David Bull (craftsman)

David Bull (born 11 November 1951) is a Canadian ukiyo-e woodblock printer and carver who heads the Mokuhankan studio in Asakusa, Tokyo.[1][2] Born in Britain, Bull moved to Canada at the age of 5. He first discovered Japanese woodblocks while working in a music shop in 1980 in Toronto, at 28, and started making his own prints without formal training.[1][3]

David Bull
David Bull in his Mokuhankan print party studio
Born (1951-11-11) 11 November 1951
Halifax, England
Known forWoodblock printmaker
StyleUkiyo-e
Websitemokuhankan.com
woodblock.com

Bull moved to Tokyo in 1986 to learn more about traditional Japanese woodblock printing.[3][1] In 1989 he embarked on an ambititous ten-year project, recreating 100 images from Katsukawa Shunsho's 1775 Hyakunin isshu poetry book.[4]

He is known for his work on the Ukiyo-e Heroes kickstarter crowd-funding project together with Jed Henry, recreating modern videogame scenes in ukiyo-e style with traditional woodblock techniques.[5][6][7] The Mokuhankan studio has a shop and used to offer “print parties” for amateurs, where they could try the craft of printing.[8] During the pandemic his shop temporarily shut down for three years, but is now back open without print parties.

A simple woodblock used in the print parties where amateurs can make their own prints.

References
  1. Corkill, Edan (2008-06-29). "David Bull: In the wake of Hokusai". The Japan Times Online. ISSN 0447-5763. Retrieved 2018-03-25.
  2. "I Love Tokyo! A woodblock artist in Asakusa". TOKYO EYE 2020. NHK. Retrieved 2018-03-25.
  3. "Woodblock prints and paintings | MITSUBISHI MATERIALS CORPORATION". www.mitsubishicarbide.com. Retrieved 2018-03-25.
  4. Ma, Karen (October 1989). "Recapturing Edo Images". The Daily Yomiuri (Tokyo).
  5. Cheshire, Tom. "Kong gets chipped: the story of Ukiyo-e Heroes". Wired UK. Retrieved 5 July 2015.
  6. Starr, Michelle (9 July 2012). "Ukiyo-e Heroes: video-game characters as samurai". cnet.com.
  7. Corriea, Alexa Ray (28 August 2013). "Artists turn video games into Japanese wood block prints". Polygon.
  8. Fujiwara, Yoshiharu. "Tour Participants enjoy Edo cultural atmosphere". Yomiuri Shimbun.
  • Press Interviews and media coverage


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