Suicidal Attu Island 1943

Tsuguharu Foujita painted 'Suicidal Attu Island' with oil on canvas, and when you see it in person, you realize that it’s all about layers and layers of tans, browns, and ochres. You can feel the artist really digging into the process, right? Building up these textures with what looks like short, stubby strokes. The surface is worked, it’s really tactile, like disturbed earth, or maybe even the texture of old bones, you can almost smell the battlefield, or the morgue. Look closely, and you'll notice how Foujita doesn't shy away from letting the paint itself become part of the story. See that one highlight over there on the helmet? It is as if the helmet has just fallen to the ground, a life lost, a future no longer a possibility. Foujita's willingness to just pile it on reminds me of Leon Golub, who was born the same decade as Foujita. Both were interested in the raw realities of human conflict. Ultimately this work is all about how paint can conjure up feelings and ideas, without spelling them out. It's an open field of interpretation, and that’s what makes it so compelling.