This week was probably the most interesting unit we've studied to this date. I found the history and artwork so unique. The main focus of Asain art was to promote peace and tranquility. This type of atmosphere promoted the calming artwork of the bamboo that we're currently still painting. During this week of asian art, I found that china and japan are quite similar. I really liked the use of line in both chinese and japanese art. It's drawn crisp and straight, giving it that unified look. I found it interesting that they use calligraphy to stamp their bamboo paintings. It shows who worked on the painting and that their seal is their own design. I also really liked the wash techique we learned yesterday. It gives the painting such a life like mood and feeling to add to the peacefulness of chinese and japanse art. Here's a picture :
Chinese and Asian art are so similair yet completely different. What I really loved about the Japanese art that we studied was that most peices were connected in a way of emotion and feeling. They were very powerful and told a story. This picture is the Great Wave by Hokusai. We talked about the tips of the waves being pointed downward and curled into little spikes showing that intense fearful emotion. I also loved how Mt. Fuji can be seen in the back, just as it was in many of his works. The use of perspective also distingushed that difference between Chinese and Japanese art as well. The use of wood block prints were also very common.
