Among the numerous artistically enriching opportunities available throughout Madison, the Chazen Museum of Art's impressive exhibition of 120 works from its renowned Van Vleck collection of Japanese woodblock prints is both aesthetic and educational.
Competition and Collaboration: Japanese Prints and the Utagawa School"" displays woodblock prints of the Utagawa School artists that became the dominant mode of artistic and economic expression during the 18th and 19th centuries. The exhibition aims to provide an opportunity to explore in-depth the work of this important artistic school that was exceptionally successful in creating illustrations, prints and paintings that came to define ukiyo-e, or ""pictures of the floating world.""
The Utagawa School comprises various themes: pictures of beautiful women, actor's prints, warrior prints, landscape prints, erotica and prints of famous places. Although the school was founded by Utagawa Toyoharu, artists developed their own style and evolved this highly organized system of artistic production well into the 19th century.
This exhibition captures the climate of fierce competition and contemporary urban Japanese life through its six-part display. The prints are labeled by color and divided into sections to simplify the navigation process. While the prints are extremely detailed and visually appealing, to an untrained eye they seem similar. The descriptions accompanying each painting offer educational details that provide enough information to supply followers and newcomers alike with an aesthetic experience created by these dramatic scenes.
While the color coded paintings depict this fascinating world inhabited by beautiful geisha, fearless samurai, dramatic landscapes, magical creatures, talented actors and more, their differences become apparent through well-informed descriptions.
As the Utagawa School flourished well into Edo-period Japan (present-day Tokyo), each artist developed stylistic differences from one generation to the next. The detailed prints of grand summer festivals, regal processions and lively interior scenes of Kabuki theaters evolved as members of this artistic school established their own emphasis on style, subject and approach.
The six sections represent the evolution of the Utagawa School's woodblock prints that documented the vibrant and burgeoning urban population of Edo, through the excellent presentation and the straightforward captions guiding the exhibit.
The Van Vleck Collection includes more than 4,000 objects and is one of the country's most notable holdings of Japanese prints. Over half of the works in this diverse collection were produced by Utagawa School artists, and these eye-catching pieces glamorize the rich media that competed for the public's attention. In conjunction with the exhibit, a 256-page catalogue featuring full-color images of over 200 prints will be published.
This beautiful exhibition was organized by UW graduate student Laura Mueller and has drawn experts from Japan, Europe and throughout the United States.
In addition to the exhibition, UW Cinematheque and the Chazen Museum of Art have presented six restored masterpieces by Japanese director Kenji Mizoguchi. The seventh and final film, ""Sisters of Gion,"" will be shown Friday at 7:30 p.m., 4070 Vilas Hall, 821 University Avenue. Doors open at 7 p.m.
