Japanese Woodblock Printing with Rebecca Salter RA
Two-day Masterclass & Practical Workshop
9 April 2016 10.30am - 4.30pm10 April 2016 10.30am - 5.30pm
Learning Studio, Burlington House, Royal Academy of Arts
£540. Includes all materials, lunch and drinks reception.
Terms and conditions
Led by Rebecca Salter, internationally renowned painter and printmaker and Royal Academician, this two-day practical workshop – appropriate for beginner, and intermediate levels – will introduce the remarkable art and craft of traditional Japanese woodblock printing.
Rebecca Salter RA has spent her career studying and promoting the threatened art of Japanese woodblock printing. Having studied at Kyoto City University of the Arts, and living in Japan for six years, Rebecca learnt the traditional methods of Japanese woodblock printing with Professor Kurosaki Akira, Professor of Printmaking and Papermaking at Kyoto Seika University.
The Japanese woodblock prints with which we are all familiar were products of the affluent merchant class of Edo (now Tokyo) from the 17th to the 19th centuries. These Ukiyo-e prints, 'pictures of the floating world,' illustrate a culture of kabuki (Japanese theatre), sumo wrestlers and courtesans. Their production was efficient: a publisher would oversee the choice of artist and the carvers and printers who operated from their own workshops. Subtle differences developed between the Tokyo and Kyoto styles of printing. Western audiences are more familiar with the Tokyo style through the work of renowned 19th printmakers such as Hokusai and Hiroshige. The Kyoto style, on the other hand, which developed through close links with the famous Kyoto textile industry is less known and tends to a softer, more painterly style reflected in Rebecca Salter’s contemporary art and practice.
With the introduction of offset lithography (the modern day printing press) in the late 19th-century, the traditional woodblock printing endured a slow decline. In spite of a brief revival following the Second World War, and the committed work of a small group of leading scholars and printmakers, there are now only five professional carvers and perhaps 60 professional printers left in Tokyo and a handful internationally.
About the course
In this intensive two day course, participants will be introduced to the fascinating craft of Japanese Woodblock Printing. Participants will learn about the history, culture and social significance of Japanese prints and the method of woodblock printing prominent in Japan for centuries and surviving today through a celebrated group of international scholars and practitioners including Rebecca Salter. This Masterclass is supported by demonstrations and illustrations as well as course materials developed by Rebecca. Participants will produce a small 4-colour print during the course, and will be given an introductory printing set to take away with them at the end of the two days.
This course is set in the purpose built Learning Studio at the Royal Academy in Burlington House.
This course is for you if:
• You are a printmaker/artist with a desire to learn new techniques.
• You are a collector of Japanese prints and would like to learn how they are produced, and create your own.
• You are interested in the printmaking process in general and want to expand your horizons.
• You are interested in the art and culture of Japan and would like to be introduced to a historic art form
The number of participants is strictly limited to only 12 in order to enable detailed, individual feedback from the course Tutor to each participant and the artwork they create.
£540
Saturday 9 – Sunday 10 April 2016
Day 1: 10.30am – 4.30pm
Day 2: 10.30am – 5.30pm
Includes:
• An introduction to Royal Academician Rebecca Salter, her artworks, role in the Royal Academy and international artworld
• All specialist, practical art materials
• Course learning materials and hand-outs developed by Rebecca Salter RA
• Lunch and refreshments served on both days
• An introductory printing set to take home
• A drinks reception in the recently opened Private Members Club, The Academician’s Room, on completion of the course.
About the Tutor
Rebecca Salter RA
Rebecca Salter RA is an internationally renowned painter and printmaker, elected as an Academician in December 2014. She studied at Bristol Polytechnic and Kyoto City University of the Arts in Japan, where she lived for six years. While living in Kyoto she worked using traditional Japanese woodblock printing methods with Professor Kurosaki Akira and has since written two books on the subject. Her interest in printmaking is combined with her practice in painting and the fine arts. She is Associate Lecturer on the MA Printmaking Course at Camberwell College of Art, University of the Arts, London and contributes to teaching in the Royal Academy Schools.
Selected Publications
• Salter, R. (2006) Japanese Popular Prints, A&C Black
• Salter, R. (2001) Japanese Woodblock Printing, A&C Black
Our courses and classes programme
Our programme of short courses and classes offers the opportunity to explore a range of subjects, led by expert tutors and practising artists.