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The selected object for this podcast analysis was Hokusai’s The Great Wave, a famous print of art from 19th century Japan. I chose this object as I have seen the art in various media forms numerous times, and although I was aware that it originated in Japan, I had little knowledge on why it has become so popular and symbolic. I was surprised to learn that the print has historically become associated with Japan’s opening of borders and becoming a global economic power after centuries of virtual isolation. Inherently, this served as both a catalyst for the spread of Japanese art, culture, and goods to the rest of the world, but also an internal cultural shock to the society that had lived by extremely rigid rules that ensured stability, now suddenly overwhelmed with new influences, lifestyles, and economic goods and services. Historians view The Great Wave as a metaphor both for the tsunami of instability that was about to overtake Japan as people knew it, but also as represented by the stillness and eternity of Mount Fuji, that is symbolic for the strength and dedication of the Japanese people.
The podcast analyzes the art print not just in the context of geopolitics, but its technical aspects as well. It was surprising to learn that the print and style that is regarded as inherently Japanese actually carries many European influences. This ranges from the colors used, such as the Prussian blue which was not produced in secluded Japan at the time of the print’s creation but was likely imported from Europe to Japan from China. Furthermore, the art adopts European-style technique, although in a highly creative way as historians believe that the artist, Hokusai Katsushika, extensively studied European art. This likely contributed to the print’s popularity in the Western world after Japanese opening of borders as people saw some familiarities between their own artistic styles and this new foreign art. The woodblock prints which consisted of thirty other art prints of Mount Fuji were one of the biggest cultural exports of Japan. I believe this history is important in the context of how it laid a foundation to Japan becoming a world leader in cultural exports, and in a manner of speaking these woodblock prints produced by the thousands, were preemptive to what one can say is artistic mass media in the global exchange of ideas.
The podcast was intriguing to listen to and really helped to learn about not just the object but the time period and the country of origin. The way it was presented by first providing a background, then investigating the art with its techniques and metaphors, and finally building upon the facts to provide a sequence of events and conclusions on historical impacts. I think podcasts can be an excellent method to learn history but only when well-made and presented in a correct form. Obviously, a drudging voice reading a monotone text about an object would be challenging. However, this podcast provided a variety of sound effects such as sounds of waves or music (that can be assumed traditional Japanese instrumentals) along with gradual but intriguing shifts in the narrative. Listening to the history was almost like listening to an audiobook of a fictional story, it became intriguing even without having a personal connection to arts or Japan. The podcast did a great job of establishing the narrative storytelling supplemented by expert interviews that provided in-depth analysis of specifics such as the art style and meaning of the image or the geopolitical context for how it became so widespread.
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