Historical Artifact Project: Ukiyo-e Print

For this assignment I decided to do a reproduction of an ukiyo-e print. Ukiyo-e prints first appeared in Europe in the form of wrapping paper so I incorporated that aspect by actually wrapping the paper over a rectangular box. I also used different types of patterned paper as the background because patterns (ex: on the clothes) are a common characteristic of ukiyo-e prints. For props I used a hairclip and a comb as women in the prints are usually depicted wearing or using such accessories. I also used flowers as they tend to represent beauty and are another characteristic that can be found in many ukiyo-e prints. As the women in this print embody a feeling of lightness, I cut out the museum labels with curved edges rather than squares so that it doesn’t give off a rigid feeling.

Overall, I spent around 1 hour researching what to do, 1 hour on how it should be photographed, 6 hours on the actual drawing and colouring part, 2 hours on the museum label and 2 hours photographing, adjusting the props and writing this rationale.

I tried several versions for the background. For example, instead of using paper I tried to use different types of fabric but that didn’t work out as I expected. Therefore, for the amount of thought I put in on how the photograph should look like (ex: props, background, readable type, etc) and the time I put into the actual making of the print, I would give myself a 9/10. The one thing I could have improved on was the lighting. I took this on a cloudy day and I feel like I could have been more creative and experimented with different types of light rather than just natural light.

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