Quietness - Yodo Vol.2 1933

Unichi Hiratsuka's 'Quietness - Yodo Vol.2' is a woodblock print, a dance of sharp contrasts and textured blacks against pale yellows. Imagine the artist, tools in hand, carving away at the block, revealing the scene bit by bit, a process of both addition and subtraction. I see in this work a conversation with artists like Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, especially in the bold use of black and white to convey mood. Hiratsuka is not just depicting a landscape; he is also constructing a feeling. What might he have been thinking as he made it? The marks are so alive, bristling with energy like wind through tall grass. Look at the way he renders the rooftops, so angular and sure. They seem to be breathing, living presences nestled within the natural world. It's not just a quiet scene, it's a charged quietness, full of potential energy. And isn't that the best kind?