The Slave Ship And Hokusai 's The Great Wave Off Kanagawa

Examining the formal qualities of Thomas Birch’s painting An American Ship in Distress was very interesting. This paper will analyze and illustrate what I saw in this particular piece of artwork. The paper will also discuss the art elements such as line, shape, color, texture, scale, and composition of the artwork.

An art work has many elements and principles to it. These are known as elements and principles of design. The print “The Great Wave off Kanagawa” by Hokusai has many elements and principles of design that show how much the artist used them in his work. “The Great Wave off Kanagawa” by Hokusai has all the elements of design. For example, one of the best aspects of the print is Hokusai’s utilization of line to create both motion and space in the wave (NGA).

Japan’s literati paintings where inspired by China, which was only connected with Japan through Korea. One of the most famous painters of this style was Yosa Buson, using poetic ability with both haiku and his paintings. (Kleiner 1075) These changes soon led to the availability of cheap prints and ukiyo-e to depict the delights of the city. One of the most famous ukiyo-e printmakers was Suzuki Harunobu who influenced the development of polychrome prints. These prints were very sumptuous and colorful and called nishiki-e (“brocade pictures”). These prints were made of the best quality materials and costly pigments and were not very common in the Edo period. Harunobu’s genius in his work is well shown in the Evening Bell at the Clock (Fig. 34-1). This print was based on a Chinese series where the images depicted a certain time of day or time of year in the work. In Harunobu’s version, the subjects were beautiful young women and their activities in their daily lives. The two women in the pint are seen from a regular Japanese elevated point of view, with one drying herself and the other looking away at a clock. Private scenes like this were very common in ukiyo-e. Before Harunobu’s Evening Bell at the Clock, this theme was not a regular subject seen in ukiyo-e, but soon became a common sight. These prints used flatness and rich colors to

“The Great Wave: Hokusai” by Donald Finkel is a poem written about “The Great Wave Off Kanagawa”, an artwork produced from 1831 to 1833 by Katsushika Hokusai during the Edo period. The “The Great Wave Off Kanagawa” is just one of "The Thirty-six Views of Mt. Fuji". This woodblock print portrays a tremendous tsunami overpowering small man-powered boats, along with Mount Fuji in the background. The compelling contrast between the turbulent waves and light colored sky draws the viewer’s eyes to the central figure of Mount Fuji, which was considered a sacred symbol of beauty and immortality. In order for Finkel to develop a connection with Hokusai’s work of art, he finds common ground between the world of the artist and the observer. Donald Finkel’s

Art is able to transport its viewer through time and connect us as a community. Audiences are able to infer the content and context of the artwork. Art displayed through different mediums and about different topics can share many similarities and draw connections between one another. Exodus, created by Shelby Lechman (2015), uses oil paint on canvas to depict a young boy and father in a train car, leaving their home in Hungary during the time of the Hungarian Revolution (fig.1). Back into the Earth: Creation and the Interpretation of Meaning, created by Tamara Himmelspach (2015) is a series of 11 prints and a physical dress displaying the designer in a jingle dress representing the traditions of the Ojibwa culture

For this project, I chose the Tampa Museum of Art. My daughter Annabelle, who is eleven, accompanied me. She is an aspiring young artist who loves to paint and assemble collages. This paper will describe our trip, the museum’s activities, and what was on exhibit. After which, I will choose two works of art and preform an analysis on them. I will employ the formal elements and the principles of design to engage the first piece, “The Great Journey”. With my second choice “A Group of Cubans who left Manzanillo are Rescued at Sea”, I will discuss how applying an alternative contextual analysis would help in understanding the meaning behind the painting more.

The Great Wave off Kanagawa by Hokusai is a famous woodcut print that is commonly referred to as The Great Wave. Hokusai Katsushika was one of the greatest Japanese printmakers of the 19th century. The print, The Great Wave, is a part of a 36-piece series of the views of Japan’s most famous mountain; Mount Fuji. Hokusai’s series was very popular and sold rather quickly. Due to its popularity, Hokusai decided to extend the series to 46 pieces. The original piece was created around 1830 and was published in 1832 by Nishimuraya Yohachi. Within this paper, I will be discussing the analysis of this print while connecting my findings to the elements and principles of design.

Upon walking in, the first piece seen is a new work created by Murakami called, “Transcendent Attacking a Whirlwind” this 59 foot long work is vibrant, richly colored work with dragons, human figures and swirling winds is inspired by a seven paneled painted screen by the same name by Soga Shohaku. These to prints are facing each other on parallel walls, both depicting a similar narrative of a Asian warrior striking at a beast, the strike is so strong it creates and air current that creates giant waves. Murakami expands the narrative adding two new figures a god like figure and a Japanese death demon or Shinigami. This adds more to the overall narrative showing the two new figures creating and destroying the seascape. Overall both

It is estimated that 5000-8000 prints were made during this process, which makes it very valuable. Although prints were one cheap, prints are actually very valuable now. In the print, it is shown that there is a mountain in the background, behind the wave. Which is kinda the whole point of the painting, “the great wave off Kanagawa”. In the print, it shows a wave, but this wave is not a tsunami but called things like “freak wave” or “monster wave”, which makes it nonetheless deadly. In the print, it is shown that there are boats trying to fight the wave, which is confused to be Japanese inspired but that's just its style. It's funny because Japanese politicians don't even view it as Japanese art, which is mostly why Hokusai considered it a failure. Japan even delayed this artwork from being catching on worldwide.

Japan is been always known for their unique artstyle, but none is more influential on both Japanese and western cultural than Katsushika Hokusai. Many consider his paintings the pinnacle of art in the Edo period. The old man of many names is a true part of both japanese and art culture.

The first piece, “A Choppy Estuary,” created by Hulk Abraham, was created with the use of wet media, this one being painted with oil paints. The picture consists of four ships, clouds, and some people on nearby land. It uses various colors, with major focus on various reds and blues, to place emphasis on the ship on the front right of the piece.

This was an influential import and made a huge impact on the Japanese community. There is a mixture of both drawn and photographed images within this chapter. Japanese artists mainly produced images that are printed or hand drawn, while western artists produced the photographed images. The chapter overall includes both a mixture of Japanese and western artists. The images within the chapter portray the viewpoint of the artist who was present at the time of the

Under the Wave off Kanagawa is part of a series of prints titled Thirty-six views of Mount Fuji, which Hokusai made between 1830 and 1833. It is a polychrome (multi-colored) woodblock print, made of ink and color on paper that is approximately 10 x 14 inches. All of the images in the series feature a glimpse of the mountain, but as you can see from this example, Mount Fuji does not always dominate the frame. Instead, here, the foreground is filled with a massive cresting wave. The threatening wave is pictured just moments before crashing down on to three fishing boats below. Under the Wave off Kanagawa is full of visual play. The mountain, made tiny by the use of perspective, appears as if it too will be swallowed up by the wave. Hokusai’s

Post-war Japanese society is a world where High and Low art is blurred together by otaku, such as anime, and social class. However, Takashi Murakami straddles the line. Murakami spills a mix of Nihanga and Otaku into the canvases, plastic toys, handbags, shoes, etc; endorsing his own theory/style named “Superflat”. Using strategical subject matter such as popular Japanese comic figures combined with ukiyo-e(traditional Japanese block prints), and addressing these contrasting qualities to outside cultures; Murakami intensifies what Pop Art accomplished, art versus material. On other feelings, one could argue that “Superflat” isn’t a unique, Japan-identified style, that “Superflat” is a humiliation to the Contemporary Art world because of its commercialism. Lastly, that is a continuation of the already well developed Pop Art. On the supporting side, Murakami’s “Superflat” is a high-energy, cross-culture style that serves as a new way to represent the high and low of art that is considerably unique to Japan. To support this, Murakami’s past and present artwork will have to be established chronologically to illustrate how the timeline affects his work.

Almost instantaneously recognizable, The Great Wave off Kanagawa (woodblock, 10 1/8 x 14 15/16 in, c. 1830-32), created by Japanese artist Katsushika Hokusai in 1830, beautifully captures the graceful, swelling movement of a crashing tsunami. Because of the way in which line and proportion are utilized, this woodblock print gracefully portrays the sheer power of the ocean. Derived from the Edo period in nineteenth century Japan, this classic was the first of a series of works from Hokusai titled Thirty-six views of Mount Fuji, all of which effortlessly depict the mountain in a wide array of angles and scenery. Arguably, The Great Wave off Kanagawa is the most iconic and cherished piece of Japanese artwork in the world. Even more importantly, Hokusai is considered prominent father figure for both Japanese art, as well as Western modernization as a whole. The Great Wave truly displays how tiny and weak man is compared to the force of nature. Not only is The Great Wave a quintessential piece of art, but it established a piece in the comprehensive networks of art, trade, and politics, that has instilled a tremendous positive impact on the twenty first century.