Japanese Art with a Canadian Touch
A British-born artist from Canada is holding an exhibition of his 60 works of ukiyoe woodblock prints, part of his 10-year project to carve and print the Hyakunin Isshu poem collection.
Hyakunin Isshu is a set of 100 cards featuring 100 selected poems along with portraits of the poets who composed them.
Having lived in suburban Tokyo for nine years, David Bull has produced 10 prints a year since 1989 based on the original prints of Katsukawa Shunsho, an ukiyoe painter from the Edo Era.
In the Edo era, ukiyoe was produced by a painter, a carver, and a printer under the organization of a publisher.
The exhibition of the prints by David Bull will be held at the Grand Gallery Osaka from Jan. 30 to Feb. 4, following a recent Tokyo exhibition.
Born in Britain and brought up in Canada, Bull came across ukiyoe prints at a Toronto gallery while he was working for a music instrument leasing company.
Bull and his then wife toured Japan in 1981 and visited woodblock carvers in Asakusa Tokyo, with the hope of some day learning the craft. He moved to Japan with his family in July 1986 and started studying carving and printing techniques while earning a living by teaching English.
His 10-year Hyakunin Isshu project was initiated after he first saw Shunsho's paintings for the poem collection. He held the first exhibition in 1990. His works gradually gained recognition, and last year's exhibition sold 72 sets of 10 prints for 100,000 a set.
Bull says "Shunsho's work is actually very unusual; in most ukiyoe we can't see the personality, but in these portraits we can see the subject's deep personality."
"The old master carvers could carve lines that dance on the page. My lines don't move yet," he says.
TV Listings
The 'Woodblock Shimbun' has a full selection of TV programs on file. Videos available include some of David's news appearances, complete feature programs, and some short documentaries on his work. The files are in QuickTime format, and can be easily viewed with your browser.
Program listings are on the Index page ... 
David Bull, Woodblock Printmaker
When I arrive at David Bull's home in Ome in Tokyo's western suburb on a cold but sunny morning in late March, he is checking a huge delivery of kiri wood boxes from China. But this time he is not quite satisfied ... (2007)
Full Story.
Craftsman Carves Poetry in Wood
"I am not an artist," says woodblock carver David
Bull. The 40-year-old Canadian distinguishes himself clearly from the
creative talents who produce the original drawings for woodblock
prints. "I am a craftsman." he says. Born in England and raised in Canada, Bull was
originally trained as a classical flutist, and for some time pursued
a career in music, which ranged from making classical guitars to
conducting youth orchestras to playing bass in a rock band. (1992)
Full Story.
Woodblock craftsman combines old, new
Day after day, David Bull sits in his workroom almost all day long using his energy to make hanga or woodblock prints. His workroom, housed in his four-story house standing on the side of a riverbank in Ome, Tokyo, has yet to be completed because he is building the room himself by taking time from his busy production schedule. (2004)
Full Story.
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