Water Mirror (B)
by Ansei Uchima
- Date:
- 1962
- Medium:
- Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
- Dimensions:
- 43.8 × 68.1 cm
- Edition:
- Self-printed
- Source:
- Minneapolis Institute of Art
Description
Water Mirror (B) is a 1962 woodblock print in ink and color on paper that explores the reflective surface of still water — a natural mirror that duplicates and inverts the world above it. The "(B)" designation indicates this is the second version of a subject Uchima found compelling enough to revisit, each iteration investigating a different aspect of water's capacity to create doubled images. The water mirror is both literal optics (the physics of light reflecting off a smooth surface) and metaphor (the idea that nature holds up a mirror to itself). Uchima's abstract treatment focuses on the boundary between real and reflected, the line where water meets air and the image flips.
More Prints by Ansei Uchima
More Rivers & Lakes Prints
Lake Chuzenji, Nikko (Nikko Chuzenjiko)
Nikko Chuzenjiko
1930
Color woodblock print; oban
Lake Kugushi in Wakasa Province (Wakasa Kugushiko), from the series Souvenirs of Travel I (Tabi miyage dai isshu)"
Wakasa Kugushiko
1920
Color woodblock print; oban
Gosai Canal in Niigata (Niigata Gosaibori), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, Second Series (Tabi miyage dai nishu)"
Niigata Gosaibori
1921
Color woodblock print; oban
The Hori River at Obama (Obama Horikawa), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, First Series (Tabi miyage dai isshu)"
Obama Horikawa
1920
Color woodblock print; oban
Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
Water Mirror (B) was created by Ansei Uchima (内間安瑆) in 1962.
Water Mirror (B) depicts rivers & lakes and abstract.
Water Mirror (B) measures 43.8 × 68.1 cm.