Rain 1929

Torii Kotondo made this woodblock print, called "Rain", sometime in the 20th century, and right away you notice how the bold lines and flat planes of color are really doing something. It's all about the surface, with a tension between the decorative and the descriptive. I love how Kotondo uses the wood grain to create a kind of shimmering effect, especially in the background umbrella. You can almost feel the dampness, see the light refracting through the rain. It's not trying to be realistic, but it captures an essence. And look at the way the lines of rain cut across the image, flattening the space, like a veil. I'm thinking of other artists who play with flatness and pattern, like maybe Henri Matisse, but with a totally different sensibility. With this work, I can feel art history moving, changing, re-mixing itself in the rain. Ultimately, art is a conversation between the artist, the materials, and the world, and there's always room for interpretation.