lucky strike

The lowercase title signals a casual register and likely refers to the American cigarette brand whose red-and-white packaging has been a recurring still-life subject across twentieth-century art. As a mokuhanga work, the print would build the recognizable graphic — the bull's-eye logo, the white-on-red lettering — through successive impressions of carved blocks, each color registered by [kento](/glossary/kento) marks and burnished into [washi](/glossary/washi) with a [baren](/glossary/baren). The flat, saturated areas of brand imagery translate well to the medium's water-based pigments, while [bokashi](/glossary/bokashi) could be used to introduce shadow or surface wear on the pack. The choice of subject continues Stewart's interest in small, worn everyday objects observed at close range, a thread that runs through his etchings and watercolors as well. Exhibited at Hangaten, the work also reflects the cross-cultural condition of his practice: an American artist working in Kyoto, depicting an American product, in a Japanese print technique.