Daily Art Fixx

visual arts blog, painting, drawing, sculpture, illustration and more!

Katsushika Hokusai: 36 Views of Mount Fuji

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Katsushika Hokusai - Great Wave Off KanagawaBorn in the autumn of 1760, Hokusai was a Japanese artist, ukiyo-e painter and printmaker of the Edo period. As a child, he learned woodblock cutting and was apprenticed to a book-lending shop. At the age of 19, he studied at the school of Katsukawa Shunsho, a leading woodblock artisan of the time, who was known for his portraits of popular actors.

Hokusai studied the techniques of the Kano Yusen, Tsutsumi Torin, and the Sumiyoshi Naikie schools. He was also greatly intrigued by the Western art that entered Japan through Dutch trading.

Beginning in 1814, Hokusai published his Hokusai Manga sketchbooks. The popular books contained thousands of drawings of people, religious figures, and animals.

Hokusai’s “36 views of Mount Fuji” are his best-known prints and are among the most famous of the Japanese woodcuts. He was 69 when he began the project and was already known for his painting, book illustration and surimono (commissioned prints) designs. Hokusai worked on the series for almost ten years before its publication in 1830 and they are considered by many to be his best work. After the original publication, due to their popularity, ten more prints were added.

Hokusai was a prolific artist and in his lifetime produced more than 30,000 print designs. He is said to have been an eccentric man with a restless nature. He changed his artistic name more than thirty times in his career, and changed his residence 93 times. He lived a long and productive life, continuing to produce prints well into his eighties.

Katsushika Hokusai died on April 18, 1849 at the age of 89.  His last words were “If heaven gives me ten more years, or an extension of even five years, I shall surely become a true artist.”

To view the complete series of 36 (plus 10 extra) Views of Mount Fuji, visit Wikipedia.

Sources: Artelino, Wikipedia, Monash University

Akira Yoshizawa: Origami

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Origami, the traditional Japanese art of paper folding, stems from the Japanese verb oru  (to fold), and the noun kami (paper). Thought to have originated in the 6th century, origami artists make geometric folds and crease patterns to create representations of objects and animals.  Most Origami is created with Japanese washi, a strong paper,  preferably without gluing or cutting, and using only one piece of paper.

While Japan is recognized as the country that most fully developed the traditional art of origami, paper folding also took place independently in Spain,  Germany and other countries.

Considered to be the master, Akira Yoshizawa is credited with elevating origami into a serious form of figurative art. Born, in 1911, he was a factory worker in Tokyo until the mid-1930’s when he decided to pursue his art. Before WWII, Yoshizawa also studied for two years as a Buddhist priest, never entering a monastery, but remaining a devout Buddhist throughout his life.

For more than twenty years, Yoshizawa created his paper sculptures, earning a living by selling fish door to door.  In the 1950’s, Yoshizawa gained recognition after being commissioned by a Japanese magazine to fold the 12 signs of the Japanese zodiac. The feature led to exhibitions in Japan and Amsterdam.

Yoshizawa’s work is considered to be more sculptural art than folded paper. Known for his simple lines, inspired by the natural world, Yoshizawa folded animated birds, gorillas, dragons, fish, plants and flowers.  Yoshizawa is also known for his innovative folding techniques and for creating a system of origami instructions that are universally accessible.

Yoshizawa never sold any of his models and said that he considered them to be his children. He wrote 18 origami books that diagrammed a few hundred of his designs though it is estimated that he created more than 50,000 models.

Yoshizawa’s origami has been exhibited around the world and including the Cooper Union in New York, and the Louvre. In 1983, he received the Order of the Rising Sun, a national decoration awarded by the Japanese Government.  Yoshizawa died on March 14, 2005 in hospital in Ogikubo, from complications of pneumonia, on his 94th birthday.

Sources: NY Times, Wikipedia, TimesUK, Joseph Wu

Shintaro Ohata: Sculptural Painting

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Born in 1975 in Hiroshima, Japan, Tokyo based artist Shintaro Ohata creates a combination of two and three dimensional sculptural paintings depicting  daily unintentional scenes as if they were frames in graphic novels.

See more of Ohata’s work at Yukari Art. You can also see some of his earlier more traditional work on his personal website ( in Japanese – click the green symbol)

Sayaka Ganz: Reclaimed Creations

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Boris-II-Sayaka-GanzSome recent work from  Sayaka Ganz (featured).  Ganz was born in Yokohama, Japan and grew up living in Japan, Brazil, and Hong Kong. Currently she teaches design and drawing courses at Indiana University–Purdue University Fort Wayne (IPFW).  Using reclaimed scrap metal and plastic household objects as her materials, Sayaka’s recent sculptures depict animals in motion.

“Scrap metal pieces themselves are ultimately what trigger my imagination to create these animal sculptures. Every piece has its own history and memory, bent, torn and rusted from being used outdoors for a long time. They are lifelike and organic in that sense. Looking at them inspires me and almost instinctively I see, for example, a dog’s head, a bird’s leg, or a deer’s back. Then in response I go and find other pieces that could fit to create the whole animal.”

To see more, visit SayakaGanz.com.

TateShots: Kusama’s Obliteration Room

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Yayoi-Kusama-Obliteration-RoomRecently showing at the Tate Modern, Yayoi Kusama’s interactive Obliteration Room began as an entirely white space, furnished as a monochrome living room, which people were then invited to ‘obliterate’ with multi-coloured stickers. After a few weeks the room was transformed from a blank canvas into an explosion of colour, with thousands of spots stuck over every available surface. It was conceived as a project for children, and was first staged at the Queensland Art Gallery in 2002.  Check out more videos from the Tate at Channel.Tate.org.uk.

Manabu Ikeda: Mixed Media

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Born in 1973 in Saga, Japan, Manabu Ikeda currently lives and works in Tokyo.  Ikeda has a BA in Design and an MA from Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music.

Ikeda has exhibited his incredibly dense and detailed drawings in numerous solo and group shows in Japan as well as in Germany, Canada, Korea, and Italy. His work is in the public collections of Hamamatsu Municipal Museum of Art in Shizuoka, the Mori Art Museum in Tokyo, and the Obuse Museum in Nagano, Japan.

From March 18, 2011 to June 12, 2011, he is participating in the group show “Bye Bye Kitty” at the Japan Society in New York.  “Moving far beyond the stereotypes of kawaii and otaku culture, Japan Society’s show features sixteen emerging and mid-career artists whose paintings, objects, photographs, videos, and installations meld traditional styles with challenging visions of Japan’s troubled present and uncertain future. Each of the three sections, “Critical Memory,” “Threatened Nature,” and “Unquiet Dream,” not only offers a feast for the senses but also demolishes our preconceptions about contemporary Japan and its art.”

To see more of Ikeda’s work, visit Mizuma Art.

Hiroshi Nonami: Photography

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Hiroshi-NonamiAs I read through bios and interviews of photographers that I feature, one name often comes up among them that is listed as a favourite or major influence.  That name is Japanese photographer Hiroshi Nonami.

Born in 1954 Matsue City, in the Shimane Prefecture of Japan, Nonami graduated from the Osaka Photography Academy in 1974  and founded his Studio No-ah in 1979.

Nonami is known for his gothic, dreamlike photographs of  statuesque women, and his work is described as reminiscent of mythology or classic art.

When you first see a Nonami photograph, you instantly think Photoshop – but think again.  All of Nonami’s images are made by hand using a number of techniques including letting mold grow on the film (to create stains and patterns), and stacking his slides to combine images.  Often times, Nonami cannot precisely tell what the resulting image will be and sometimes errors make for better images.

Nonami’s work has been exhibited in numerous cities in Japan, the United States, and Europe. He has published six books of his photographs including “Abyss” (1993, 2000), a photo book of the Music Group Luna Sea (1995), “Eureka” (1995), “Chaos” (1997),  a photo book of actress Makiko Esumi (1999), and “Mousa” (2005).

Sadly, there doesn’t seem to be much information online about Nonami and previous links to his “official website” are now inactive. You can see more of his photographs at Canal Blog.

Sources: Mondo Bizzarro Gallery

Hideaki Kawashima: Painting

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Born in Aichi Prefecture, Hideaki Kawashima is a Japanese artist currently living and working in Tokyo, Japan. Kawashima graduated from Tokyo Zokei University in 1991 and in 1995 he trained for two years as a Buddhist monk.”Influenced by painter Mark Ryden and photographers Pierre et Gilles, he and his otherworldly figures plot out an ethereal vision that is gaining popularity throughout Asia, Europe, and recently in the United States.”

To see more, visit Richard Heller Gallery and Facebook.

 

Michihiro Matsuoka: Childhood Dreams @ Artishox Gallery

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DAF favourite Michihiro Matsuoka is having his first European exhibition entitled “Childhood Dreams” at Artishox Gallery in Hasselt, Belgium.

“Born in 1969, living and working in Ichinomiya-shi, Aichi, Japan. Matsuoka finds inspiration from his childhood memories and deteriorated toys and devices out of that period. He urges the viewer a kind of nostalgic feeling with the ´worn-out´ sculptures that are a blend of various animals, fish, boats, vehicles and machinery. Matsouka primarily uses industrial resin clay and other materials for his work. The sculptures are meticulously finished with acrylic paint, which aids his desire to express the progression of time.”

“Childhood Deams” runs through November 27, 2011.  For more information, visit MichihiroMatsuoka.com or Artishox.com. You can also see photos from the exhibition on Artishox’s Facebook Page.

Note: The images below are examples of Matsuoka’s recent work. Contact Artishox Gallery for available pieces.