Telepathy 

Kazuo Shiraga made this artwork called 'Telepathy' using ink on paper. Shiraga was a member of the Gutai Art Association, a radical group of Japanese artists working in the postwar period. They sought new ways of making art that broke with tradition, and they were influenced by international movements like abstract expressionism. The title 'Telepathy' suggests a concern with communication and connection, maybe a yearning for human understanding in a fractured world. The bold, gestural marks recall calligraphy, but abandon legibility for pure expression. You could say that this abstraction reflects the anxieties and uncertainties of post-war Japan, where the old social structures and values were collapsing. The Gutai group were trying to rebuild a new vocabulary of art from scratch. Historians of Japanese art can help us to understand the specific cultural context, the debates around tradition and modernity that shaped Shiraga's work. It's a reminder that even abstract art is rooted in a particular time and place.