Dream Spectres 2

Hunter, Jack

ISBN 10: 1840683198 / ISBN 13: 9781840683196

Editore: CREATION BOOKS, 2015

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Dati bibliografici

• Titolo: Dream Spectres 2
• Editore: CREATION BOOKS
• Data di pubblicazione: 2015
• Lingua: Inglese
• ISBN 10: 1840683198
• ISBN 13: 9781840683196
• Rilegatura: Brossura
• Condizione: New

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Riassunto

UKIYO-E, the art of woodblock design and printing, enjoyed a symbiosis with the kabuki theatre almost from its inception in the late 17th century, with a significant number of images devoted to the popular theatre. These comprise kabuki-e — dynamic frames, diptychs and triptychs recreating specific scenes from plays — and yakusha-e — portraits of famous actors in various roles both real and imaginary. Amongst those producing theatrical prints were some of the greatest ukiyo-e artists of the century, including Kunisada, Kuniyoshi, and finally Kunichika, who introduced dramatic new framing to the format and persisted until the very last days of the century, when prints were finally usurped by the new medium of photography. DREAM SPECTRES 2 is devoted to the art of kabuki-e and yakusha-e, and collects some of the most striking and innovative prints by these and many other artists, focusing principally on three of the Japanese theatre's most spectacular and sensational themes — ghosts, magic, and mayhem.DREAM SPECTRES 2 is presented in large-format and full-colour throughout, and contains over 200 stunning images which vividly bring back to life the violent clashes, murders, monsters and nightmares of Japan's classical kabuki theatre at its most bizarre and exhilarating extremes. Number 15 in the best-selling Ukiyo-e Master Series.

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KABUKI theatre first arose in 17th century Japan as a bawdy, populist alternative to the traditional Noh theatre of masks, which had flourished since the 1300s. Originally staged by female performers and prostitutes, kabuki soon became an all-male preserve, with female roles in plays and dance-dramas being taken by female impersonators known as onnagata. Many early kabuki plays originated in the bunraku ("puppet") theatre (founded in Osaka in 1684). Significant productions from this period included Hinin No Adauchi ("The Outcast's Revenge", 1664), a slaughter-vengeance drama; Shitenno Ochigodachi (1673), which introduced the violent aragoto acting style; Daifukucho Sankai Nagoya (1697), which featured the first-ever shibaraku scene; and Keisei Asama-ga-Dake ("The Asamagadake Courtesan", 1698), featuring a vengeful female ghost. Other plays were quickly fashioned to cash in on sensational news stories of the day, such as double suicides or murder rampages. Among the first most notable playwrights were Chikamatsu Monzaemon, Namiki Sosuke, and Sakurada Jisuke. And the kabuki theatre was not without its real-life dramas and rivalries; it is reported that in 1704, for example, the actor Ikushima Hanroku was executed for the onstage murder of Ichikawa Danjuro I, progenitor of perhaps the most illustrious acting lineage in kabuki history. By the first decades of the 19th century, kabuki theatre — as exemplified by the works of playwright Tsuruya Nanboku IV — was renowned for its frequent displays of torture, mutilation, swordplay and supernatural horror.UKIYO-E, the art of woodblock design and printing, enjoyed a symbiosis with the kabuki theatre almost from its inception in the late 17th century, with a significant number of images serving as posters for stage productions. Among the notable early practitioners of such images were Kiyonobu and Kiyomasu. Theatrical prints generally fell into two categories — kabuki-e, recreating specific scenes from plays, and yakusha-e, portraits of famous actors in various roles both real and imaginary (mitate). Amongst those producing theatrical prints were some of the greatest ukiyo-e artists of the 19th century, including Kunisada, Kuniyoshi, and finally Kunichika, who introduced dramatic new framing to the format and persisted until the very last days of the century, when prints were finally usurped by the new medium of photography.