Stamped Bag

Artist:      Shoosty®     Year:     2023

Medium: Duplex Printed Ink / 18mm Silk Twill 

Size:      36” x 36”  or 50" x 50"

This quote expresses the French artist and the founder of Impressionism, Monet’s admiration and fascination with Japanese art, especially the woodblock prints that he collected and displayed in his home. 

Here are some of the most famous artists that have ever lived who were influenced by Japanese art: Vincent van Gogh, Edgar Degas, Edouard Manet, Mary Cassatt, Paul Gauguin, James McNeill Whistler, and Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec

The image is a pair of purple-tailed wasps in a Yin/Yang pose surrounded by an illustrated frame consisting of markings you might find stamped on a burlap bag. The idea was to make this look like a stamped print designed to hold goods that are shipped.

The concept suggests that the image is part of a worldwide cultural exchange and dialogue. I know with today’s Facebook, I have friends from most parts of the world and I get packages from far away. 

I read that some Japanese Woodblock prints made their way to the West as wrapping paper for the purchased goods. The innovative approach of Japanese art changed art history.