Hey Dan! This is a beautiful image - and for lack of a better term, I would describe the landscape and its occupants as ‘surreal.’ The unreal and dream-like quality the image possesses reminds me of the floating world of ukiyo-e, and I wonder if the artist saw this world as a reflection of his reality (something he actually saw) or if he (or she) envisioned it. In fact, the image could even be the result of the artist’s blending both worlds…
My favorite part of the image is the tiny human figure in red, watching the waterfall from his tiny building – the human is so small, that if the artist hadn’t given him a red outfit, he would have been almost lost completely from sight. The natural wonders – mountains, waterfalls, trees – all receive elaborate detail while the man and his hut remain unadorned and forgettable.
If this image was intended to have specific meaning, I think the signification would be humanity’s insignificance in the face of the natural world. At the same time, the fact that the man and his building do not impose upon the landscape may lend strength to the myth that humanity is capable of living harmoniously with nature.
Hey Megan, thanks for writing. I would agree that the most striking aspect of this image is the miniscule human figure in the bottom-center. In reference to that, I was discussing an image very similar to this one with my Japanese teacher in highschool, and he highly stressed the common theme of nature's superiority over man in the work. That's the main reason I chose this one: it seemed a perfect example of this pattern.
I would also like to play devil's advocate, however, and counteract that. Although the person is inferior in size to nature here, how come nature is devoid of color while the man is of a bright shade? Could that be an indication of man's vitality being more than that of nature? I personally don't think so, but I'm just throwing it out there.
Our perspective is also interesting; there is a path leading down between the mountains, but we are at an angle so that we cannot see where it leads. I think that (similar to what you said), this lends a mysterious air to the whole image.
I also think that solitude is a dominant idea here. That is, solitude as a positive thing. I read the message as being that man can live harmoniously with nature, but only when he gives himself up to it and is open-minded and at peace. The man presumably has no other people or belongings with him, and thus has in a sense become at peace with nature; he has let it wash over him.
To close, I do not get a bleak or foreboding feeling from this image. I think it is one, as I've already said, of peace. I don't sense any urgency coming from this man or anywhere else in this image, and I thus think it is an expression of the peace that can occur between man and nature.
The image of the waterfall also supports this, I think. When I see waterfalls, I usually think of tranquility and quiet happiness. This person seems at rest looking out onto everything.
You need to scroll down about halfway to find this particular image. The artist is listed as Chikku. The only other things I can infer from the information given here is that it is a painted landscape, and is apparently considered to be of the modern period.
This is the URL. They have the artist's information listed on here as well.
ReplyDeletehttp://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://home.flash.net/~cameron/japanese_painting/shikishi_tanzaku/chikuu_landscape.jpg&imgrefurl=http://home.flash.net/~cameron/japanese_painting/shikishi_tanzaku/shikishi_1.htm&usg=__G_09hnR7nNiV2_t1y9nWtmy2xPc=&h=576&w=499&sz=195&hl=en&start=1&sig2=9KasNOdoIv8jQ2jmTkTfRg&tbnid=7NnJmPHL0NwFVM:&tbnh=134&tbnw=116&ei=YHd-SajMNdSr-gb876z0BA&prev=/images%3Fq%3Djapanese%2Bpainting%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D18%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DX
Hey Dan!
ReplyDeleteThis is a beautiful image - and for lack of a better term, I would describe the landscape and its occupants as ‘surreal.’ The unreal and dream-like quality the image possesses reminds me of the floating world of ukiyo-e, and I wonder if the artist saw this world as a reflection of his reality (something he actually saw) or if he (or she) envisioned it. In fact, the image could even be the result of the artist’s blending both worlds…
My favorite part of the image is the tiny human figure in red, watching the waterfall from his tiny building – the human is so small, that if the artist hadn’t given him a red outfit, he would have been almost lost completely from sight. The natural wonders – mountains, waterfalls, trees – all receive elaborate detail while the man and his hut remain unadorned and forgettable.
If this image was intended to have specific meaning, I think the signification would be humanity’s insignificance in the face of the natural world. At the same time, the fact that the man and his building do not impose upon the landscape may lend strength to the myth that humanity is capable of living harmoniously with nature.
Hey Megan, thanks for writing. I would agree that the most striking aspect of this image is the miniscule human figure in the bottom-center. In reference to that, I was discussing an image very similar to this one with my Japanese teacher in highschool, and he highly stressed the common theme of nature's superiority over man in the work. That's the main reason I chose this one: it seemed a perfect example of this pattern.
ReplyDeleteI would also like to play devil's advocate, however, and counteract that. Although the person is inferior in size to nature here, how come nature is devoid of color while the man is of a bright shade? Could that be an indication of man's vitality being more than that of nature? I personally don't think so, but I'm just throwing it out there.
Our perspective is also interesting; there is a path leading down between the mountains, but we are at an angle so that we cannot see where it leads. I think that (similar to what you said), this lends a mysterious air to the whole image.
I also think that solitude is a dominant idea here. That is, solitude as a positive thing. I read the message as being that man can live harmoniously with nature, but only when he gives himself up to it and is open-minded and at peace. The man presumably has no other people or belongings with him, and thus has in a sense become at peace with nature; he has let it wash over him.
To close, I do not get a bleak or foreboding feeling from this image. I think it is one, as I've already said, of peace. I don't sense any urgency coming from this man or anywhere else in this image, and I thus think it is an expression of the peace that can occur between man and nature.
The image of the waterfall also supports this, I think. When I see waterfalls, I usually think of tranquility and quiet happiness. This person seems at rest looking out onto everything.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, enough from me. Here is this URL again:
http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://home.flash.net/~cameron/japanese_painting/shikishi_tanzaku/chikuu_landscape.jpg&imgrefurl=http://home.flash.net/~cameron/japanese_painting/shikishi_tanzaku/shikishi_1.htm&usg=__G_09hnR7nNiV2_t1y9nWtmy2xPc=&h=576&w=499&sz=195&hl=en&start=1&sig2=9KasNOdoIv8jQ2jmTkTfRg&tbnid=7NnJmPHL0NwFVM:&tbnh=134&tbnw=116&ei=YHd-SajMNdSr-gb876z0BA&prev=/images%3Fq%3Djapanese%2Bpainting%26gbv%3D2%26ndsp%3D18%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DX
You need to scroll down about halfway to find this particular image. The artist is listed as Chikku. The only other things I can infer from the information given here is that it is a painted landscape, and is apparently considered to be of the modern period.