The Department of Fine Arts is pleased to announce that the committee for the Asian Art Essay Prize, consisting of Dr. Koon, Dr. Wyma and Dr. Hammers, has selected the essay “A New Perspective in Reviewing the Modern Woodcut Movement” by Melanie Chung as the winner. We appreciate the sophisticated analysis Ms. Chung brought to bear on her research of the history of the modern woodcut movement in twentieth-century China. Ms. Chung explores the scholarship on the history of the Chinese modern woodcut movement and evaluates claims that these artists with their print medium were aware of and engaged with international avant-garde art practices.  The essay is available here.

Honourable Mentions goes to Mr. Jeffery Lin Chi Ho for his essay on “Understanding viewer reception from material science: a study of Toyohara Chikanobu’s Reflection of the Period series prints.” His essay offers an innovative focus on the material aspects of this Japanese artist’s Meiji-era woodblock prints.

Congratulations to both of these Fine Arts students who curiously both wrote on the print media!

We would like to thank all students who entered the Asian Art Essay Prize competition and sincerely hope all enjoyed further developing their ideas in the submitted essays. We are very pleased that students take this opportunity to improve their skills in writing essay in Asian art history.

The Asian Art Essay Prize Competition is generously funded by the HKU Museum Society.