Stencil for Illustrated Don Quixote (Ehon Don Kihōte) Possibly 1936

Curator: Here we have Serizawa Keisuke's stencil for an illustrated version of Don Quixote, titled "Ehon Don Kihōte." Editor: It feels so stark, almost brutal. The contrast is severe, and the text is…imposing. I wonder what the original context was. Curator: Serizawa was deeply engaged in mingei, the Japanese folk art movement. He saw beauty and value in everyday, handcrafted objects. This stencil, likely used for textile printing, emphasizes the labor of production. Editor: Right. So, it's not just about Cervantes; it's about the act of creation, the material process. Stencils are inherently reproducible, democratic almost. The black ink feels heavy, but with the intention of making something more accessible? Curator: Precisely. The act of repetition transforms the narrative, grounding grand stories in the tangible. Editor: Seeing the care in the stencil-making, the hand involved, I begin to imagine the fabric it might have adorned. It shifts my perception entirely.