Yoshida-hiroshi

Yoshida-hiroshi — a print titled simply with the artist's own name rendered in Japanese — is an unusual self-referential work from 1933. It may represent a self-portrait, an autograph study, or a work in which the written form of his name becomes the primary visual element. Yoshida signed his prints consistently in both Roman and Japanese script throughout his career, and the act of signing carried weight for him: it was the mark of a craftsman who personally supervised and often personally printed each impression. A work that places the name itself at center reflects that consciousness of artistic identity.