In a previous blog post I wrote about how the Impressionists were influenced by Japanese woodcut prints. Emulation of this Japanese aesthetic has more recently been expressed in Jeff Wall’s nod to an iconic print by the nineteenth-century printmaker Hokusai (South Wind, Clear Weather, from his 36 views of Mount Fuji series) made in 1993. In Wall’s contemporary landscape, the minimalist sketch of Mount Fuji is reinterpreted as an anonymous modern landscape dotted with high-rises. Both scenes capture an unexpected moment when a sudden gust of wind spins its figures into dance-like contortions; sheets of a manuscript sent flying upwards into the air in a whimsical gesture.
Hokusai portrays a spontaneous moment; he offers his viewers a ‘photographic’ instantaneous moment. He captures the illusion of a frozen moment. On the other hand, Wall has painstakingly staged his digital composed print (this is one of a hundred attempted shots of the scene) to construct the so-called accidental scene. Hokusai’s image presents the illusion of a decisive moment while hiding the ‘linear’ time that went into its creation; whereas digital photography has allowed Wall to manipulate the relationship to ‘the moment’ - that the camera is typically known for.
I found this threshold between the old and new through the lens of Japanese prints interesting, and if any of our readers have any other examples, do feel free to comment below!
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