Mary Brodbeck’s interest in woodblock printmaking took her to Japan 25 years ago. In Tokyo, she met woodblock artist Yoshisuke Funasaka. The five-month long fellowship developed into a lasting friendship. The artistic styles of the two artists were vastly different, but their shared passion for the art form continues to this day. Funasaka works in abstract motifs. Brodbeck's work depicts nature scenes, mostly of the Great Lakes region. The two have collaborated on an exhibit at the Kalamazoo Book Arts Center: Cross Currents – East/West.
“I was introduced to Mr. Funasaka while I was a graduate student at Western Michigan University,” Brodbeck says. “I took my portfolio in to be evaluated by the professors there, and when I applied to get my master’s degree in printmaking, I took in my prints. Right away, professor Curtis Rhodes saw something in them that reminded him of Japanese art. He asked me if I was interested in studying in Japan.”
Brodbeck was indeed interested, and she soon found herself in Tokyo alongside Funasaka in 1988. Funasaka applied for a five-month long fellowship on Brodbeck’s behalf, and the fellowship was awarded. A friendship developed, even as their styles in printmaking differed—although both use a 17th century Japanese woodblock technique.
“The technique itself, and our dedication to the technique and the art form, has really kept us bonded together, because we want to support each other and each other’s artwork,” Brodbeck says.
Yoshisuke Funasaka is a Tokyo-based woodblock and silkscreen printmaker best known for his repeated depictions of various themes. His colorful artwork is in collections at prominent American museums including the Freer Gallery of Art, the Cincinnati Art Museum, the Brooklyn Museum, the Cleveland Museum of Art, and many others worldwide.
Mary Brodbeck is a Michigan-based artist recognized for her graphic depictions of the Great Lakes watershed region. Inspired by her love of the outdoors and the aesthetics of Japan, her work in both print and film (Becoming Made, 2014) has garnered her acolytes and inclusion in many workshops, exhibitions, and collections across the United States and abroad.
“Cross Currents: East/West, a Woodblock Print Exhibition” by Brodbeck and Yoshisuke Funasaka is on display at the Kalamazoo Book Arts Center through July 28th. Broadbeck says it “commemorates our longstanding connection and celebrates the cultural blending of modernism, tradition, and aesthetics in our woodblock prints.”
Listen to WMUK's Art Beat every Friday at 7:50 a.m. and 4:20 p.m.
Listen to WMUK's Art Beat every Friday at 7:50 a.m. and 4:20 p.m.
