#Katagami Category
Dr Sarah Desmarais: Drawing Inspiration from Katagami Stencils
Sarah Desmarais was a participant in MoDA’s research project, Katagami in Practice. Her research focused on the practice of making, and how it can be used to approach the katagami reflectively, critically and creatively. Sarah’s response goes beyond simply noting the stencils as examples of interesting motifs, technical virtuosity or traditional technique. She combined her […]
Loan: ‘The Craft of the Japanese Stencil’, ULITA (2017)
MoDA holds one of the UK’s important collections of Japanese katagami stencils. Another significant collection can be found at ULITA, part of Leeds University. In 2017, ULITA held an exhibition which celebrated the art of the Japanese stencil or ‘katagami’. These stencils were used for dyeing designs onto clothing ranging from everyday worker’s garments to the […]
Mamiko Markham: Katagami Uncovered
Mamiko Markham was one of the participants in MoDA’s research project, Katagami in Practice: Japanese stencils in the Art School. Her research used both conventional and infrared photography to examine the katagami stencils in MoDA’s Silver Studio Collection. This helped to determine geographical origins, dates and makers. Mamiko explains what infrared photography has revealed The […]
Dr Alice Humphrey: mathematical analysis of katagami stencils
We have always known that the katagami stencils in MoDA’s collections are remarkable. Mathematical analysis by Dr Alice Humphrey has revealed more about just how extraordinary they are. Alice undertook a mathematical analysis of many of the katagami in MoDA’s collection. She looked at the creation of shaded effects by means of differently spaced dots […]
Katagami in Practice: Japanese Stencils in the Art School (2016-18)
An overview of the Arts Council funded project, including an introduction to our practitioners
What are Katagami?
Katagami are Japanese stencils that were originally used for applying patterns to kimono cloth. The stencils were created by drilling, punching and cutting detailed and intricate designs into mulberry paper. This was done by hand by skilled Japanese craftsmen before the end of the nineteenth century. The katagami stencils were originally produced simply as […]