Birthmark 1968

Hiroyuki Tajima made this print, entitled 'Birthmark', using woodblock and silkscreen techniques. The organic forms and varied textures suggest the biological processes, growth, and decay. Born in Japan in 1911, Tajima came of age during a period of intense modernization, militarization, and ultranationalist ideology. Japanese art institutions of the time were divided between those promoting Western styles and those advocating for traditional Japanese art forms. Tajima found a path between these two poles. His abstract symbolism resonates with both ancient Japanese aesthetics and contemporary art movements such as Surrealism, which had gained popularity in Japan by the 1930s. The printmaking techniques he uses reflect this synthesis of tradition and modernity. Woodblock printing has a long history in Japan, but Tajima combines it with the more recent technique of silkscreen printing, which became popular in the postwar era. To understand Tajima's work more fully, scholars consult historical sources on Japanese art, design, and cultural history. The meaning of art is always contingent on its social and institutional context.