Japanese Radish, Rats, and Carrot 1930

Shotei Takahashi created this woodblock print of radishes, rats, and a carrot. It's the black background that grabs me first, the way it makes the vegetables and critters pop. It's so different from what you might expect in a still life, where light and shadow usually do the work of defining the space. Here, Takahashi gives us flat areas of color and pattern, especially in the leaves. The texture is just incredible; you can almost feel the roughness of the radish skin. Look at the rat on the left; the way its fur is suggested with just a few deft lines makes it almost seem alive. The way the artist uses color to create depth and atmosphere is what I find most intriguing. He's turning the traditional still life on its head. I see a connection between Takahashi and artists like Henri Matisse, who were also exploring the tension between flatness and depth in their work. These guys invite us to see the world in a fresh, less predictable way.