Crane, Turtle and Pine - New Year's Greeting Card 1931

Unichi Hiratsuka made this New Year's greeting card with ink on paper, and you can see the process in every mark. It's like he's thinking with his hands, carving away at the block to reveal these symbolic images of a crane, turtle and pine. The color palette is so simple - mostly blacks and yellows - yet it creates such a rich visual experience, like looking at something ancient and modern simultaneously. The turtle is interesting. Look at the shell. Each shape on the shell is carefully articulated and how the radiating lines of the pine needles contrast with the more organic forms of the branches. There is such skill in carving the lines of the image so as to imply tone and shade. This idea of using simple materials and processes to create something profound reminds me of the German Expressionist woodcut artists. Like them, Hiratsuka shows us that art doesn't always need to be complicated to be meaningful. It's in the conversation between the artist, the material, and the image itself.