Midas 

Hideo Hagiwara made this print called Midas using woodblock. Hagiwara invokes the tragic figure from Greek myth, who was granted the power to turn everything he touched to gold, only to realize that this gift meant he could no longer eat or embrace his loved ones. Created in post-war Japan, this image speaks to the anxieties of a society rebuilding itself amid rapid economic growth. The artist evokes the story of Midas through visual cues like the regal crown and the sense of entrapment within a lush but constricting environment, rendered in black and white. Here, we see a face etched with a deep unease, a gaze that captures the isolation of Midas, as if wealth has become a prison. To understand this piece, we might look at the economic policies of Japan at this time, alongside the philosophical literature that critiqued consumer culture. The meaning of art is always contingent on its historical moment.