Sundays are good days for doodling. This picture shows two young girls doing just that as part of an artwork by Yoshihara Jirō, made in 1956, that invited children to participate in its creation. Yoshihara was the leader of the Gutai group, a radical collective of Japanese artists who aimed to “change the world through painting, performance and children’s play” (Tate). They formed in reaction to the extreme limitations imposed upon artistic expression in Japan during World War Two, including a dramatic shortage of materials, and believed that nurturing the younger generation to think, act and create for themselves was vital for a freer future.
