Overview

The beauty of art is necessary for happiness. In everyday life the arts give that extra dimension to life that makes it a great adventure. The art and design in buildings, city planning, gardens and parks, roads, bridges - everything that we use daily contributes to a happy and fulfilling life. Ugly buildings, sloppy design, poor quality workmanship, littering and defacing contributes to a miserable life. Why would you want a miserable life? Why would you want to impose a miserable life on others? Hokusai was not only a truly great artist. He also sent a message to common people, who could afford to buy his low cost prints. He conveyed the beauty of majesty, the mount Fujijama, in life. He conveyed the beauty of scenery - he said to people - look around you and see and enjoy the beauty of the scenery. He conveyed the beauty of a good human life - the craftmanship in making the timber, building the boat, fishing, growing tea, enjoying tea with the scenery. The 36 Views of Mt Fuji are religious prints. But different from the typical Christian religious motif the humans are not shown focused on the diety all the time, even if Mt Fuji is shown to have a pervading influence on their lives. The admiration and worship of Mt Fuji is often shown as incidental - a single traveler of the group casting a glance at the majestic mountain while the others are busy with the many other things to do. In other words a very realistic rendition on how the divine is taking part in everyday life. Katsushika Hokusai (c. October 31, 1760 - May 10, 1849) was a Japanese artist, painter and printmaker in Edo (Tokyo) period 1760-1849. Hokusai established landscape as a new print genre in Japan. At a young age, Hokusai was adopted by an uncle who held the prestigious position of mirror polisher in the household of the shogun, the commander-in-chief of feudal Japan. It was assumed that the young Hokusai would succeed him in the family business, and he likely received an excellent education in preparation for a job that would place him in direct contact with the upper class. In 19th-century Japan, learning to write also meant learning to draw, since the skills and materials required for either activity were almost identical. When Hokusai's formal education began at age six, he displayed an early artistic talent that would lead him down a new path. He began to separate himself from his uncle's trade in his early teens-perhaps because of a personal argument, or perhaps because he believed polishable metal mirrors would soon be replaced by the silvered glass mirrors being imported by the Dutch-and worked first as a clerk at a lending library and then later as a woodblock carver. At age 19, Hokusai joined the studio of ukiyo-e artist Katsukawa Shunsho and embarked on what would become a seven-decade-long career in art.

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9781637526675

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Cristina Berna loves photographing and writing. She also creates designs and advice on fashion and styling. Eric Thomsen has published in science, economics and law, created exhibitions and arranged concerts.

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