December 1910 Possibly 1910 - 1912

Ishii Hakutei made this print, December 1910, and I like how muted the colours are, a subdued palette, which gives it a kind of quiet energy. I think about Hakutei making this, carefully choosing where to lay down each line, each leaf, each branch, and then the berries! Imagine the concentration it took, and how much back and forth and adjustment. It's fascinating to think about printmaking and the dance between control and accident. The flat surface and deliberate marks push it away from pure representation, but then the composition evokes a feeling of nature and growth. You know, it reminds me of the work of some other artists preoccupied with nature, like Georgia O'Keeffe! It shows how all artists are in constant conversation with each other, across time and space, riffing off each other's ideas. In the end, we're all just trying to make sense of the world in our own messy, beautiful ways.