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Let 1000 (times 36) Views Bloom? |
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Yesterday, near San Francisco's City Hall, I ran into a man I know. He's very active in the local art scene, and curates for the SF Arts Commission. When I told him about my series of 36 Views of Sutro Tower, and the show I recently hung at the Berkeley Repertory Theater to coincide with their staging of the play 36 Views, he told me, "Someone else already did that." I asked if he meant someone had shown some other series of 36 Views inspired by Hokusai, but he said no, he meant of Sutro Tower. In fact, not only had he seen another 36 Views of Sutro Tower, but also a 36 Views of Mt. Tamalpais (a prominent spot in nearby Marin County). Since completing my own series, I've searched the Web and found evidence of many series of 36 Views -- of Fuji, of other places, of animals, and even an incomplete one of Sutro (but not the one my acquaintance had mentioned). It does not leave me disappointed, however, that my idea was not "original" (since it wasn't intended to be), but rather encouraged that so many artists who have seen Hokusai's work -- from photographers, to playwrights, to painters -- have all been inspired by him, and embraced his theme to structure their work. Let 36,000 Views Bloom... |
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