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How does that explain it's enduring modern appeal?

DylanDmitri 6y ago
There's maybe ten woodblocks with the potential for enduring modern appeal. But only one had an initial popularity spike that let it break through and claim enough cultural real estate to become self sufficient.
- lostlogin 6y ago
  > There's maybe ten woodblocks with the potential for enduring modern appeal. Do you have links to any of them? Is love to see others that are considered great.
  - User23 6y ago
    I'm a big fan of both Dürer and Blake's woodcuts. Their appeal is certainly enduring, but I don't think any single work is as recognizable to the average person as the Great Wave.
    - lostlogin 6y ago
      I think I’d misinterpreted DylanDmitri’s comment as meaning there were 9 other Japanese woodcut masters.
TheOtherHobbes 6y ago
It's mysterious but familiar enough to be easy to read and has a strong narrative. It has also become iconic. So it's reproduced more often than other 浮世絵 prints, and the public is more aware of it than of other art in the tradition.
- ghaff 6y ago
  It may also be worth observing that a lot of Japanese woodblock art is of very traditional subjects, e.g. somewhat stereotypical geisha scenes, upper-class women, etc. A lot of Hokusai's work branched out as did some mode modern woodblock artists. This is hardly unique to Japan. Look how many Madonna and Child or Crucifixion scenes there were in Renaissance paintings.
dfxm12 6y ago
The article talks about how it influenced many artists from later generations, especially with impressionists. Impressionism was popular enough that researchers understood this through line pretty well. This image continues to influence artists today. Check out the cover of this Debussy composition: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_mer_(Debussy) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_mer_(Debussy). There aren't such homages on this scale to others like Yoshitoshi or Sharaku. There were also a lot of prints of this thing, which means many museums can have a print and display it, so it reaches a larger audience that way, too. Visitors to LA, NY, Chicago, London, Brussels, and more have always been able to see a print. From there, the image of the Great Wave exists in merchandising, which the article also mentions. Uniqlo made a shirt with the image printed all over it.

There's maybe ten woodblocks with the potential for enduring modern appeal. But only one had an initial popularity spike that let it break through and claim enough cultural real estate to become self sufficient.

lostlogin 6y ago
> There's maybe ten woodblocks with the potential for enduring modern appeal. Do you have links to any of them? Is love to see others that are considered great.
- User23 6y ago
  I'm a big fan of both Dürer and Blake's woodcuts. Their appeal is certainly enduring, but I don't think any single work is as recognizable to the average person as the Great Wave.
  - lostlogin 6y ago
    I think I’d misinterpreted DylanDmitri’s comment as meaning there were 9 other Japanese woodcut masters.

TheOtherHobbes 6y ago

It's mysterious but familiar enough to be easy to read and has a strong narrative. It has also become iconic. So it's reproduced more often than other 浮世絵 prints, and the public is more aware of it than of other art in the tradition.

ghaff 6y ago
It may also be worth observing that a lot of Japanese woodblock art is of very traditional subjects, e.g. somewhat stereotypical geisha scenes, upper-class women, etc. A lot of Hokusai's work branched out as did some mode modern woodblock artists. This is hardly unique to Japan. Look how many Madonna and Child or Crucifixion scenes there were in Renaissance paintings.

dfxm12 6y ago

The article talks about how it influenced many artists from later generations, especially with impressionists. Impressionism was popular enough that researchers understood this through line pretty well. This image continues to influence artists today. Check out the cover of this Debussy composition: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_mer_(Debussy) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_mer_(Debussy). There aren't such homages on this scale to others like Yoshitoshi or Sharaku. There were also a lot of prints of this thing, which means many museums can have a print and display it, so it reaches a larger audience that way, too. Visitors to LA, NY, Chicago, London, Brussels, and more have always been able to see a print. From there, the image of the Great Wave exists in merchandising, which the article also mentions. Uniqlo made a shirt with the image printed all over it.