At the Stroke of Midnight

February 3rd begins the 15-day celebration of the Chinese Year of the Rabbit. It is the longest and most festive of Chinese holidays. In China, it's known as the Spring Festival and everyone who follows tradition spends weeks before preparing for it.

Everything is swept and cleaned of the old year to let in the new year. (No sweeping is done during the first of the holiday for fear of sweeping out the good luck of the New Year.)Special foods are prepared, gifts are purchased, and sometimes a new coat of red paint is applied to windows and doors. Red being the color of the festival.

You see, there is an ancient legend that a mythical beast named Nien came and devoured everything - even children - on the first day of the New Year. So, every year the people put out food in hopes that the monster would not attack them. One day, a little child was wearing red clothes and the color frightened Nien. Hence the use of red for lanterns, scrolls and firecrackers to mark the Chinese New Year.

Scrolls and images are placed on doors and windows. Two of the oldest traditions of festival art are paper cutouts (on right)and wood-prints.

Wood-prints or nianhua are special to the New Year festival. These prints were actually a combination of wood prints and painting. (Nowadays it is done with offset printing and lithography.)

The prints are usually put on both sides of the door to keep evil away and allow only good luck to enter. These "door-gods" have evolved over a very long time (started circa 200 BCE).

The subjects evolved from deities and spirits to fat, healthy babies, flowers and birds. They represent health, wealth, good fortune, and happiness.




One last note: The Year of the Rabbit is about peace, calm, family and security. May it be so!

History and the Woman Artist

A few years ago, I attended an exhibition of woodblock prints at a local art museum. Since this was a show of ukiyo-e (see Blog Archives "Japonisme and the Impressionists"), there were a considerable number of works by Japanese masters. This was to be expected. However, there were also color print works of a very high quality rendered by late-19th/ early 20th century American and European women. I was surprised and intrigued. Curiosity got the best of me - always does - and I did some research.

I found that there were well-respected women woodblock artists and printers who studied in Asia - especially Japan. The ones who were highly recognized enjoyed sold-out exhibitions, solo shows in Japan and acceptance into the inner circles of art. Some of the women artists/printers who enjoyed that kind of fame during their lifetimes included Helen Hyde, Elizabeth Keith and Bertha Lum. (Hyde print at top left; Keith on right; Lum on left)

Characteristically, they were focused and independent-minded women. Keith prided herself on being a self-taught artist, Lum was married but went to Japan to study, and Hyde, who never married, was delighted when her art allowed her financial independence. Lum and Keith would live into the 1950s. Yet, what do we know of them today?

Historically, there are few women artists whose works are known in wider circles. In all probability, almost anyone can name 20 or more male artists for every one woman artist who has reached such a lasting reputation. Why do you think that is?

Japonisme and the Impressionists

There I was sitting in Early Modern Art History class in a darkened room admiring large slide-screen images of paintings by artists such as Monet, Pisarro, Degas, Van Gogh and Renoir. I dreamed of the day when I could stand in the presence of these works of art. However, before I could do that I had to pass the class and the required (and dreaded) final essay. This meant I needed to do some serious research.

Online and in the library I found many interesting facts about the major influences on the Early Modern artists. One of those was Japanese woodblock prints known as "ukiyo-e." (This will be a future topic.)

The story goes that when the French were exposed to Japanese art and culture in the 19th century, it became a craze. "Japonisme" was coined by the French for all things Japanese. Among the many Japanese imports, were Japanese art prints which served as wrapping paper for the imported goods.

The principles of ukiyo-e deeply influenced certain young artists who longed for an innovative approach to painting. They wanted to move away from the strict rigor or order required for art at that time. They found ukiyo-e designs exciting in their differences... ...asymmetrical compositions with strong lines of delineation, areas of intricate patterns and large areas of unshaded flat colors.

Some of the better-known artists whose work we admire today studied the techniques and developed a blend of both western and eastern methods. Names of some of the artists include : Mary Cassatt, Van Gogh, Monet, Toulouse-Lautrec and Degas.

On the two paintings below, can you spot some of the ukiyo-e influence? Care to take a stab at the names of the artists? (Hint: It's definitely not Moe, Curly or Larry.)