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 paulbinnie.co.uk Kabuki Woodblock
Paul Binnie lived in Japan from early 1993 to late 1998 and became closely involved in the study of Kabuki and also Nõ. Kabuki prints have a long and varied history, being amongst the first commercially produced prints made at the end of the seventeenth century in Japan and having an unbroken linage well into the twentieth century. Binnie is the only foreign artist to use the actor so consistently in his woodblocks, and combines the skills of designer, block-cutter and printer, all of which in the past were specialist jobs performed by individuals. He has two distinct styles; the "Shin hanga" finesse of, for example Fuji Musume, which is influenced by Ykiyo, Nattori Shunsen, Ota Gako and artists of the Taishõ period and the "Sõsaku hanga", or creative print style of Musume Dojoji, where the design is worked out directly on the block. This spontaneous method of working can also be seen in Binnie's prints of Clouds and allows for accident as part of the expression. Binnie uses kappaban, or stencil printing, when he wishes to exploit effects of shading and opaque tones of colour, often on a black Japanese paper, with small editions and painterly applications of ink. The technique was originally developed in Kyoto, the kimono making centre of Japan, as a method for dying silk but has been used by numerous Japanese print artists of the twentieth century as a low-tech fore-runner of silk screen printing.
Nakamura Jakuemon in Fuji Musume Ichikawa Danjuro in Shibaraku Nakamura Ganjiro in Sonezakishinju Ichikawa Ennosuke as Niki Danjo Ichikawa Danshiro in Gohiikikanjincho Nakamura Shikan as Ohatsu
Nakamura Utaemon as Agemaki Bando Tamasaburo in Sagi Musume Ichikawa Ennosuke in Kurozuka Ichikawa Danjuro as Benkei Utaemon and Ganjiro in Niinokuchi Bando Tamasaburo in Musume Dojoji
Nakamura Jakuemon as Masaoka Onoe Baiko in Ibaraki Bando Tamasaburo: The Hat Dance Matsumoto Koshiro in Shibaraku Ichikawa Danshiro IV as Otokonosuke Onoe Baiko VII in Fuji Musume
Yanone Kanjincho Kenuki Oshimodoshi Kagekiyo Shibaraku
Sukeroku Narukami Bando Mitsugoro: Kugeyaku Shakkyo (Noh) Bando Tamasaburo V in Fuji Musume Mountain Temple in Yamagata
Asakusa in the Snow Cherry Blossoms at Ueno Moon over Shinobazu Ebi Zori-Backbend Onoe Baiko VII as The Spirit of the Cherry Tree
Kurumabiki Ichikawa Danjuro: Genroku Mie Onoe Baiko: Snake Spirit in Dojoji
Agemaki from Sukeroku Onoe Baiko VII as Hanako