Karin Breuer

A stunning introduction to the history of Japanese printmaking, with highlights from the de Young museum's vast collection In 1868, Japan underwent a dramatic transformation following the overthrow of the shogun by supporters of Emperor Meiji, marking the end of feudal military rule and ushering in a new era of government that promoted modernizing the country and interacting with other nations. Japanese print culture, which had flourished for more than a century with the production of color woodcuts (the so-called ukiyo-e, or “floating world” images), also changed course during the Meiji era (1868–1912), as societal changes and the once-isolationist country’s new global engagement provided a wealth of new subjects for artists to capture. Featuring selections from the renowned Achenbach Foundation for Graphic Arts’ permanent collection, Japanese Prints in Transition: From the Floating World to the Modern World documents the shift from delicately colored ukiyo-e depictions of actors, courtesans, and scenic views to brightly colored images of Western architecture, modern military warfare, technology (railroad trains, steam-powered ships, telegraph lines), and Victorian fashions and customs.

Ed Hardy s (b. 1945) unique vision spans decades, creating an indelible mark on popular culture. Accompanying a major exhibition, this profusely illustrated survey of his life in art traces his inspirations, rooted both in traditional American tattooing of the first half of the twentieth century and in the imagery of Japan s ukiyo-e era. Hardy, raised in Southern California, became intrigued with tattoo art at the age of ten, setting up shop in his parents den. After attending the San Francisco Art Institute in the 1960s, he rejected a graduate fellowship from Yale to apprentice at studios up and down the West Coast. It was his intention to rescue tattooing from its subculture, outsider status and elevate it to at least the level of folk art. Hardy s success at breathing new life into the art form is chronicled in a plethora of tattoo designs, paintings, drawings, prints, and three-dimensional work spanning fifty years. While the world that inspires him may be lost, Hardy s distinct visual language is vibrantly alive within American visual vernacular, synonymous to some with the spirit of the West Coast itself.

"Lysa" is the story of a woman caught in an abusive marriage. Awaiting her inevitable death by her drunken spouse, Lysa, in desperation, cries out to a God she is not sure is there. It is a story that has touched the lives of many women, a story of love and betrayal, a story of strength and hope.