Wilde komkommer met volle maan 1887 - 1945

Editor: This is "Wild Cucumber and Full Moon," a woodblock print created by Ohara Koson, sometime between 1887 and 1945. It's currently held in the Rijksmuseum's collection. What's grabbing you first about this, visually? Curator: Hmm, well, it’s whispering something quiet and still. That hazy moon – is it even there, or just a memory? It feels like a moment caught between realities, where the mundane and the magical braid together. Editor: Absolutely, that liminal space feels central to so many ukiyo-e prints. Look at the sharp contrast: the realism of the vegetable with its slightly furry surface set against the near-abstract flatness of the moon and background. Curator: Right! Like a single frame from a forgotten dream. The cucumber, though, that’s where the heartbeat is. Something vital pushing through all the etherealness. It's this humble, earthly thing made somehow…holy, or at least luminous. Editor: I read the prominent display of vegetation, especially when presented with this quiet reverence, as a subtle commentary on sustenance and survival. Perhaps a visual echo of agrarian struggles and our intricate relationship with nature. What does it mean to depict food in this almost reverential light? Curator: Maybe Koson's suggesting that even in the smallest, most everyday object, there’s something to be revered. The veins in the leaves, that tiny creature crawling on the cucumber...he seems to find significance in those details. It reminds me that mindfulness isn’t just a head-space thing. It's a bodily, grounded practice of seeing. Editor: Grounded and political. Koson created these prints during a period of intense Westernization in Japan. By celebrating traditional subjects, perhaps he was reclaiming a specific cultural identity amid a globalizing world. Curator: Mmh, that makes sense. There's a gentle resistance in stillness, isn’t there? A quiet claiming of space. It speaks to the resilience of the commonplace, doesn't it? Editor: It absolutely does. And thinking about that delicate balance—the boldness and subtlety woven together—enriches my viewing experience immensely. Curator: Mine too. Suddenly that cucumber feels a lot heavier, carrying not just dew drops but a whole world of quiet strength. Thanks for the view, it has been quite thought-provoking.