['Shirai Gonpachi under full moon', 'Sonnijô compared to Shirai Gonpachi', 'Present-day Suikoden'] 1861 - 1869

Editor: Here we have "Shirai Gonpachi under full moon" a woodblock print from the 1860s by Utagawa Kunisada, found at the Rijksmuseum. The flat planes of color and the stylized figure give it a very theatrical feel. What is your perspective on this artwork? Curator: Considering Kunisada's ukiyo-e print through a materialist lens, I'm drawn to the process of its creation. Think about the labor involved: the carver translating the artist's design onto wood, the printer carefully layering colors. Each stage reveals the material conditions of artistic production in Edo-period Japan. The mass production of these prints meant they were accessible and widely consumed. It challenges our Western notions of the precious art object. Editor: So, you are saying it blurs the boundaries between art and commodity? Curator: Exactly. And it asks us to think about who could afford this type of print, and how it circulated. Were these prints bought by wealthy merchants to align themselves with Edo Period culture, or were they part of a more democratized artistic expression available to tradespeople and laborers? What does the "Present-day Suikoden" reference in one of the alternate titles tell us about its intended audience? Editor: That’s a great point. Thinking about how widely these images circulated really shifts the focus away from just the artist’s intent, to consider distribution, affordability, and consumption as aspects of artistic creation. I’ll definitely look at woodblock prints differently now. Curator: Agreed. It encourages us to go beyond the image and delve into the economic and social networks that gave it meaning.