East Asian Works on Paper Opens June 14 at IWU

BLOOMINGTON, Ill.— Art critics consider Hiroshige to be the greatest Japanese artist of the woodblock print. Impressionist Van Gogh was a fan of Hiroshige, and novelist James Michener called him, "the Japanese master par excellence of poetic atmosphere in the landscape print."

Art lovers will have an opportunity to decide for themselves when the work of Hiroshige headlines Illinois Wesleyan’s upcoming art exhibit, East Asian Works on Paper.

Beginning June 14 and concluding on August 19, the show will feature approximately 80 works on paper on anonymous loan to the show, and from IWU’s collection of Japanese prints.

The Joyce Eichhorn Ames School of Art will host the exhibit, Friday through Monday, from noon to 3 p.m. There will be an opening reception on Sunday, June 16 from 1 p.m. to 3 p.m.

On Sunday, July 14, Professor Kimiko Gunji, director of the Japan House at the University of Illinois, will demonstrate a Tea Ceremony (Chado) from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. The Japanese believe that through tea, recognition is given that every human encounter is a singular occasion which can, and will, never recur again exactly the same way. Therefore, every aspect of tea must be savored for what it gives the participants. In the ceremony, Gunji will include an explanation of its historical background and its relation to Zen philosophy. She will also discuss in what ways this centuries-old art has influenced contemporary Japan’s industry as well as the daily life of Japanese people.

According to Ellen Achin Myers, assistant art curator at IWU, some of the Japanese prints to be displayed are very rare and highly collected. The distinguishing characteristic of the show lies in its variety highlighting many notable artists.

"Hiroshige is said to have produced over 5,000 prints during his lifetime," said Myers. "His most famous series is the Tokaido Road. We have 17 of that series in the show out of 53 images." The show will also feature a signed watercolor, dated 1937 by Tsuguharu (Leonard) Foujita, (Untitled). Foujita was born in Tokyo in 1886, however according to a published brochure about the exhibit, Foujita considered himself a French painter (and printmaker) of Japanese birth. He later took the name of Leonard after he became a French citizen in 1955.

Other artists on exhibit will be Hiroshi Yoshida (Sailing Boats, Forenoon, 1926); Utagawa Kunisada (Actors, c. 1840), Kosai, and Kunichika, who produced prints of actors, sets of historical views and storybook illustration and landscapes. In addition to the Japanese prints, the exhibition will also feature the work of Frenchman Paul Jacoulet. Jacoulet was born in France and moved to Japan at the age of four, and at the age of 37, had his own print publishing company.