Koushin-san 1980

Kazuo Shiraga made Koushin-san with paint, and probably a brush, but who knows what else? Looking at the swooping gestures, I can imagine him really going at it, layering on the blues and grays. It's like a storm, or maybe something hidden deep under the ocean. I'm thinking about what it must have felt like for Shiraga to make those marks. Did he stand back and squint, or did he get right up close and personal with the canvas? The paint is laid on so thick you could dive right in! And those strokes, they're not just there to look pretty. They’re evidence of movement, of a body engaged in a kind of dance. You can see where he's scraped and layered, each move building on the last. There’s a conversation happening between the artist, the paint, and the canvas. Shiraga’s work reminds me of other artists who weren't afraid to get messy and physical with their materials. It’s all part of this ongoing conversation, this beautiful mess of ideas and experiments that we call art history. And it reminds us that painting isn't just about making pretty pictures, it's a way of thinking, feeling, and being in the world.