Edutainment > M is for Mao

M is for Mao, 2006
copyright Tom Kristensen

Tom Kristensen, born 1962, is a young artist from Australia who works in the tradition of Japanese woodblock printmaking. On this page, he writes about his latest print: "M is for Mao".

Here is the original text written by Tom Kristensen. Text and images are copyright protected and may not be used or distributed for other than private use without the prior consignment of the author/artist.

M is for Mao

The woodblock print has more than a thousand years of history as a tool of propaganda. The mass production of printed material is essential to the widespread distribution of ideology.

Woodblock prints originated in China between the 6th and 9th centuries. The earliest known printed book is a Chinese Buddhist sutra dating from 868. By the late Middle Ages woodblock printing had become important in Europe. The flood of attainable books and pamphlets were important to the rise of social movements. The invention of movable metal type proved more useful for rendering Western text while Asian calligraphic text was well suited to carving.

Woodblock printing continued to be the major print form in China until the late 19th century. In the mid 20th century the Chinese Communist Party sanctioned the woodblock print as a platform for mass communication. The woodblock is easily made with limited technology and has the flavour of the common people.

Brightly coloured posters were made to support the party line. The spirit of eternal revolution was often symbolically rendered in red. Inspirational slogans were delivered to motivate the masses. The aesthetic of this propaganda has much in common with modern advertising.

Tom Kristensen
October 2006

The artist was first discovered by Eric van den Ing, co-author of a classic ukiyo-e book "Beauty and Violence" and owner of Saru Gallery. After Eric van den Ing had placed Tom's woodblock prints on his online gallery, a few days later a collector had bought the whole set. Mr. van den Ing seems to have a "magic hand" for new artists. He was the first, and before artelino, to introduce Paul Binnie in 2000 to a larger online community of friends of Japanese prints.

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