WEB EXPLORATIONS

On this web site from the Library of Congress, over 200 modern Japanese prints, known as hanga, are on display. The prints were collected by the College Women’s Association of Japan (CWAJ) for a juried exhibition to celebrate the Association's 50th anniversary, and have been donated by the CWAJ to the Library of Congress. The prints in the show run the gamut from figural, such as "White Clover" by Yasuko Enjyoji, to abstract, such as Hidehiko Gotou's "Another Night", an image that recalls Georgia O'Keefe. Although most of the prints were created since 2003, there are some that look quite traditional, for example, "Nanzenji in Snow" by Masao Ido - a woodblock print showing village roof lines in the snow; as well as other examples that apply traditional techniques to non-traditional subjects such as Masahiro Kurita's "Night at the Train Station I" - a woodcut depicting commuter rail station. Visit Site

Source: Scout Report

Anne C. Goodrich went to China as a missionary in 1931, and she soon found herself fascinated by the world of the paper gods she encountered in and around Beijing. Goodrich wanted to learn more about the world of these local folk religions and she began purchasing a great deal of these materials as they became available. Many years later she would publish a three-volume study on the subject. After she passed away in 2005, staff members at the Columbia University Libraries Digital Program began digitizing a variety of prints from her collection. The images on the site are divided into those items which were purchased to be burned immediately and serve as emissaries to heaven and those which were purchased to be displayed for a year while offering protection to the family in a variety of ways. There are several hundred of these images offered within the collection, and they are further subdivided into categories like "pantheons", "heaven", and "Earth". Visitors seeking additional background information on these artifacts should consult the online essays here as they address the iconography of these items as well as their conservation. Visit Site

Source: Scout Report