Lemon 1972

Funasaka Yoshisuke made this print, "Lemon," using bold shapes of black, white, and, of course, a juicy lemon yellow. I love how the composition feels both carefully planned and totally off-the-cuff. The blocks of color butt up against each other, creating this almost architectural space, but then you notice that the lines are actually kind of wobbly. Like Funasaka was maybe drinking while making this! There's this push and pull between abstraction and representation. Is it a lemon, or is it just a yellow circle? Is the lemon the point, or is it just an excuse to play with color and form? I wonder if this print has something to do with the long legacy of still-life painting in Japan, and how this artist is playing with that tradition. It reminds me that every artist is in conversation with other artists, building on what came before, but also messing with it and making it their own.