[0:00]Hi there and welcome to the Kids Art Projects 101 YouTube channel. My name is Dr. Medico and I am an art teacher at an awesome elementary school near Orlando, Florida. I am so happy that you're here.
[0:11]The content you're about to watch is from our series of short kid-friendly videos about famous artists. Are you ready to try one now? Let's do it!
[0:28]This is Katsushika Hokusai. He is not alive anymore, but he and his artworks are still very famous.
[0:42]This is one of his most famous artworks. It is called the Great Wave Off Kanagawa.
[0:55]What do you think is happening here?
[1:00]Can you see boats?
[1:05]Can you see a volcano in the distance?
[1:11]That is Mount Fuji!
[1:16]Mount Fuji is a real mountain. It is still considered an active volcano even though it hasn't erupted in over 300 years.
[1:31]Mount Fuji is located in Japan. As the country's tallest mountain, its peak can be seen from great distances throughout Japan.
[1:48]Katsushika Hokusai was from Japan and was clearly captivated by the beauty and stature of this landmark.
[2:01]He made a series of works called Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji. Can you find Mount Fuji in these artworks?
[2:18]How about in these?
[2:23]The Great Wave was the very first artwork in Hokusai's Mount Fuji series. It has come to be his most recognized work.
[2:35]He never went on to develop a wave series, but Hokusai was clearly also captivated by the energy of the ocean surrounding Japan.
[2:52]What does Hokusai do to make these waves look so big and powerful?
[3:02]These waves are smaller but still full of energy! Notice anything familiar off in the distance?
[3:19]How are waves and mountains similar? How are they different?
[3:38]Here's a fun fact! Katsushika Hokusai's The Great Wave is actually not a painting. It is a colored woodblock print. It was printed in layers.
[3:56]Here's another fun fact. French composer Claude Debussy credited Hokusai's The Great Wave for inspiring his musical masterpiece called La Mer (The Sea). Let's take a listen.
[5:10]Katsushika's birth name was Kawamura Tokitaro, but he changed his name 30 times during his life!
[5:24]Did you notice there are two vertical signatures? One says, "From the brush of Hokusai, changing his name to Iitsu." The other says this work is part of the Mount Fuji series.
[5:49]That's it, my friends. I hope you enjoyed this and learned something new. Teachers, build off this specific video with the open and go art unit I use in my classroom.
