Well, here's my image; and since this picture really isn't mine (and I probably have no right to post it) here's the urlhttp://risachantag.deviantart.com/art/Original-Tranquility-21196870
(yes, I am a DeviantArt troll >.< ) This artist also made a follow-up animated companion to this picture which I wanted to post, but couldn't: http://risachantag.deviantart.com/art/Original-Tranquility-Animated-40567572
Enjoy! :D
I like this image... Actually I really like this artist's work, I also sometimes stalk her DeviantArt >_<
ReplyDeleteBut I think I want to talk about the signifiers of the woman and the foxes (I think they're foxes...). First off, the foxes. Actually, there are many legends about fox spirits being troublesome and destructive. Here's the link to the site --> http://www.sonic.net/~anomaly/japan/foxes.htm
So, it makes me wonder why one would put the fox into a picture of peace... How does the wolf represent tranquility? Normally, at least from an American prespective, we'd associate the fox with cunning and sneakiness. In Japan, it seems that they associate it with demons and devils. Though, there is a tie to the woman because there are legends that foxes can become insanely beautiful women... Here's certainly a meaning taking off from the form...
The woman is depicted as a dainty, beautiful one dressed in traditional garb. Also, the sakura are falling around her, suggesting a tie to the 'Flower and Willow District', the pleasure district in Japan. A connotation is that this woman and her surrounds stands for tranquility, yet it is technically not.
This is a wonderful picture.
ReplyDeleteI wonder if it is a recent picture or an ancient one. Giving the high quality of the picture and the vibrancy of the colors, I think it is recent. Either way it is beautiful. The picture reminds me of a Japanese goddess sitting under a tree and relaxing.
I am familiar with the artist via the internet as well, who is famous for her work in the mode of the animation style. The signifyer here are the lines of a woman in kimono with a complex up-do, several foxes, and large snow capped mountains against a multi-colour background in white lines. The signified here is a 'traditional' and ethnically dressed Japanese woman sitting amongst signs that themselves, together, bring to mind typcial Japan--Mount Fuji and Fox spirits. Here these common signals for a western viewer are combined to create a flat call to Japan which is echoed by the style in which the lines are drawn, but this is a shallow series of images that call up only a floating, popular sense of 'japaneseness' on a bright background that is an attempt at a more graphic, modernist gesture.
ReplyDeleteI'm entirely unfamilair with the artist, but the color combo for this image is pretty nice.
ReplyDeletelet's see, we've got Fuji, Sakura, Pretty woman, Kimono, fancy hair decorations... and foxes, in signifier's court. Don't normally see the foxes when someone tries a "Japanese themed" image unless they've got an interest in and know a little bit about the culture, or so I've found from browsing for images.
For Signified, the artist obviously mentioned tranquility, and it would seem to me that her conception of a Japanese theme equates to that, giving us some layering like the rose signifying passion signifying someone's love.
The color choice, which to me is somewhat detached from both 'Japanese' and 'Tranquility' in most stereotypical means, is what really gives this image its pizazz.
I sort of saw this image of one of change. When I saw the four colors used to separate the image in to distinct regions, I associated them with spring, summer, fall, and winter. I believe that since we see the woman in the spring panel it indicates a newness, and as the panels change, ultimately resulting in a pair of fox, it indicates a change in ideas or identity.
ReplyDeleteThe snow capped mountains (Fugi?) I believe indicate an end to things, and I want to say represent how a woman, when young, is innocent, but then grows more and more clever with age. Finally coming to equal the fox in cunning.
Or I could be completely off >>. It is a beautiful image, though!
Some things I noticed:
ReplyDeleteIf the four different panels do represent the four seasons (which I think they do), then one thing is off for me. Summer, fall and winter are represented with the typical colors (red, orange/yellow and blue, respectively). But what about spring? I usually associate some shade of green with it.
Also, the woman and the foxes do not appear in the same panels together, except briefly, where the woman's feet are near the fox's tale. But otherwise, they seem seperated. Is this some comment on the division between man and nature? I'm not too sure about that one, though.
And yes, I agree that the woman has a strong divine quality to her, due especially to her distant, non-chalant expression and posture.
I too am unfamiliar with the artist, although I do like his/her work. For some reason unbeknownst to me I want to guess that the artist is female, most likely because of the color choices. I also want to assume that the artist is not Japanese, but someone who is intrigued by the idea of Japan, mostly because of the use of such a contemporary look to depict the typical objects of what people tend to see as indicators of "traditional" Japan. Also, the woman depicted seems to have a more Western look than a Japanese look because of the choice of the white outline color. It makes her eyes and hair look light. I think that this piece may deserve attention in the form of analysis analysis, given the presence of the foxes and sakura, and the division of the picture into four parts. However, I believe that primarily the artist wanted to indulge in an aesthetically pleasing piece to an audience that simply loves "Japanese" imagery. It is just so pleasing to the eye.
ReplyDelete