Geisha by Brazier 1925

Curator: This lovely woodblock print, dating from 1925, is titled “Geisha by Brazier,” attributed to Shotei Takahashi. Editor: She seems lost in thought, or perhaps just weary. The cool grays and blues contribute to a feeling of quiet melancholy. Curator: Takahashi worked primarily within the ukiyo-e tradition, a Japanese art movement that flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries, and its revival period during the 20th. This is evident in the emphasis on beauty and everyday life, with courtesans being a common subject. Editor: Is it a bit romanticized? There’s definitely an exoticized element at play, this sort of wistful portrayal...I find myself wondering about the socio-political forces framing how we look. What about gender, identity, race, the artist’s viewpoint? It's hard to escape how Western perceptions influenced such imagery. Curator: Perhaps. It’s worth noting that many Western artists also created depictions of geishas during this period. The fascination worked both ways, with a sort of mutual gaze and influence taking place. Look at the detailing in her kimono, and the subtle gradations of color achieved with the woodblocks, I feel like that speaks to how it moves past just being about orientalism. It elevates beyond pastiche. Editor: I see what you mean about the details, like the hair ornaments and her hands poised, but still, it all feels so filtered. How much do we *really* see the person, beyond what the artist wants us to? Or what our own cultural conditioning dictates? I guess it's just a question I cannot dismiss. Curator: And rightly so. It’s through such questions that we come to a richer understanding of ourselves and the art that reflects us. And how our own biases are placed into them too, I suppose. It can also move past just viewing it through a sociological and feminist lens, perhaps opening more ways in how we may perceive artwork like this in the future. Editor: Precisely. And art, ultimately, should push us to question, reconsider, and feel...sometimes uncomfortably so.