[Baren]: The mailing list / discussion forum for woodblock printmaking. Baren Digest Tuesday, 24 August 1999 Volume 08 : Number 673 ---------------------------------------------------------------------- From: David Bull Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999 14:26:42 +0900 Subject: [Baren 5354] Re: perception disorder Gary wrote, re the print image at (http://woodblock.com/forum/silly): > was wondering if my eyesight is going bad ... > The kneeling lady appears to have a second sole on her barefoot, the > right, I think, and the standing lady's right foot appears more like a hand > with its knuckles on the floor and its thumb pressing the mat. > Were these guys having fun? carving while heavily intoxicated? carving the > image while standing on their heads practicing yoga? or am I losing it? Interesting things you've noticed there ... and there are a whole lot more you could have pointed out: Take just the lady on the left for example - measure her arm length (the distance from her wrist to her neck) - and express it in 'hands'. If I go over to the mirror for a moment to check mine ... it seems to be about three 'hands' from my wrist to my shoulder. In other words, my hand makes up about a quarter of the total arm length. Yet her arm is about _six_ 'hands' long ... How about her overall height, expressed in 'feet' (the length of her foot). Mine seems to be about 5 1/2. Hers? About eleven! > Please comment only in the positive. If I'm losing it, be kind. Is Gary 'losing it'? Hardly. But what to say about Buncho, the man who designed this thing? Didn't he ever look around him, and notice what people looked like? A woman eleven 'feet' high???? The point is, I guess, that these ukiyo-e designers simply created an entire new world, and a new way of looking at things. It's a very interesting mix of fantasy and reality - in some ways they were scrupulously exact in their visual 'reporting' (in hair styles and fashion details for example, where people were looking at the prints to learn about the latest styles), yet in other ways they distorted beyond belief. And yet when we look at the prints, we don't usually even _notice_ the distortions until they are pointed out. (Gary is obviously studying this thing with a designer's eye!) I think that this is a measure of just how well they did their creative job - to draw a beautiful woman with a mouth smaller than her eye, and still make us feel that she is beautiful ... Incredible ... Dave ------------------------------ From: Jack Reisland Date: Mon, 23 Aug 1999 19:56:29 +0000 Subject: [Baren 5355] Re: Silly Season Strikes Forum! Gary wrote: > The kneeling lady appears to have a second sole on her barefoot, the > right, I think, and the standing lady's right foot appears more like a hand > with its knuckles on the floor and it's thumb pressing the mat. > Were these guys having fun? carving while heavily intoxicated? carving the > image while standing on their heads practicing yoga? or am I losing it? These distortions of the human body, especially the female, were standard conventions, and often meant to emphasize the most attractive aspects of the body. The confusion is that the standards for beauty were not exactly the same as ours, small feet, a tiny mouth, long fingers, and a larger nose than we are used to. Think of the Barbie doll. Have you seen the size of her poor feet? Jack ------------------------------ From: "Andy English" Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999 11:08:40 +0100 Subject: [Baren 5356] Re: images and more Pete wrote: > But for me, a lot of the fun of it is _not_ knowing exactly what you're > going to get. The holding of your breath when you first pull back the > paper to see if it bears any resemblance at all to what you had in mind. I also love that moment of truth. It is a pivot point in the whole process for me. I engrave on a darkened block of wood and the marks shine out with the colour of the wood. I get to know the image in reverse as it develops. I of ten work from a very sketchy idea and the image only really grows on the block. I do not take trial proofs until I am sure that the work is very nearly done. When finished, the block looks wonderful in itself; my wife sometimes prefers the blocks to the finished print! I use black oil-based ink. This is when I look at the block for the last time and appreciate the work. I roll on the ink and take the first proofs. Sometimes I decide that it is done; sometimes there are adjustments to be made. Whichever way, when I clean up the block with solvent the lines are lost and it becomes a textured black block. Now it is the image on paper that I become familiar with. That on the block is lost. Best Wishes from a grey English summer, Andy ------------------------------ From: John Ryrie Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999 20:20:14 +1000 Subject: [Baren 5357] Re: perception disorder Dear Gary The distortions that you mentioned could just as soon be attributed to my work. If you spend some time looking at the work of Hkusdai, Utamaro or Kiyonaga it will soon become apparent that it was God who has made all the mistakes. John Ryrie ------------------------------ From: Barbara Mason Date: Tue, 24 Aug 1999 05:31:00 -0700 Subject: [Baren 5358] The process is the prize Maria, You said this soooo beautifully, this is exactly what I meant when I said it is like a different language. The proces itself does dictate what the work will do. I think that is why I have done monotypes for so long. They are so immediate and spontaneous. This is what I will try for in woodblock, although I know that just by the nature of the process the work will look tighter, more hard edged and controlled. So I have to learn this new language this new process and think a little differently. I have to admit that after doing one of a kind for so long, it was very satisfing to see that row of little owls all looking back at me. I think I am truly hooked. (again) Barbara ------------------------------ End of Baren Digest V8 #673 ***************************