Poem Number 23: Fish

Artist Onchi Kōshirō (Japanese, 1891 - 1955)

DateSeptember 1954

PeriodShōwa period (1926–1989)

MediumMulti-block print; ink and color on paper

DimensionsImage: 17 5/8 x 14 5/16 in. (44.7 x 36.3 cm)
Sheet: 17 5/8 × 14 5/16 in. (44.8 × 36.4 cm)
Frame: 24 × 20 in. (61 × 50.8 cm)

ClassificationsPrints

Credit LineGift of Mr. and Mrs. Karl A. Bickel, 1961

Object numberSN8037

Onchi Kōshirō is credited with creating Japan’s first purely abstract work of art in 1915. He continued his exploration of abstraction after the war, creating collage-like multi-block prints, in which he used leaves, twine, textured cardboard and even the fins of a fish to create masterfully balanced compositions. Oliver Statler (1915–2002), an early scholar and collector of modern Japanese prints, described how Onchi made <italics>Poem Number 22: Leaf and Clouds</italics> (see SN8036). First, he cut four shapes from waxed paper that he had saved from cigarette packaging. Beginning with the largest piece, he applied ink to one side and placed it face down on a sheet of glass. The paper to be printed was then placed over it and rubbed with a baren or printing pad, forcing the ink to escape out of the sides, leaving a blurred outline of the shape on the paper. He repeated this process with the other three shapes, and finally printed the leaf, which was mounted on a board.

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