EDO POP
EDO POP

About the Exhibition

The Minneapolis Institute of Arts is home to about 3,000 Japanese woodblock prints. These works, collectively known as ukiyo-e, or “pictures of the floating world,” were produced during Japan’s Edo period (1600–1868). Reflecting the interests and activities of the newly emerging class of moneyed commoners, ukiyo-e prints first featured the reigning beauties of the pleasure quarters and the dashing actors of the Kabuki theater, the pop stars of the time. Later, artists expanded their repertoires to include landscapes, floral studies, legendary heroes, and even ghoulish themes.

The exhibition showcases 160 of the MIA’s best prints by the genre’s greatest artists, including Harunobu, Kiyonaga, Utamaro, Shunshō, Sharaku, Toyokuni, Hokusai, and Hiroshige. With their crisp outlines, unmodulated colors, and surprising vantage points, the images are as fresh and captivating as when they were produced. Sensuality, fashion, decadent entertainments, and urban pastimes all reflect the popular tastes of young urban sophisticates of Japan’s pre-modern era.

In addition, the exhibition features the works of contemporary artists who are inspired by Japanese woodblock prints and the concepts underlying the floating world.

October 30, 2011, through January 8, 2012, at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts

Reserve your tickets today: (612) 870-6323 or Reserve Tickets Online »

*Please call (612) 870-6323 for same-day reservations, as space may be limited.

This exhibition was organized by the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.
Lead sponsorship provided by:
Friends of the Institute
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Tickets

$8 Adults
$6 Seniors, adult groups
$4 Children 6–12
Free to museum members, children 5 and under, students with ID, and children's groups

The exhibition is free to the public on Target Family Days, Sunday, November 13 and December 11, 2011, and January 8, 2012.

General museum admission is always free.

Reserve your tickets today: (612) 870-6323 or Reserve Tickets Online »

*Please call (612) 870-6323 for same-day reservations, as space may be limited.

Become a member and receive free passes for unlimited visits!

Catalogue

Edop Pop Catalogue

Worldly Pleasures, Earthly Delights features three hundred of the finest woodblock prints from the collection of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. The prints were chosen for their rarity, remarkable state of preservation, and superb artistry. From the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, they represent the creativity of forty artists, including such renowned masters as Masanobu, Harunobu, Shunshō, Shunkō, Kiyonaga, Shunman, Utamaro, Toyokuni, Sharaku, Hokusai, and Hiroshige. Arranged chronologically, they illustrate the development and evolution of printmaking in Japan as well as the changing tastes and interests of popular culture. Extended information about the prints was provided by nine scholars, whose insightful observations about the artists, subject matter, social milieu, printing techniques, and publishing industry bring each image to life. (Published by the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, 2011; hardcover; 375 pages; full color) $49.95

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