Fly Away (B)

Fly Away (B) suggests a subject in motion, perhaps a bird taking flight or a more metaphorical image of departure and freedom. The B designation indicates this is one of several color variants Nishida produced of the same composition, each using a different palette to shift the emotional register of the image. Nishida's woodblock technique is well suited to subjects involving movement because the medium's clean lines and flat color areas can convey gesture and direction without the blurriness that photographic attempts at motion often produce. Instead, movement in a woodblock print is suggested through compositional dynamics: diagonal lines, asymmetric balance, and the implied trajectory of a figure or form moving beyond the frame's edge.