Onchi managed to say everything that was needed to be said in his works in his very decorative sentences. The thing about Onchi was that he used the best of the Japanese tradition, all the while blazing new trails. He was the son of one of an Imperial Court official, who was also one of the teachers of the previous emperor. Onchi's mother was also a part of the imperial circle and it was because of this rarified world, that Onchi had access to the German Cooperative Middle School in Tokyo. His contact with German culture and the language gave him a very special sympathy with German bildung, culture and artistic movements. This leads back to the German Bildung tradition which has no real comparative in Anglo culture. The philosophy and education are virtually synonymous terms that designate an ongoing process of both personal and cultural maturation. This maturation is evidenced in a harmonization of the individual’s mind and heart and in a unification of society. Harmonization of the self is achieved through a wide variety of experiences and challenges to the individual’s accepted beliefs. This very German aspect of art, culture and growth has very clear and obvious similarities to traditional Japanese education, in fact German education directly influenced Japan, to the point that even today, you can still see Japanese school students wearing the gakuran which is derived from Prussian army uniforms.
His German inclinations and understanding led him to have a powerful influence on the movement we call "Sosaku Hanga". From 1909 through to the late 20's Onchi used his very German influenced ideas and aesthetic to work as an arts organizer, publisher and overall revolutionary in the arts world of moribund Tokyo. In 1939 he was sent to China as a war artist. However, at the end of the war, Onchi emerged as the master of Japanese printmaking. Onchi was a busy man but his works also make it clear that he was also an artistic entrepreneur who was more than happy to let his art tell a story. He was also desperately determined to rout the conventional. 
I think many of his compatriots were struggling with food and living, so much so, that it meant they weren't busy throwing off the shackles of artistic traditions. As a result they created conventional and rather dull works. Onchi seems to have escaped this fate. There is nothing conventional about his work, despite the fact that he used a very conventional technique with a thousand year history. Instead he gives us feelings, and ideas. This was something that the Chinese and Japanese masters who created the technique didn't always manage convincingly.
Onchi developed a friendship with the American, William Hartnett which ultimately led to the introduction of his work and that of his pupils in the USA. From there he exhibited at the São Paolo Biennale in 1951 and became Chairman of the Kokusai Hanga Kyokai. The latter part of his life saw him settle into his role as father of the Sosaku Hanga and his influence continued with the next generation of print makers in Japan. It could be easy to dismiss the importance of Onchi, if it were not for the exquisite craftsmanship. He had a perfectly mature knowledge of where to put his colour and shapes. Look at how beautifully the shapes and lines are placed. There is no doubt that this artist knew his stuff. There are legitimate limitations due to the printmaking processes, that required the truly outstanding artists to work so much harder to create works that truly stop us and make us want to absorb it. Onchi's influence was more than just aesthetics but an entire generation of art in Japan.
0 comments:
Post a Comment