Love it or hate it, strong reactions are the norm, never placid indifference. Rainbow Colors: The Woodblock Prints of Paul Jacoulet will present some 20 works by the French-born artist who occupies an intriguing niche in the history of the Japanese woodblock print. The exhibition will remain on view through March 30, 2008 and offer a sampling of Jacoulet's culturally hybridized, multi-national, trans-gender vision.
What is it about the work of Paul Jacoulet (1896–1960) that continues to evoke such strong emotions even today?
Jacoulet is often associated with the Shin Hanga (New Print) school of modern woodblock artists, who sought to revitalize the waning ukiyo-e tradition by injecting Western realism and post-"floating world" subject matter. However, Jacoulet's technicolor oeuvre, and subjects such as languid mermaids and androgynous boys wearing hibiscus flowers against backdrops of tropical fruits and exotic butterflies, has tended to slip between conventional categorizations.
The works will present the full range of his subject matter, from Japanese, Chinese and Korean works to those based on his travels around the Micronesian islands during the 1930s, when many on the islands were under Japanese colonial rule. -- www.pacificasiamuseum.org
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