New Star No. 2
- Date:
- 1957
- Medium:
- Woodblock print, ink and color on paper
- Dimensions:
- 57.6 × 41 cm
- Edition:
- Self-printed
- Source:
- Minneapolis Institute of Art
Description
Created in 1957 with ink and color on paper, this woodblock print uses the celestial image of a new star, a nova, as a point of departure for abstract investigation. A new star appears where none was seen before, a sudden bright presence against the dark field of space. Masaji translates this astronomical event into the language of woodblock printing, where light areas emerge from dark backgrounds through the strategic removal of wood from the printing block. The carved-away areas receive no ink and print as luminous absences, making the creation of light in woodblock a subtractive process that mirrors the astronomer's experience of a new point of brightness appearing in a previously dark region of sky. The second-in-series designation suggests Masaji found this stellar metaphor productive enough to warrant multiple investigations.
More Prints by Yoshida Masaji
More Night Scenes Prints
Evening in East Africa
Woodblock print
Evening Shower at Teradomari (Teradomari no yau), from the series "Souvenirs of Travel, Second Series (Tabi miyage dai nishu)"
Teradomari no yau
1921
Color woodblock print; oban
![Mount Fuji on a Moonlit Night, Kawai Bridge (Tsukiyo no Fuji [Kawaibashi]), from the series "Selection of Views of the Tokaido (Tokaido fukei senshu)" by Kawase Hasui](https://www.artic.edu/iiif/2/d0960668-1e73-339a-b182-fb995a54bff0/full/843,/0/default.jpg)
Mount Fuji on a Moonlit Night, Kawai Bridge (Tsukiyo no Fuji [Kawaibashi]), from the series "Selection of Views of the Tokaido (Tokaido fukei senshu)"
1947
Color woodblock print; oban
Evening Moon at Nakanoshima, Sapporo (Sapporo Nakanoshima no yuzuki), from the series "Collection of Views of Japan, Eastern Japan Edition (Nihon fukei shu higashi Nihon hen)"
March 1933
Color woodblock print; oban
Featured in Collections
Curated cross-cuts that include this print.
Frequently Asked Questions
New Star No. 2 was created by Yoshida Masaji (吉田政次) in 1957.
New Star No. 2 depicts night scenes and abstract.
New Star No. 2 measures 57.6 × 41 cm.