Kabukid? Enky?, 1749-1803. Actor Ichikawa Yaoz? III as Ume?maru, 1796.
Color woodblock print. Minneapolis Institute of Art, Bequest of Richard P. Gale, 74.1.192.. Courtesy image.
SANTA BARBARA — The Santa Barbara Museum of Art (SBMA), to present Edo Pop: Woodblock Prints and Popular Culture in Premodern Japan, an Art Matters Lecture with Matthew Welch, Deputy Director and Chief Curator, Minneapolis Institute of Art at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 7 at SBMA’s Mary Craig Auditorium, 1130 State St., Santa Barbara.
With their crisp outlines, unmodulated colors, and surprising vantage points, Japanese woodblock prints (ukiyo-e) from the 18th and 19th centuries seem as fresh and captivating today as when they were produced. Sensuality, fashion, decadent entertainments and urban pastimes all reflect the popular tastes of young sophisticates in the premodern era. Matthew Welch will provide an overview of the social milieu of Japan’s “floating world” and the artists who immortalized it through their prints. He will also discuss several contemporary artists whose works reference the ukiyo-e tradition.
Free Students and Museum Circle/$10 SBMA Members/$15 Non-Members
Get tickets at tickets.sbma.net