Keelin Cavanaugh
November 30, 2015
Exploration Project
1:25 - 2:15
Creative Writing
Interview with Tawaraya Sotatsu
I interviewed Tawaraya Sotatsu, who’s a painter and designer, as well as a founder of the Rimpa School of painting. He uses wood block stamps to print designs on paper and silk, and is skilled in translating classical tales into images on folding fans. My interest is in art influenced through traditional Japanese- style hand scrolls Although Sotatsu comes from a family of well-to-do cloth merchants, his associates in the nobility give him access to these tradition style hand scrolls- a wealth of motifs and stylistic elements he is inspired by. As it turns out, he borrows quite freely from a wide range of sources, including the new methods of wood block printing used primarily to disseminate texts such as Buddhist scrolls to print designs on paper and silk.
Sotatsu started the interview by asking what type of history and literature I am interested in. …show more content…
Sotatsu works in a style very strongly based on the Yamato-e and Tosa traditions of painting, and one of his most well known accomplishments is a copy of the Yamato-e scroll dealing with the life of the priest Saigyo. An genius in a turbulent time, Sotatsu’s style is instantly identifiable.
According to Sotatsu, he does not belong to any official art school. He borrows liberally from a wide array of sources creating his own style. His bold abstract style and vibrant colors alongside his extravagant compositions of gold and silver in his tatashikomi. His playfulness and manipulation of space make for a very modern aesthetic. The bold but simplified and almost abstracted forms found in his work , alongside the bright colored designs are features of the Rinpa style of painting he co-founded and which has begun to permeate the Japanese decorative art
November 30, 2015
Exploration Project
1:25 - 2:15
Creative Writing
Interview with Tawaraya Sotatsu
I interviewed Tawaraya Sotatsu, who’s a painter and designer, as well as a founder of the Rimpa School of painting. He uses wood block stamps to print designs on paper and silk, and is skilled in translating classical tales into images on folding fans. My interest is in art influenced through traditional Japanese- style hand scrolls Although Sotatsu comes from a family of well-to-do cloth merchants, his associates in the nobility give him access to these tradition style hand scrolls- a wealth of motifs and stylistic elements he is inspired by. As it turns out, he borrows quite freely from a wide range of sources, including the new methods of wood block printing used primarily to disseminate texts such as Buddhist scrolls to print designs on paper and silk.
Sotatsu started the interview by asking what type of history and literature I am interested in. …show more content…
Sotatsu works in a style very strongly based on the Yamato-e and Tosa traditions of painting, and one of his most well known accomplishments is a copy of the Yamato-e scroll dealing with the life of the priest Saigyo. An genius in a turbulent time, Sotatsu’s style is instantly identifiable.
According to Sotatsu, he does not belong to any official art school. He borrows liberally from a wide array of sources creating his own style. His bold abstract style and vibrant colors alongside his extravagant compositions of gold and silver in his tatashikomi. His playfulness and manipulation of space make for a very modern aesthetic. The bold but simplified and almost abstracted forms found in his work , alongside the bright colored designs are features of the Rinpa style of painting he co-founded and which has begun to permeate the Japanese decorative art