Tales of Genji I
Helen Frankenthaler; Kenneth Tyler; Yasuyuki Shibata
Description
Inspired by The Tale of Genji, this print is the result of a collaboration between Helen Frankenthaler, master printmaker Yasuyuki Shibata (Japan, born 1968), and Kenneth Tyler (United States, born 1931) of the New York-based Tyler Graphics. Japanese woodblock prints are typically characterized by crisp lines and flat areas of color, achieved by using a separate block for each color and waiting for each layer of paint to dry before carefully lining up the next block. For Tales of Genji I, Frankenthaler and her collaborators deviated from this technique, adding new layers before the previous ones had dried in order to give the print what Frankenthaler called a “fuzzy quality” that subverts traditional expectations of woodblock prints. Eleven woodblocks and thirty-four colors were used to achieve this effect.
Summer 2024 Gallery Rotation
Subject Matter:
TheTale of Genji is an 11th century Japanese romance centered around an emperor's son (Genji). It is regarded as the world's first novel. The novel inspired many ukiyo-e woodcut prints. Tales of Genji, the print, was a three year collaborative project (beginning in 1995) between Helen Frankenthaler, Kenneth Tyler of Tyler Graphics, Ltd., and Yasuyuki Shibata. Together they created a series of six woodcut prints that resemble watercolor paintings. Prior to Tales of Genji, Frankenthaler helped to revitalize woodcut printing in the 1970s.
Physical Description:
This is an abstract multi-colored woodcut print with visible wood grain. The background color is primarily peach. The colors in the print, including blue, green, yellow, white, orange, and brown, appear to drip down and run into each other.
This is 18th in an edition of 30.
Usage Rights:
If you are interested in using an image for a publication, please visit https://umma.umich.edu/request-image/ for more information and to fill out the online Image Rights and Reproductions Request Form.