Aap, hangend aan bamboetak 1900 - 1930

Ohara Koson made this woodblock print of a monkey hanging from a bamboo branch. Look how Koson built up the monkey’s fur with lots of little marks. It's like he’s feeling his way around the form, bit by bit. I love the way the gray ink bleeds and blurs around the edges. It gives everything this hazy, dreamlike quality. The bamboo leaves are these spiky, dark shapes, and then you have the soft, rounded form of the monkey clinging on. And that little pop of red down near the bottom! Is it a signature? Or a tiny flower? A splash of pure color that draws your eye down. Koson made a lot of these animal prints, and they always feel like he's trying to capture a fleeting moment, a quick impression. Like he saw this monkey out of the corner of his eye, hanging in the bamboo, and had to rush to capture it before it disappeared. It reminds me a little of Durer’s hare, but way more Zen. Because what is art, if not a fleeting impression?