<b>NAGASAKI (TEMPLE ROOFTOPS)</b> / Ken Tagawa1964$1,600</em>

Details

Born in the port city of Nagasaki, Ken Tagawa was fortunate enough to be well-positioned at a meeting point to the world. Foreign influences, particularly in art, flooded the town. Eager to engage with these influences, Tagawa incorporated foreign elements within his woodblock print designs that primarily focused on his hometown. In this print, Tagawa focuses on the ornately tilted rooftops of the city’s temples. At the center, out in the distance, the artist placed the modern city and its port, flanked by the temple roof structures. The composition is an interesting mix of tradition versus the contemporary—it could also be read as a study of East vs West.

Tagawa’s design has a sharp modernist bent, bringing to mind the photography of Ralston Crawford. The composition focuses on the temples’ roofline, forsaking a look at the entire structure. The arch of the ornate architecture swoops upward—beyond the modern city’s reach—perhaps suggesting the spiritual nature of the structure’s purpose.

Connoisseur's Note

A Sosaku Hanga artist, Tagawa’s work is entirely self-directed and self-produced. This design is hand-signed and dated in the image. It is important to note that much like Onchi, the inspirational leader of the movement, Tagawa’s prints often vary from impression to impression. This particular impression is printed with strong attention to the rooftop decorative tile, highlighting the various colors within the mosaic composition. The sky is overprinted with a striking woodgrain that gives the design depth and a strong atmospheric quality.