Objects of Man

Katagami designs are rich with man-made objects; fans and kites and books and more. Textiles, while man-made, represent such a vast subject and sensibility that they have their own category in the catalog. For that, you can find a textile focused show called “Fake Out” or search the subject “textile” in the catalog. Architecture, agriculture, religion and culture can be found in subject “culture.”

The “Objects of Man” offered here are personal objects. Stencils in large, Meiji-era format allow an open form like the square of a book or the circle of a bowl to open like a window of contemplation to reveal scenes and objects. Smaller works, often Edo period, take a form, say a folding fan, and utilize multiple views and a decorative motif to build syncopated visual rhythms through repetition and variation.