Visual culture in Japanese woodcuts.

Today, Japanese woodblock prints are part of important art collections around the world, but from the 17th century to the early 20th century, woodblock prints were a widespread graphic medium in Japan, and a single print could be purchased for the same price as a bowl of noodles. The images were often part of series or books and had motifs from, among other things, classical literature, new theater productions, or events in the entertainment districts.

Like today's digital media, woodcuts made it possible to get a little closer to what one desired: the latest fashions of the time, trips to famous places, or late-night rendezvous with beautiful women.

Images of desire tells about the historical, political and cultural context of the woodcut, with particular focus on the visual representation of desire, longing and imagination.

Gunhild Ravn Borggreen (b. 1962) is an associate professor at the University of Copenhagen, where she conducts research in Japanese art and visual culture. For the first time, the history of Japanese woodblock prints is unfolded in a research-based monograph in Danish.