THE FLOATING WORLD JAPANESE WOODBLOCK PRINTS ON DISPLAY AT LACMA.

Byline: Rob Lowman

Entertainment Editor Max Palevsky remembers walking down a New York City street years ago when he saw his first Japanese woodblock print and told his friends he was going to buy one. They gave him a hard time, he says, telling him he didn't know what he was buying.

``I said, 'I'll buy one and I'll look,' '' he says, ``and I did and I continued to look and got very interested in Japanese culture, and I started to collect them.''

For Palevsky, the founder of Scientific Data Systems and Intel, it has become a lifelong fascination. Currently, 47 of the 50 prints in his collection are on display at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. Palevsky made a choice to keep his collection at 50, which raises the question: Why 50?

That goes to the nature of the prints, which are from the 18th and 19th centuries. As Palevsky explains, Japanese unification in the 17th century gave rise to a merchant class since trade was possible. The caste system in the country was very oppressive, but with the flourishing merchant class, there became pressure to allow them their entertainments. So designated areas were fenced off and they became known as the pleasure quarters.

``This is what was called the floating world,'' says Palevsky, ``and it was filled with whorehouses, kabuki theaters, restaurants, hotels. Eventually, the upper class would come there as well.''

There also followed a demand for depictions of this new lifestyle, and the ukiyo-e (pictures of the floating world) art movement began. These prints were mass-produced and sold on street corners. The most popular subjects (surprise) were the beautiful women (geishas) who populated the floating world. They were sort of the stars of the day. One of the most well-known of these artists was Utamaro (1753-1806), whose ``D-oj-oji Temple'' is pictured here. As Palevsky points out, the images are idealized.

``If you think about Japanese culture, it tends to formalize,'' says Palevsky. ``There's a kind of passivity in Japanese culture that doesn't want to deal with the nitty gritty. That's part of what gives these prints that special air of tranquillity.''

But eventually the artist sought to depict more than beautiful women. Hokusai (1760-1849), who Palevsky simply calls a ``genius,'' is famed for his landscapes (two are shown on this page). One of the most well-known works is a series of images from the ``Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji.'' The Palevsky collection includes eight prints of the series.

But back to the question: Why 50? Palevsky has no specific reason why he chose that number, but says it lets him replace prints in the collection with better versions. Since the prints were done with vegetable dye, they are very evanescent. The only ones that haven't faded over the years are the pornographic ones because they were kept in the dark in drawers. So the trick in collecting, he says, is not only picking out the right images but those that retain their vividness.

While Palevsky can't explain exactly why he became fascinated with Japanese prints, a story he tells might help. Recently, he went to Japan and visited a vast old garden filled with pine trees. On each branch, every clump of pine needles has the exact same number of needles, he says - meaning, you realize, that some gardener has taken the time to create this perfection.

``Can you imagine that?'' he marvels.

``THE MAX PALEVSKY COLLECTION OF JAPANESE PRINTS''

Where: Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 5905 Wilshire Blvd.

When: Through May 15.

Tickets: $7 adults; $5 seniors (62 and older) and students (18 and older) with ID; $1 children/younger students ages 6 to 17; free for children up to 5 years of age. Call [phone] for information.

CAPTION(S):

4 photos

Photo: (1 -- color) ``Couriers Leaving Sekiya Village on the Sumida River'' (circa 1830-32), by Katsushika Hokusai 

(2 -- color) ``Falls of Kirifuri at Mt. Kurokami, Shimotsuke Province'' (circa 1832), by Katsushika Hokusai

(3 -- 4 -- color) At left, ``D-oj-oji Temple'' (circa 1793-94), by Kitagawa Utamaro. Below, ``The Streetwalker of Otatsu of Ry-oguku'' by Eiri