Two fascinating exhibitions

 

Yoshida Hiroshi

Yoshida: Three Generations of Printmaking (Dulwich Picture Gallery)

A family of artists - father, his wife, two sons and a granddaughter. Hiroshi (1876-1950) was a pioneer of the shin hanga movement and travelled to the US and Europe where his reputation grew as an artist of woodblock printing. He even visited the Dulwich Gallery, as his name is in their visitors' book. His two sons Toshi (1911-1995) and Hodaka (1926-1995) carried on the tradition, though eventually moved into more modern forms, breaking away from the traditional Japanese style. Hiroshi's wife, Fujio (1887-1987) travelled with her husband and her art is also on display. Her flowers remind me of Georgia O'Keeffe's large flower paintings. Finally, Ayomi, the daughter of Hodaka, has an installation at the exhibition of cherry blossom.

Here is video trailer about the exhibition.

There is a fusion of styles with traditional, modern and a combination of the two. Following the evolving styles brings printmaking up to date. Block printing is very intricate and Hiroshi was involved in the whole process. There is a cabinet showing the implements used for this art form.

Hiroshi

Fujio

Tools of the trade

The exhibition closes on 3rd November, so time is running out to see this one.

Eadweard Muybridge

Eadweard Muybridge - San Fransisco in Kingston (Kingston Museum & Heritage Centre)

Now here is a man who fascinates me. He was a local - he was born in 1830 in the High Street, Kingston and died in Kingston (1904), but he spent most of his life in the USA and was the pioneer of panoramic photography and recording the movement of animals (& people) in photography. This is the third exhibition of his I've attended. There was a big exhibition in London some years ago, but his home is here in the Kingston Museum, where there is a permanent small exhibition of his cameras and a collection of his photographs in a corridor between the museum and Kingston Library.

This exhibition concentrates on his panoramic photos of the San Franciscan skyline. Considering the age of these photos, the detail is good and you can see the little ships in the harbour in the distance. Complementing this are new works, including the modern view of the same skyline (with all the skyscrapers), and some artworks of Kingston and surrounding areas by local artists in the style of Muybridge.

The man had a darker side. He is said to have shot someone dead and got away with it while in the USA. Eadweard Muybridge also changed the spelling of his name twice! See the link on his name to find out more about Muybridge's photography, especially in the locomotion of animals. Certainly, he is an interesting man! This exhibition is due to close on 2nd November.

The original Muybridge panoramic view of San Francisco

Local artists - in the style of Muybridge

modern day

The gallery

Finally, I love this description of him as an American born in a town south of London. How quaint!

Muybridge was born Edward James Muggeridge in 1830, in a town south of London. But he would reinvent himself on multiple occasions, changing his name, profession, and city as he searched for new opportunities. In 1852, he moved to New York, where he became Edward Muggridge; in 1855, he moved to San Francisco, where he became E. J. Muggridge, then E. J. Muygridge, and finally, Eadweard Muybridge. Movement, for Muybridge, was central to his work and his identity alike. Following a career as a bookseller in New York and San Francisco, Muybridge devoted himself to photography.

Kingston Ancient Market in the style of Muybridge