Serimpi 1919

Johannes Frederik Engelbert ten Klooster made "Serimpi," a woodcut, sometime around the turn of the century, give or take a few years. Look at how the artist uses just black and white to create such a rich scene, almost like a stage set. It’s all about the contrast, isn’t it? Klooster carves away at the wood, leaving these sharp, deliberate lines that define the dancer and her lush surroundings. The texture is inherent to the medium, you can almost feel the grain of the wood. What I love is how the negative space—those areas of white—are just as important as the black. The dancer’s fan, for instance, becomes this burst of light, drawing your eye right in. Then there are those zigzags on her dress, so graphic. And speaking of dresses, remember Hokusai? Both artists capture a world of theatricality and motion, though through completely different means. Art is always in conversation, isn’t it?