Shiko Munakata
No Footprints Show, Where the Flowers Grow Deep
1961

Name: No Footprints Show, Where the Flowers Grow Deep
Brand: Shiko Munakata
Price: 300 USD
Availability: InStock

About the Item

No Footprints Show, Where the Flowers Grow Deep Woodcut, 1961 Unsigned (as isssued) From: The "Way" of the Woodcut, three woodcuts, 1961 Publisher: Pratt Adlib Press, Brooklyn, New York,1961 Printer: James Lanier at the Press of Igal Roodenko Edition: 1500 books Public Collections: MOMA Library of Congress Toledo Museum of Art Condition: Excellent Image/Sheet size: 12 x 8 1/4 inches MUNAKATA, SHIKO (1903 - 1975 ) Born in Aomori prefecture, Shiko Munakata is a woodblock print artist best known for his black and white prints and his expressive, sketch-like lines. A self-taught artist, he began his career in oil painting, organizing the Seikokai (Blue Light Group) and exhibiting at Hakujitsukai, Bunten and Teiten. Shiko Munakata changed course in 1926 upon seeing a woodblock print by Sumio Kawakami. After brief instruction from Un’ichi Hiratsuka in 1928, Munakata became active in the woodblock printmaking community: he belonged to both Kokugakai (1932-1953) and Nihon Hanga Kyokai (1932-1938), and contributed to many Sosaku Hanga publications. Around 1936, he garnered the support of Soetsu Yamagai and other leaders of the folk art movement. Shiko Munakata’s work began to heavily feature Buddhist imagery the following year. During the bombing of Tokyo in 1945, he escaped to Toyama prefecture. Shiko Manukata continued woodblock printmaking and received first prize in international exhibitions held in Lugano (1952), Sao Paulo (1955) and Venice (1956). Visiting the United States in 1959, Munakata spent a year exhibiting his work throughout the country. Horinji Temple in Kyoto bestowed him with the honorary rank of “Hokkyo” upon his return to Japan. In 1962, he received the rank of “Hogan” from Nisseki Temple in Toyama prefecture. Shiko Munakata’s accolades continued through the end of the decade, including the Medal of Honor (1963), the Asahi Shimbun culture prize (1965), and the Order of Cultural Merit (1970). Courtesy Ronin Munakata 1959 Buddhis triadMunakata's prints have a distinctive spontaneity and spiritual energy. He saw himself as a temporary medium through which the design, not really his own, could be revealed. As a result, unlike Onchi Kôshirô and other artists of the sôsaku hanga (creative print: 創作版画) movement who advocated self-expression in their printmaking, Munakata disclaimed individual responsibility as an artist. For him, artistic creation was only one of many manifestations of nature's force and beauty, which is inherent in the woodblock. In Munakata's words, "The essence of hanga lies in the fact that one must give in to the ways of the board ... there is a power in the board, and one cannot force the tool against that power." Munakata's works are in numerous private collections and in public institutions, including the Art Gallery of New South Wales; Art Institute of Chicago; Asian Art Museum, San Francisco; British Museum, London; Brooklyn Museum, New York; Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh; Cincinnati Art Museum; Detroit Institute of Art; Fine Art Museums of San Francisco; Harvard Art Museums; Honolulu Museum of Art; Japan Folk Art Museum, Tokyo; Los Angeles County Museum of Art;Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; Minneapolis Museum of Art; Munakata Shikô Memorial Museum of Art; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Museum of Modern Art, New York; Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo; National Museum of Asian Art (Smithsonian), Washington, D.C.; National Museum of Modern Art, Kyoto; National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo; Philadelphia Museum of Art; and Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam Courtesy: Viewing Japanese Prints

Creator:

Shiko Munakata (1903 - 1972, Japanese)

Creation Year:

1961

Dimensions:

Height: 12 in (30.48 cm)Width: 8.25 in (20.96 cm)

Medium:

Woodcut

Movement & Style:

Modern

Period:

1960-1969