TWO BIRDS IN A BLOSSOMING TREE (PICTURES OF BIRDS AND FLOWERS, "UME NI UGUISU NI U SODORI-OBAN) c. 19th century

Editor: Here we have Utagawa Hiroshige's "Two Birds in a Blossoming Tree". It’s a print, which lends itself to mass production, and the composition feels very deliberate. What’s striking to you about this piece? Curator: Notice the woodblock printmaking. The labor involved in carving and printing. The materials themselves – the wood, the paper, the inks – were all commodities within a specific social and economic system. Editor: So, you're saying the value isn’t just in the image but also in the process and what it represents about society at the time? Curator: Precisely. How does understanding the material conditions of its production change your perception of the artwork? Editor: That’s a really interesting way to look at it. It makes you think about accessibility and consumption differently. Curator: Indeed. We move beyond aesthetics to the means of making.