Monday, 10 November 2014

Wang Mian (1287-1359), Fragrant Snow at Broken Bridge, 1310-59, ink on silk

Wang Hui (1632-1717), The Colours of Mount Taihang (detail), 1669, ink and colour on silk

Zhou Chen (1450-1535), Dwelling by the Stream in Spring, 1475, ink and colour on paper

Kano Eitoku (1543-90), Birds and Flowers of the Four Seasons, four from a set of sixteen sliding door partitions made for a 16th century Japanese abbot

Ma Yuan (1175-1225), Bare Willows and Distant Mountains, 1175-1200, ink and colour on silk

Mi Youren (1074/86-1151/65), Cloudy Mountains, 1140-50, ink on paper

Ni Zan (1306-74), Woods and Valleys of Mount Yu, 1372, ink on paper

Xu Yang (1712-79), Prosperous Suzhou (detail), 1759, ink and colour on silk

studio_practise_1

"This process is a rule-bound activity, even though the rules may be ambiguous
or used unconsciously. The rules governing the selection and combination
of elements are known as codes. Because all codes are not semiotically
pertinent, a general definition of code is too broad to be directly useful for
semiotics."

Signs in Use
An introduction to Semiotics

india_ink_sketches

Photographs from Yorkshire Sculpture Park

Saturday, 1 November 2014

"Lambs go to slaughter, a man, he learns when to walk away"

I was recently introduced to the work of Aubrey Beardsley, and even after I had read the elementary details offered by Wikipedia (including the 'Gallery'), I felt the artist had explored and reacted similar themes and concepts that I had planned to show in my own work. To paraphrase the articles; he was influenced by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec on his travel to Paris, something that I found divisible even with my minor knowledge of the work of the artist.

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, Edmée Lescot, 1893

Aubrey Beardsley, The Peacock Shirt, 1893

In Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec's lithograph, I admire how tones of grey can be used to create space so simply, and how thick black masses subtly highlight parts of the figure. Aubrey Beardsley's ink drawing uses elegantly simple lines to distinguish the forms of the figures and the contours of dress. The intricate patterns displayed on the left figures cloak is also something to notice and admire.

Interestingly, for pieces of work created at an alarmingly similar time, they both clearly express their differences and their individualities, and are both to be admired.