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Tara Donovan
Before Anime
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Past Exhibitions


Kintoki with a Mallet on his Shoulder

Seki Kiyonaga (Japanese, 1752–1815).
Kintoki with a Mallet on his Shoulder, 1804
Woodblock print on paper, 14 1/8 x 9 5/8 inches.
John C. Huseby Print Collection of the Des Moines Art Center through Bequest, 1994.220.

Before Anime: Japanese Prints from Superhuman to Superflat

May 15 – September 6, 2009
Print Gallery

Before Anime: Japanese Prints from Superhuman to Superflat presents a selection of Japanese color woodcuts from the Des Moines Art Center permanent collections. The prints, dating from the early- to mid-20th century, were created by some of the leading Japanese printmakers of their time.

Before Anime examines the subject matter, style, and technique of traditional Japanese prints and explores the continuity and transformation of traditional prints’ imagery and style in light of contemporary Japanese comics (manga), animation (anime), and the Superflat style of contemporary artist Takashi Murakami. Pictorial conventions used in 19th-century Japanese prints form an indigenous stylistic background from which the creators of contemporary Japanese manga and anime, as well as Superflat-style artists such as Murakami, continue to draw inspiration.

Many of the prints in Before Anime have seldom been on view. Several recent gifts from Kay Ward are shown here for the first time. Before Anime is organized by Amy N. Worthen, curator of prints and drawings.

Before Anime
Related Programs

Conversations on Art: Amy N. Worthen
“Kintoki/Kintaro, or Golden Boy, Then and Now”
Thursday, May 21, 6:30 pm
Levitt Auditorium, FREE admission

In Amy Worthen’s lecture on visual and narrative connections between traditional and modern Japanese prints and contemporary magna, anime, and video games, she will focus on images of the legendary super-child Kintaro, also known as Kintoki, or Golden Boy. She will trace the ways that this boy with superhuman strength in traditional folk tales was transformed into a variety of popular characters in contemporary Japanese culture including the hero of Golden boy, a manga and anime series about a seemingly hapless nerd.

Download the Gallery guide here: Before Anime Gallery Guide

The Gallery Guide is a PDF file and requires Adobe Acrobat Reader to view, which is a free download.

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DES MOINES ART CENTER 4700 GRAND AVE. DES MOINES, IA 50312-2099515.277.4405

Utagawa Kunisada (Toyokuni III) (Japanese, 1786–1865). The Actor Nakamura Fukusuke I in his role as Goro in the play “Yayoi–zakura hisago no makkubari” from the series, “Imayo oshie kagami (Mirror of Today’s Pictures),” 1860. Color woodblock print on paper. Des Moines Art Center Permanent Collections; Richard L. and Kay E. Ward Collection, 2009.33

Kawase Hasui (Japanese, 1883–1957). Full Moon at Mogame, 1930.
Color woodblock print on paper. Des Moines Art Center Permanent Collections;
Richard L. and Kay E. Ward Collection, 2009.32

Takashi Murakami (Japanese, born 1962). Making A U-Turn, The Lost Child Finds His Way Home, 2004 (detail). Silkscreen on paper, 31 1/2 x 31 1/2 inches. Des Moines Art Center Permanent Collections;
Purchased with funds from the Kay Reynolds Stroud Art Fund, 2004.9

Ichiyusai Kuniyoshi (Japanese, 1798–1861). Two Actors, 1861. Color woodblock print on paper. Des Moines Art Center Permanent Collections;
Richard L. and Kay E. Ward Collection, 2009.29