Customer Reviews

Collecting Modern Japanese Prints Then & Now

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I could not help but be disappointed with this book. I was expecting discussion and color prints from the "Modern Japanese Prints" , in contrast to the traditional ukiyo-e style. This art movement (from the early 1900's until present day), was split in two directions, the "shin-hanga" (new prints) and "sosaku-hanga" (creative prints). Unfortunately, this book only covers from the late 1950's until the early 1990's. This is the time period when the authors, Mary and Norman Tolman began their collection. (Thus they have no prints or discussion on Hashiguchi Goyo, Munaka Shiko and Onchi Koshiro.) The only postwar artist they include is Saito Kiyoshi. They concentrate on contemporary Japanese Prints, most of which followed the sosaku-hanga direction. They include many artists such as: Saito Kiyoshi, Sekino Jun'ichiro, Sasajima Kihei, Hiratsuka Un'ichi, Clifton Karhu and many others. I liked many of the artists but they are contemporary, to say the least. It also has an excellent discussion of printing techniques, what to look for when collecting, explanations on editions and artists proofs. A good book within its specified time period. Color prints are very well-done.