Harnessed Steel 1939

Shiro Miyazaki made this linocut, called "Harnessed Steel," using stark black ink and a sharp blade. Can’t you just imagine him carving into that block, wrestling with the material to create these striking contrasts of light and shadow? I’m thinking about the way the locomotive pushes forward, framed within a soft oval. The energy of the steam rising from the engine! How do you capture that kind of power? There are figures clinging to the train, dwarfed by the machinery. Look at the way Miyazaki has positioned them in the frame, emphasizing their labor against the backdrop of industrialization. It reminds me a bit of Diego Rivera’s murals—that same fascination with the working class. It makes me think about how artists are always talking to each other, across time and place. Miyazaki, Rivera…they’re all part of this big, ongoing conversation about what it means to be human in a rapidly changing world. This print is a powerful testament to that dialogue, and I love how it embraces the gritty realities of progress while still leaving room for interpretation and imagination.