Two Spooks Peering from Verandah School of Hokusai 

Curator: Let’s discuss this intriguing print, Two Spooks Peering from Verandah, by Katsushika Hokusai. Editor: My goodness, it's delightfully unsettling! The spooks' eyes are huge and bulging, almost comical. But then you notice how many eyes there are...a shiver goes down my spine! Curator: Hokusai, famed for his woodblock prints, masterfully uses line and color here. Consider the texture created by the wood grain, the flat planes of color, all serving the narrative. What do you make of the seemingly unfinished state? Editor: It feels like a sketch, a playful doodle almost. There's such freedom in the execution, as if Hokusai was inviting us into his own imagination, into the workshop of his mind. Curator: Indeed! Hokusai was deeply invested in making prints accessible to the common person. His art was both for the market and for the people, a complex intersection of craft and culture. Editor: This piece definitely transcends time. The spooks, the verandah, and the artist's hand create a captivating and timeless story that resonates with the present.