Access to the Collection
Our plans ...
Our collection of prints is currently housed in one of the rooms above our shop in Asakusa Tokyo. It is currently an 'accumulation', and is not properly curated and stored. There is simply no way that we can provide public access at this time.
Having said that, our current thinking is that once we get back to a relatively stable business model post-pandemic, we will begin a renovation of the space previously used for the Print Parties, turning it into a small 'Gallery Space', where we would maintain rotating exhibitions of interesting items from the Collection.
Each of these exhibitions would consist of a curated selection of ten items. It is very much Dave's philosophy that when too many items (prints, paintings, etc.) are presented, it becomes nearly impossible for a typical viewer to look at them carefully enough to develop any kind of understanding of what we are looking at. It's not just a question of 'quantity' vs 'quality', it's simply a reflection of how much 'data' we can process in a single session.
The ten items will be displayed under the best possible illumination - to let the viewer see each one in the best 'light', in a literal sense. Two QR codes will be displayed near each item; they link to audio of Dave talking about the print (one for a 'Short Course', about three minutes each, and one with a more involved explanation). Visitors are encouraged to use their own earphones to listen at their own schedule, and their own pace. Working through the ten items on display at the 'Short Course' level would thus take just about a half-hour.
The exhibitions would rotate on a seasonal basis, with a new selection being presented every three months. Each exhibition of ten items would be accompanied by a descriptive pamphlet, a video presentation (on YouTube of course), and - if public health conditions permit - a Gallery Talk in the shop would be scheduled near the beginning of each new group. All these materials will be archived online as part of the Collection.
Long term: For the best overview of our plans, we recommend a (long) blog post initially created by Dave somewhere over a decade ago. In it, he outlined his 'vision' for the future of his Mokuhankan publishing venture, in which the Collection plays a very important part. Just when the 'Library' described there will become reality is difficult to say, given the present difficult business situation, but the goal has not been forgotten ...
