EDO POP: The Graphic Impact of Japanese Prints

An interesting exhibit coming soon to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts is EDO POP: The Graphic Impact of Japanese Prints.

 The woodblock prints of Edo (today’s Tokyo) were crisp, colorful, and revolutionary in their approach to composition.

Known as ukiyo-e, these 17th- to 19th-century images of the “floating world” were the pop pictures of their day. Famous actors, seductive beauties, and dazzling scenic vistas all make star turns here—along with works by living artists inspired by them.

I would say that there are several poems of mine that have been influenced by many of these prints including my long poem, Japonisme, Laoisme. The exhibition opens October 30.