Sunset 1966
This print evokes the feelings associated with with the sunset in its yellow background and the shadows that come in the black trailing splotches. The sun in the upper right-hand corner of the piece is surrounded by a scarlet ring to emphasize its glow and warmth. Beneath it is evidence of buildings that form a cityscape behind what appears to be a figure turned up at the sun. Its head, rendered as a crescent with an eye, reflects a similar form on the other side of the composition that is a black crescent surrounding a circular eye shape within it. Rough lines and the primary color palette merges the free-spirited quality of early childhood drawings with a provocative composition that indicates the execution of a practiced printmaker. Kojin Toneyama was an independent painter and printmaker who was known for his unrestricted style. In this piece and in his work overall, he "employs hieroglyphics and symbols that are exciting to the eye, lively, decorative, gay and colorful" (excerpt taken from the didactic information on the back of the piece).