Crescent centers on the thin arc of a waxing or waning moon, a subject with deep roots in Japanese visual culture from classical yamato-e painting through ukiyo-e meisho-e landscapes. Brayer's poured washi technique lends the moon's form an organic irregularity impossible in woodblock printing: pigment pools and recedes as the paper dries, leaving aureoles of diffused light around the crescent's curve. Phosphorescent compounds embedded in the washi allow the moon to retain luminosity in dim conditions, extending the work's relationship with actual light rather than merely depicting it. The surrounding field likely grades through deep indigo and graphite tones, the pale crescent emerging as a structural void within saturated color rather than as an applied mark.
Wakasa Kugushiko
1920
Color woodblock print; oban
Woodblock print
1934
Color woodblock print; oban
n.d.
Woodblock print; ishizuri-e, section of harimaze sheet
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Crescent was created by Sarah Brayer.
Crescent uses Washi, on poured washi with phosphorescent pigments.
Crescent depicts landscapes and moonlight.
