Article "The Great Wave Off Kanagawa"

About the Art:
Artist Kristen Cumings was commissioned by the Jelly Belly Candy Company to recreate Katsushika Hokusai’s The Great Wave Off Kanagawa completely  out of Jelly Belly jelly beans. Cumings used a wide range of colors to capture the intense blue of the waves and the white of the foam caps. The artist went to great lengths to recreate the intricate details of the original work, even using only three beans to depict the fishermen kneeling on the boats caught in the waves.
About the Original:
Hokusai’s The Great Wave Off Kanagawa is a woodblock print published circa 1830 and is one of the most recognized Japanese works of art in the world. Depicting large waves engulfing traditional Japanese fishing boats off the shore of Kanagawa, the woodblock is of the Ukiyo-e genre— a style of art that features landscapes and tales from history. The piece was the first in a series of 36 works by Hokusai that depicted Mt. Fuji from 36 different angles.
The print consists of three main elements: the agitated sea, three boats, and Mt. Fuji in the background. While many believed the waves to be the result of a tsunami, a direct translation of the print’s title states that it is a “wave of the open sea.” Being endangered by the waves are three oshiokuri-bune, or Japanese fishing boats, that are noted for their speed. On each boat several fishermen can be seen either sitting or kneeling, with some using oars in an attempt to steer the vessel. At the print’s bottom is a snowcapped Mt. Fuji. The mountain, part of Japan’s national identity, is considered sacred and plays a significant role in the history of Japanese art and culture. It’s believed that dark color around Mt. Fuji indicates that the image takes place during the early morning and that the sun is rising from the vantage point of the observer.
The process of producing The Great Wave Off Kanagawa was complicated. First, Hokusai painted the image using a brush on paper and silk. The work was then taken to an engraver who attached it to a wood panel and carved out each line and detail. The relief was then inked and a new piece of paper was placed over the panel to create the print.
Original copies of the work appear in galleries all over the world including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, the British Museum in London, and the National Library of France.
Based On: The Great Wave Off Kanagawa
Artist: Katsushika Hokusai (Japanese, 1760-1849)