The Printing Art: Topics in East Asian Woodblock Printed Culture

PThis course is an introduction of woodblock prints in East Asian cultures, with a focus on those in Japan, China, and Korea. The range will be from the medieval period to the present and will include a variety of objects, such as Buddhist amulets and early modern paper currency designs, in addition to the better-known works of Japanese ukiyoe artists such as Hiroshige and Utamaro. Discussion of issues such as production techniques, function, distribution, religious texts, the close connection between words and images, the question of a canon and the so-called high and low arts, the study of material culture of the prints, the body in the erotic arts, and the question of how foreign cultures were received into local traditions. variety of objects, such as Buddhist amulets and early modern paper currency designs, in addition to the better-known works of Japanese ukiyoe artists such as Hiroshige and Utamaro. Discussion of issues such as production techniques, function, distribution, religious texts, the close connection between words and images, the question of a canon and the so-called high and low arts, the study of material culture of the prints, the body in the erotic arts, and the question of how foreign cultures were received into local traditions.

Lectures will also touch on print culture and historical movements in other parts of the world and include readings of texts such as Roger Chartier’s The Cultural Uses of Prints in Early Modern France, Walter Benjamin’s The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical Reproduction, as well as texts on East Asian cultures, such as Craig Clunas’ Pictures and Visuality in Early Modern China. Objects shown will- as much as possible- include objects from local collections, such as that of the Rietberg Museum. The class will seek to demonstrate that the functions of prints included some which can be easily identified in our own society: these woodblock prints performed multiple functions as art objects, as newspapers, as advertisements, and as an integral part of book publishing and the literary arts. o demonstrate that the functions of prints included some which can be easily identified in our own society: these woodblock prints performed multiple functions as art objects, as newspapers, as adverti-sements, and as an integral part of book publishing and the literary arts.

Hinweis:

Die Vorlesung wird in Englisch gehalten. Die als Leistungsnachweis dienende schriftliche Prüfung am Ende des Semesters kann auf Deutsch geschrieben werden. Ende des Semesters kann auf Deutsch geschrieben werden.