Scenes in the Night

Above us, stars. Beneath us, constellations.
Five billion miles away, a galaxy dies
like a snowflake falling on water. Below us,
some farmer, feeling the chill of that distant death,
snaps on his yard light, drawing his sheds and barn
back into the little system of his care.
All night, the cities, like shimmering novas,
tug with bright streets at lonely lights like
his.

From “Flying at Night” by Ted Kooser

Moonlit Sea Prints of Easthampton MA is presenting its latest exhibition, Scenes in the Night, showcasing the worlds of Hiroaki Takahashi Shotei, Tsuchiya Yoshitoshi, Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Shoda Koho, Arai Yoshimune, Kawase Hasui, Tsuchiya Koitsu, Ohara Koson and Utagawa Hiroshige.

While traditional Japanese art was created mainly for the ruling class, the woodblock prints of the Edo period onward emerged as an art form that appealed to the common person and mass-produced for commercial consumption. Their topics, rather than simply spiritual nature art, dealt with the human experience (romance, fantasies, scandals, tragedies, eroticism… or even humble scenes of farmers, fishermen, etc.) The prints were expressive, imaginative, and explorative in their treatments with innovative artistic devices that evolved in a rapidly changing world. Perspective, illumination, silhouette, reflections and atmosphere. Each image tells a story.