Alicia Volk PhD - Themes Of Transformation

For those of you who are regular listeners to The Unfinished Print know that, outside of my passion for mokuhanga education, I have a deep interest in the history of mokuhanga. From ukiyo-e to today's printmakers, I feel compelled to speak with academics and researchers who are publishing work that documents and interprets its history. It's incredibly important to me to speak with those who have dedicated their lives to writing about mokuhanga and contributing to our understanding of this medium.

On this episode of The Unfinished Print: A Mokuhanga Podcast, I am joined by Alicia Volk, Professor of Japanese Art at the University of Maryland. I wanted to speak with Professor Volk about her books In the Shadow of Empire: Art in Occupied Japan and Made in Japan: The Postwar Creative Print Movement. I was particularly curious about how Japanese printmaking evolved during and after the Second World War and into the Cold War, and how the medium was shaped by the political, cultural, and social circumstances of the time.

Professor Volk and I discuss many things on this episode, including how to understand the creative print movement, sōsaku hanga, within the broader spectrum of war and peace; how the American military occupation influenced not just Japan but also the Western world's understanding of Japanese art and prints; and how Japanese identity in the postwar period was expressed through printmaking . We also discuss collecting and patronage, the role of politics, and the ways in which Japanese prints were understood, circulated, and valued during this period of Japanese print history.

Please follow The Unfinished Print and my own mokuhanga work on Instagram @andrezadoroznyprints or email me [email protected]

Notes: may contain a hyperlink. Simply click on the highlighted word or phrase.

Artists works follow after the note if available. Pieces are mokuhanga unless otherwise noted. Dimensions are given if known. Print publishers are given if known.

© Popular Wheat Productions

Opening and closing musical credit - Moanin' by Art Blakey and the Jazz Messengers (1958)

logo designed and produced by Douglas Batchelor and André Zadorozny 

Disclaimer: Please do not reproduce or use anything from this podcast without shooting me an email and getting my express written or verbal consent. I'm friendly :)

 Слава Українi 

If you find any issue with something in the show notes please let me know.

***The opinions expressed by guests in The Unfinished Print: A Mokuhanga Podcast are not necessarily those of André Zadorozny and of Popular Wheat Productions.***