Author Archives: Christine Urban

Edo Pop: Modern Icons Meets An Ancient Art Form
By Ukiyo-e Heroes | Jed Henry & Dave Bull
November 14 – December 4, 2014 ◆ FREE Admission

At RESOBOX Gallery (41-26 27th St, Long Island City, Queens)
Gallery Hours: Mon, Wed-Fri 11AM-5PM Sat/Sun 12-5PM (Tue: CLOSED)
For more information about this exhibit, please visit the exhibit website.

Exhibit Overview
Modern video game heroes, lovingly depicted as handmade Japanese prints

For hundreds of years, ukiyo-e (or Japanese woodblock prints) has depicted heroes, villains, and monsters in every conceivable genre. These artists strived to create inventive and vibrant scenes of entertainment, a “floating world”. To this day, that tradition of depicting a “floating world” continues, especially in video games. Boss fights. Invulnerable heroes. Holy swords. Even the classic double jump can be traced back to medieval Japanese legends.

To celebrate Japan’s contribution to video games, illustrator Jed Henry has taken his favorite game characters, and returned them to the ukiyo-e style. Modern costuming has been traded for the medieval, but the essence of each character remains, proving that you can’t take the Ukiyo out of these modern pop icons. With the help of Dave Bull, a craftsman trained in the art of Japanese woodblock printing, these illustrations are truly able to come to life. After Jed Henry designs each print, Dave Bull goes through an intricate process of preparing, carving the key block, carving the color blocks, and proof printing. In this manner, Jed Henry’s designs are truly able to come to life in the ukiyo-e tradition. Read more →