Interview with John T. Carpenter
How long have you been involved with the Lusy surimono project and in what capacity?
Beginning six or seven years ago, Professor Hideyuki Iwata of Atomi University in Tokyo and I began to do research on surimono collections in the USA and Europe, with a focus on actor prints. We had heard of the surimono collection in Design Museum in Zurich, and made an appointment to view it five or six years ago. But at that time we didn’t do any further work on the collection, and we only did wrote up entries on 25 or so surimono by Kunisada that we planned to use in a book on theatrical surimono.
How and when did you first hear about this collection?
I had been aware of its existence through references in various publications, including those by Roger Keyes and others, but I had never seen any of the prints illustrated. When I first viewed the collection, I examined about a third of the collection accompanied by Professor Iwata and Fumiko Kobayashi, both of whom contributed essays to the present volume. Only when the collection was moved to the Museum Rietberg did I accept Katharina Epprecht’s invitation to view the entire collection carefully and to write up a catalogue of the entire collection.
What do you personally think of the Lusy surimono collection? Is it one of the world’s best?
The Marino Lusy Collection is one of the top collections in the world brought together by a single individual, and has a number of prints that are previously unpublished. Of the three hundred prints, 70 or 80 may be considered among the finest known impressions in the world. Interestingly it has very few still-life surimono, which other Western collectors cherished. It is particularly strong in mitate (transformational) prints in which represent revered historical, religious or literary personages of the past into beautiful women of contemporary Edo society.
Can you describe the catalog that you are currently writing?
The volume Reading Surimono: The Interplay of Text and Image in Japanese Prints combines a fully-illustrated catalogue describing all three hundred prints in the collection with eleven essays introducing recent scholarship on verse surimono. A special feature of the catalogue is that all poems on the prints are translated. The exhibition opening this December at the Museum Rietberg will feature highlights from the Lusy Collection.
What similar projects have you worked with before?
The first surimono collection I worked on, with Joan B, Mirviss, was the Frank Lloyd Wright Collection of Surimono in Taliesen, Arizona. I also worked with Joan on an exhibition of surimono from three private American collections that was shown at the Ota Memorial Museum in Tokyo. I’ve also written various essays on literary and artistic aspects of surimono.
Do you have a surimono collection of your own? Would you advise others to start collections of surimono?
No, I don’t have a collection of my own, though I wish I did. Unfortunately, good impressions of surimono, which used to be relatively inexpensive forty or fifty years ago compared to other varieties of prints, are now hard to come by and command high prices. I’m afraid an academic’s salary would not allow me to acquire a collection. However, I take great pleasure in viewing surimono in public collections around the world, and think of public collections as belonging to everyone.
As for collecting surimono exclusively. Fewer and fewer surimono in good condition are coming on the market these days, and it might be hard for someone starting from scratch in 2008 to acquire a collection as large as Marino Lusy was able to do in pre-war Europe, or as some American and European collectors did in the decades after WWII, when surimono were still relatively inexpensive and still possible to find in good condition. Still, nice surimono still occasionally come on the market, and anyone interested in Japanese prints should try to get good impressions of surimono by their favourite artists.
Your dissertation was on calligraphy – what brought you to the field of Japanese woodblock prints?
The connecting link of all my research, whether on Heian calligraphy or Edo period prints and paintings, is how poems or other forms of texts can be inscribed in ways that make them art in their own right, or in ways that allow them to complement and enhance pictorial art. Since I learned to read 11th century court calligraphy, it helped me learn how to decipher inscriptions on other forms of premodern Japanese art. Of course, I still struggle with many inscriptions, but enjoy the challenge of trying to read and understand them.
What are some of the best aspects of the field of Japanese woodblock prints?
Every aspect of Japanese printmaking has its own attractions. I have always had a great interest in surimono by Hokusai and his pupils. Shunman, especially his still-life designs, have also been a favourite subject. My most recent new area has been the study of actor surimono.
Any future projects, once this one is finished?
Since the Rietberg surimono volume has just been sent off to press, I am now working on deciphering and translating a kyoka anthology illustrated by Kitagawa Utamaro with pictures of seashells. The volume, called ‘Gifts of the Sea’ in English, is gorgeously printed and is comparable in quality to surimono. That project is for the Fitzwilliam Museum. After that, I am also planning to finish up a book on Heian court calligraphy, something that I have been working on for a while.
You teach in the UK. Do you find basic differences between teaching there and in Germany- -or the USA?
I’ve had experience teaching at universities in the USA, the UK, and recently two terms at the University of Heidelberg while I was writing up the surimono volume. Since I specialize in East Asian art history, the students I teach, wherever it might be, tend to be excited about the subject, since usually my courses are electives, not requirements. One obvious difference between American and European university students is that American students tend to speak up much more in class and are more willing to participate in discussion. My students in the UK and Germany, like those in Japan, tend to be more deferential towards their teachers. I rather enjoy it when students challenge my opinions in class, so I encourage everyone to ask questions.
Thank you so much!
Questions by Prof. Dr. H. B. Thomsen. The interview was hold in Dec. 2008.
