fighting back spitzack woodblock woodcut mokuhanga print printmaking washi seattle art artist

"Fighting Back" suggests a narrative print engaged with conflict, resistance, or self-defense — subject matter that sets it apart from the contemplative landscape and nature traditions more commonly associated with mokuhanga. The title implies figural action, likely rendered through a carved key block defining gesture and posture, with subsequent color blocks providing tonal weight and atmosphere. Water-based woodblock printing on dampened washi allows for layered translucent pigments that can model muscular tension and movement without the harder edges of oil-based relief printing. The use of mokuhanga technique for socially or personally charged content reflects a practice among contemporary American practitioners of repurposing the medium's careful, slow process for politically engaged work. Spitzack, recognized at the 2024 International Mokuhanga Conference in Echizen, contributes to a body of work that positions traditional Japanese woodblock technique as a vehicle for narrative subject matter, alongside his investigations of objects, birds, and landscape.