Goblin Dance

This 1912 color woodcut brings to life a scene of goblin revelry, drawing on Japanese tales of tengu, oni, and other supernatural beings who gather to dance and make mischief. Lum's interest in the folklore of the countries she visited — Japan, China, Korea — gave her access to a visual world largely untapped by Western printmakers. The goblin dance allowed her to push beyond the restrained elegance of her landscape work into something wilder and more inventive, with exaggerated forms and energetic movement. Musical accompaniment is implied by the dancers' rhythms, connecting the scene to festival traditions where costumed performers enacted stories of supernatural encounter. Lum's carving is looser here than in her architectural subjects, matching the anarchic energy of the subject.