Posted by John Fiorillo on October 06, 1998 at 02:07:51:
In Reply to: Hodaka Yoshida posted by Adam on October 05, 1998 at 11:34:15:
: Does anyone hve any info about him. I have recently come into possesion of a print signed and dated 1951 entitled "The Tea House".
Response from JF:
There are brief entries on Hodaka Yoshida in various books on modern or contemporary Japanese prints, so when you visit bookstores or libraries you should check them out. Among them are Blakemore: Who’s Who in Modern Japanese Prints (1975); Merritt: Modern Japanese Woodblock Prints: The Early Years (1990); Petit: 44 Modern Japanese Prints Artists (1973); Petit & Arboleda: Evolving Techniques in Japanese Woodblock Prints (1977)and Robertson: Contemporary Printmaking in Japan (1965).
There is a good article by Eugene Skibbe titled "The Artist as Seer: Yoshida Hodaka 1926-1995" that appeared in "Andon" vol. 55 (November 1996, Society for Japanese Arts, Bergeyk, The Netherlands). ***
I cannot quote substantially from the article, but here are a few salient points: Hodaka was the brother of Toshi Yoshida (1911-1995) and the son of Hiroshi Yoshida (1876-1950). He produced poetry, sculpture, oil paintings, monoprints, and prints (about 450 of the latter) in a wide range of techniques. He won prizes from, among others, the Pacific Painting Society (1945), Lugano International Print Biennial (1962), Seoul International Print Biennial (1972), World Print Competition, San Francisco (1973), Japan Ministry of Culture Best Art Award (1980), Yamaguchi Gen Award (1987), and the Emperor’s Purple Ribbon Decoration (1990). Skibbe divides Hodaka’s work into periods: (1) early experiments in various media 1945-51, (2) early prints 1951-54, (3) Japanese prints 1954, (4) "primitive energy" prints 1955-63, (5) mythology and landscape series 1966-74, (6) transitional period 1974-79, (7) prints based on his photographs taken during travels around the world 1979-85, and (8) prints of walls and wall surfaces 1991-95.
[Note: *** The society publishes four times a year and distributes its journal only to its members (or to libraries and institutions) as part of their subscription (you cannot obtain single copies or subscribe just to the journal, you must be a member. I highly recommended membership for anyone seriously interested in Japanese arts. Write to: Society for Japanese Arts, Mr. Prankenstraat 12, 5571 CP Bergeyk, The Netherlands)]