolutely. Notice, too, how the cascading, delicate, dark-green tendrils seem to spill around the drum; is it not working against the rigid structure, as it’s inviting our senses to something organic and untamed? What do you think of the calligraphic inscription accompanying the image, which in itself suggests something symbolic, don't you think? Curator: Well, it could very well function as both text and form, something aesthetic unto itself and intrinsic to the scene. This form emphasizes a conceptual theme, possibly as much as a mood. Editor: Hmmm, quite so; its elegant brushstrokes really compliment the naturalism depicted nearby. Speaking of symbolism, perhaps those two doves suggest something, perhaps a moment in the unfolding narrative or even an emotion rendered tangible. Curator: One last thought, the drum is the only geometrical device against the doves in that relatively untouched light space, and maybe those elements tell a very different kind of story, where those doves speak more metaphorically about a kind of aesthetic balance and tension on the brink of freedom and restriction? Editor: Ah, that is what is so intriguing; whether one is looking at this as an artifact for its aesthetic value, something about this speaks of a narrative of duality and impermanence!