November 3, 2017

Katsushika Hokusai, Warrior With a Battle Axe, 1810s-40s, Collection of Stephen Flavin Utagawa Kuniyoshi, Ibaya Sensaburō, publisher. Scribblings on the storehouse wall (Nitakaragura kabe no mudagaki), 1843-47.

Photography by erik Gould, courtesy of the museum of Art, rhode Island School of Design, Providence

draftsmanship, based on both the work’s intended function and the circumstances of its production.”

Similarly, Weissberg differentiates between the three works in “Rough Cut” – by title, The Golden Flower by Noburō Ōfuji, Stamp Fantasy by Yoji Kuri and Daumenreise #6 Kyoto by Maya Yonosho – and the products of mainstream anime, Japanese animation ranging from the Americanized 1960s’ Speed Racer to 1997’s Princess Mononoke.

“These films are divergent from what many might commonly associate with anime,” says Weissberg of her exhibition. “The exact definition of anime is contested among film scholars, but some would argue that the films included in ‘Rough Cut’ represent a separate lineage due to a number of factors, including the release date, format and distribution method.

“Despite their differences, the films share many of the same early roots as more commercially oriented animation in Japan, including the influence of manga, or Japanese comic books and graphic novels. The films on view in ‘Rough Cut’ offer a broadened perspective on Japanese animation, providing insight into how early independent Japanese animation and attention to the material histories of paper paved the way for later experimental films.”

The two Pulitzer curators likewise provide enlightening commentary on the procedural backgrounds of their exhibitions, early and late, with Schenkenberg explaining the scarcity of prelims like those showcased in “Living Proof.” The Pulitzer’s brief on them states that such prelims frequently hit the circular file and that “surviving examples have

LadueNews.com | november 3, 2017

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