The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of March 29, 2024

In the hand the firefly makes a cold brilliance

In the hand the firefly makes a cold brilliance

1966–67
(American, 1890–1973)
(American, 1927–2007)
Image: 40.6 x 50.9 cm (16 x 20 1/16 in.); Sheet: 45.4 x 54.4 cm (17 7/8 x 21 7/16 in.)
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

The artist wrote of the works in this portfolio: “I have attempted to pictorialize these haiku psychologically and thus complete the verses by making the illustrations as modern as the verses will always remain.”

Description

Modernist painter Stanton Macdonald-Wright developed the Haiga portfolio out of his admiration for haiga, the traditional art of haiku illustration. Produced in Japan using traditional Japanese printmaking technique (ukiyo-e), the artist challenged the typically minimalist, black and white approach to haiku illustration. While many of the works in the portfolio employ the lively colors and patterns of Synchromism—an art movement MacDonald-Wright founded in 1910 seeking to apply color theory to music and rhythm—others are more contemplative, while still retaining a connection to abstract modernist optics.
  • 1967–73
    Stanton Macdonald-Wright (the artist) [189-1973]
    1973-2021
    (Macdonald-Wright Estate)
    September 6, 2021
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • {{cite web|title=In the hand the firefly makes a cold brilliance|url=false|author=Stanton Macdonald-Wright, Clifton Karhu|year=1966–67|access-date=29 March 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2021.152.20