KUROSAKI PRINTS AGAIN

On his 1980 visit, renown artist and teacher Akira Kurosaki presented an all-day demonstration to students on his methods of using traditional Japanese woodblock print making for his colorful prints. This portion of the demonstration focuses on printing, composing for color separation and the characteristics of the printing tool, the baren.

The following is the sound track from "Kurosaki: Prints Again"--a 29 minute videotape made as Kurosaki demonstrated to students how he prints a Japanese woodblock made in the traditional manner. He concludes with a description of the printing tool, the baren, and how he plans to design and make available a less expensive modernized version.

The video begins as if the viewer has just stepped in. The introductions have already been made, and Kurosaki is already starting his demonstration. You hear Bill Ritchie introducing him on the audiotape. Izumi Kuroiwa, a graduate student at the University at the time this tape was made, is ready to translate the master's instructions..

Voice-over: Hi. My name is Bill Ritchie. For the next few minutes you will see how watercolors are applied to a woodcut plate and printed on to paper. The artist doing the demonstration is Akira Kurosaki from Kyoto.

The Japanese and also the Chinese and Koreans printed woodcuts with watercolors, whereas the Europeans and other occidentals used mainly oil-based inks. Kurosaki is fond of blending two or more colors, a technique known as bokashi. This can be done in oil as well but it is done in water-based ink here.

We have seen many older woodcuts in Japanese art which use bokashi. Kurosaki is a modern artist who uses some traditional techniques. His tools are similar to the ones used hundreds of years ago--the brush and the baren, for example. The baren is his printing tool, made of a small flat disk of bamboo fiber, covered with a bamboo sheath and a lacquered back.

His prints are much larger and much more colorful than the one you see here and they are made of as many as ten or fifteen blocks and being up to two or three feet in dimension.

You are seeing him during a demonstration at the University of Art in the Summer of 1980.

Kuroiwa: So in the beginning you should understand the difference in the quality of the paper--between Japan and China. Japanese paper is much stronger and hard and thick [compared to] Chinese paper. It is laminated, too, but this is laminated too. Probably you see how it is laminated.

Ritchie: When the paper is first made or after it is dried?

Kurosaki: You can see, right? When it is "squeezed"--the paper--

Ritchie: In the paper press?

Kurosaki: No--(Kuroiwa tries to explain). You know the technique of how to make paper. They have some screen, you know, and when [they] squeeze the paper and when they transfer the paper to a different place, at that time, in Japan, they laminate it, too, and then spread a cloth on the top. Then one paper, and laminated another paper, and place a cloth. Cotton cloth separated each paper, so it becomes such a [laminated] paper.

Even if it is laminated, too, each one also has strong character--more than Chinese paper. Chinese paper is usually made by [of] bamboo. It's also a very interesting technique. I cannot imagine such a very hard bamboo can get [become] such a soft paper!

(Holding up his own) It's a mulberry paper. I ordered this paper from my paper master to make 60% mulberry and 40% pulp. Wood pulp, not cotton pulp. Because 100% mulberry is a little bit too hard to print to print such strong color. And it has a natural color that is not so white.

Bleach is not so good for paper for the paper becomes very weak from bleaching. So I asked [the paper master] to mix the wood pulp, which is very soft and easy to "squeeze" [absorb] the water [based] pigment.

Both the Chinese technique and Japanese technique--and also the Western technique--needs the dampening of the paper. You cannot print a beautiful color without dampening the paper. It is so hard; but dampening makes it soft and thicken and it's a good effect to ____.

Don't dampen the paper directly; it will get too damp, the paper will get so wet. (He goes to work, saying nothing for a while.) {Aside, to Ritchie} It's all right to get questions. If they have questions.

Ritchie: I dunno--you're doing such a good job!

Kurosaki: Oh yes, this is a plate. Regular Japanese plywood. It is probably easier to show the first plate--the first plate is here. [For] Embossing, for relief, only take off one laminate of the piece of the wood. So this--how to say--not relief but the opposite--I pressed with a chopstick and go around. So it is easy to make such an embossing.

If I used an etching press, the press would press this part, too and also press all the paper. Japanese paper is not so strong, not so heavy like Western paper. It becomes very skinny--very thin--and it would lose the quality of Japanese paper. So I don't want to use the etching press; always by hand.

Question: What about pigment?

Kurosaki: Pigment itself is not a problem to use normal watercolor and water pigment, or gouache, or poster color, or powder--color powder itself. I usually make my own pigment from powder, mixed up with gum arabic because, you know, factory made water color is very thin. The percentage is so small. Another amount is of glue or other chemical things to make it a cheaper water color. Because all or 100 percent color pigment will be very expensive. I always need to make my own pigment with 100% pigment.

[He arranges the block on the table before him]. Usually you use a nail to make the plate fixed on the table. So it is easier to print.

This is my drawing for this print. [Pointing to lines around the border] Corner registration mark and straight registration mark. In the beginning I draw a lot of sketches on the paper and if I decide to transfer to such tracing paper [he's holding up what appears to be frosted mylar, not tracing paper per se].I make a whole outline with a pencil. Probably you can see a different color pencil in the image part.

And this number is the number of the plate. It doesn't say any color, just a different color. It doesn't say "orange" but you can see the gradation of the yellow and the blue. Because of this mark, such a complex part of the plate, sometimes I forget to transfer--I made a mistake and I forget to transfer. So if I mark here, each plate, when I finish one part I--how to say--fill the same color pencil in this circle.

Kuroiwa: When he transferred one section he makes this mark, he also transfers the mark. So, which mark goes with which section, he can keep track--

Kurosaki: So you can see this side of the print. Already you cannot see a circle--the mark of the circle--when I transfer the small circle, I filled the same color inside of the circle. So it is easy to understand where I left off.

This is my work. From this original drawing. How to say it--it's not a drawing. Design? Or planning [Plan}. I didn't miss any plates! (Laughter).

[Kurosaki is tangled in the microphone cord, there is laughter and Ritchie quips a good-humored remark.]

Kurosaki: In about fifteen minutes the Japanese rice paper comes to [becomes] damp, becomes soft--very good condition for printing. It's already become to good condition.

One of the very special techniques for Japanese printing is using rice paste. But this one is not made of rice at all, but made of wheat flour. It is very sticky. It's a little bit thick, so I'll make it soft. {He adds a little water.}

The reason for using this rice paste would be that water color hasn't any base--how to say--any body. Not like oil pigment. Oil pigment has a very sticky base, so it's easy to transfer to the paper by the pressing. But water pigment--if you do not use paste--pigment will spread out by the pressure. But if you mix this paste with the pigment, the pigment will become very sticky and have body. And it's easy to transfer to the paper.

But you can print without this pigment [he meant to say paste] but you cannot print like my image, very flat, strong color. You will not be able to get this without using this paste.

In the beginning water--no no, woodcut prints by water pigment need dampening of the plate because a wood plate works like a sponge and absorbs the water very strongly. Without dampening the surface--even if you use water pigment--water pigment will be absorbed inside the [surface of] the plate. So in the beginning you need to dampen the plate so the plate will be damp enough to keep the pigment on the top. Right? {He works with the brush and water}

Question: Are you just rubbing it in the brush?

Kurosaki: Um hmm. But it's preparation--not printing because I am waiting for the plate to be damp enough. Blue. And Yellow. And paper--damp paper--okay. (He has everything ready to show bokashi). Okay, I put the ink on this side and another ink on the other side. All right.

Ritchie: (Noticing a page he has ready to use with writing on it) Are you going to print on this?

Kurosaki: No no no.

Ritchie: I was going to say--that's a review of your show in Kyoto. Is that what you do with your reviews? I mean your show in Tokyo.

(There is chuckling about his, and Kurosaki continues to get ready for the printing.) I made a mistake.... Place the paper to the corner registration and the line registration mark--okay?

(More laughter as he uses his Tokyo exhibit review as a scrap paper between his printing tool--or baren--and the back of the paper he prints on.)

Ritchie: Do reviews make good paper for . . .?

Kurosaki: This is a little bit slick, you know. Tracing paper makes would be better.

Question: Are you using lots of pressure?

Kurosaki: Yes. You know, in the beginning this brush doesn’t have so much ink and also this plate will not keep so much ink. So everybody [is always] disappointed in the first printing. But this brush and plate will become very intimate (perhaps he means saturated?) with pigment. So it will come to be very beautiful printing [after repeated use].

So, please don’t become disappointed from your first printing. It’s not so beautiful--like that (pointing to his first try) but it will come to good blending and gradation. So print it again. I usually print twice for gradation and also flat spaces.

Still it’s a little bit dry, and under such strong light [referring to the video lighting]. I never print with strong light. (Chuckling in the background). Oops! (A small accident).

Okay, I will try not to use pigment [paste, he meant] and it will come to a different texture.

Ritchie: Paste?

Kurosaki: Paste. (He changes to another block in the series for this print). Without glue....(he prints with only pigment and water) can you see? Very small dots, without paste, water pigment becomes small spots because there is no base. Because of the pressure, pigment spreads out and comes to something like sesame (seed). We call it “Sesame effection--sesame effect”.

Ritchie: (Responding to a question out of hearing) Oh, the baren. That’s a good question.

Kurosaki: (Holding up a small roll of heavy brown twine) This is a baren cord. It is very expensive. You probably cannot imagine; it costs over four-hundred dollars.

Ritchie: For that piece of string? (Laughter).

Kurosaki: And this hemp string. It makes such a spiral and keep this inside of--um--(To Kuroiwa, in Japanese, he asks for a suitable English expression). Ategawa. Or holder. Lacquer keeps out the moisture from the hand [from the baren cord spiral].

This is made from fifty pieces of laminated Japanese thin paper, so it becomes more strong than wood. It is very flexible. So this keeps the string or cord inside this, as a holder. Wrapped by a bamboo sheath, this would be the traditional Japanese pressing [printing] tool called baren.

I made such a baren in the United States with [beaded] chain. This becomes very heavy, but it can give a strong pattern. It’s all right.

This one, inside, has iron cord [heavy picture-hanging wire]. You can use beads or glass balls. This one, also I made here with cotton string. You can see it is twisted, two strings from fisherman’s string. Twist two, two, an twisted again until it comes to four knot [strands]. This knot is very strong. If you make a spiral by this cord, it comes to make a nice baren.

Probably I can make a nice baren from plastic. A separate holder and the part for the pressure, I have a plan to make an adjustable part of the pressing part. So you can change this part of the pressing part--soft one and heavy one--different things. Maybe during this year I will start to make this new kind of press.

(Regarding the original traditional baren) It is very quite nice-looking, very traditional and historical-looking, but the problem it is so expensive and difficult to find. It is difficult, too, to change the bamboo sheath. It’s very nice knotting design, you know. Like a beautiful package design, but you cannot wrap this way without trying over one hundred or two hundred bamboo sheaths.

Still, I have difficulty to wrap this. I don’t like to do it, to work on the wrapping the bamboo sheath. If you glued this cord into the holder, it’s also available to print without the bamboo sheath. But you cannot hold it, so you have to make a handle on this holder. So my idea is to make a handle on top of the holder. And it’s adjustable. (He tells Kuroiwa in Japanese what he means and she proceeds to explain in English.)

Kuroiwa: He wanted to make an adjustable for different strength, so he would think of ways to attach them or glue them on . . .

Kurosaki: So I thought if I want to use this softness, I can adjust this one. When I made this one, I adjust this one. So it probably will work.

(By way of closing this demonstration.) Please try to make a woodcut next year with the new baren. Okay? Ritchie: Okay, thank you.

[Note: Kurosaki did create a plastic baren and it is available at Daniel Smith Inc in Seattle.]

Credits: Directed by Jim Settlemeir. Audio and video by Gary McFarland and Ed Boyd. Produced by Bill Ritchie. Edited by Lorna Pauley with assistance of Mark Raupauch. Made possible by the UW Printmaking Students, The Ford Foundation and IMS/TV of the University of Washington. The video tape is copyright 1981 by Bill Ritchie.

Afterword:

The northwest became a lively center for experiments in art and technology in the 1960s and '70s. Print makers contributed by bridging old-time hand processes, electronic imaging and the world of business. Bill Ritchie, as Ritchie's Video, started in printmaking and video art.

The address is Ritchie's Video 'N Print, 500 Aloha #105, Seattle, WA 98109. Telephone voice number is (206) 285-0658. E-mail ritchie@seanet.com

"Living Prints" is a trade mark of Bill Ritchie's, providing a database of print making information in multi-media.