"Croa!" by Claire Lemay

I found a large, poster version of this woodcut in a pile of art posters at the school I work at and instantly swooned. I'd never heard of Claire Lemay, but online quickly found that she is an artist living in Quebec and you can view more of her work on her website. I was surprised to learn the artist is Canadian because the bright colors combined with the bold, black, expressive shape of the figure and the word Viva made me think of Mexican and South American woodcuts I've seen. This frog also reminds me a bit of alebrijes, the Mexican sculptures of animals made of wood or paper mache that are colorfully patterned and rather otherwordly in appearance. The eyes of this frog are so dauntingly round. Being the same purple as the background, they seem almost like holes, and yet the narrow, green pupils signify the substance of actual eyes in those cut-out sockets. The frog is here, vividly demanding our attention, here to remind us, the living, to really live.