Relationship to the global system of exhibiting art in biennials and institutions
The symbolism of the elephant and of air
Cosa is an artwork that can be compared to air of any given city. This is usually demonstrated in form of an artificial elephant made in China. Cosa can also be described as a piece that has the ability to reach out to any part of the world and has the ability to fill an unoccupied space and has the ability to change its shape. Due to its nature and design it does not have the ability to fit in aoony room.
According to Katrib, the current society is dominated by the media and the internet (Werthein and Erlich 34). Therefore a question arises as to why art is made even at times when what is seen is not exactly what it actually is. The artists therefore apply different interpretations of images all of which are correct depending on the circumstances.
They aim at perceiving things that are not seen by the through both candid and sarcastic ways. A single artwork carries more than one message or interpretation concerning the contemporary issues affecting the society. It only depends from which angle it is visualized.
Judi Werthein, in her work, ‘compresses’ the sculpture of the elephant to fit in a very small room. However, when removed and inflated, it achieves its original size and shape. Within the enclosed space (most probably by walls), bubbling of the confined animal can be heard. The sculpture inflates and deflates at regular intervals hence providing a hissing sound that is cadenced in nature. Much as an observer may hear this, it quite unlikely that he or she can figure out its ultimate potential in terms of size.
It can in other words be compared to a sleeping giant. In this way, she is able to depict an artwork that is not necessarily visible but one that is portrayed in the mind of the spectator. It is therefore up to the spectator to try and visualize it out in his or her mind (Tellez and Werthein 259).
In her work, Judi makes symbolism an integral aspect of her designs. Taking the case of Cosa (thing), much as it is made in China, air from different parts of the world can be used to inflate it. This therefore means that the sculpture is not only relevant to China, but to all the countries of the world. It is a perfect fit in the description of it as moving freely all over the world (Tellez and Werthein 8).
Her best symbolism may be attributed to her documentary on Colonia Dignidad, which is a German territory in Aracuaria in Chile that is highly protected. In this region, we have a smaller society within a larger one where the most prevalent customs are German ones. Archaic lifestyles are still maintained in this place, for instance children have to attain an age close to adulthood before they can learn Spanish.
Since the society has boundaries that separate from the rest of the world, it acted as a refuge for people including Walter Rauss, a Gestapo officer that was at one time a criminal of war. The normal activities of the society go on inside yet those outside may not have an understanding of what takes place. All they can do is speculate.
This can be compared to Judi’s elephant sculpture enclosed by the walls in that though inside it is only a matter of inflation and deflation, spectators can have a varied set of speculation of what happens in there. It is also worth noting that they may not clearly make out how the sculpture will look when it is let out.
This can be compared to the fact that contrary to the town being small, it is capable of big things, for instance, provision of refuge for Walter Rauss (Skar 1).
Most of Judi’s works reflect critical issues of different dimensions of life such as love, politics, war, and oppression among others. She uses her creativity in art to vividly excavate what is hidden in the general view of the society. In my opinion she has distinguished herself as a dynamic artist whose art endures both the test of time and space.
Tellez, Javier and Judi Werthein. “Migratory Zoology.” Número Cero_04. San Juan: 2da Trienal Poli/Gráfica de San Juan: América Latina y el Caribe, 2009.
Tellez, Javier and Judi Werthein. “Migratory Zoology.” Review 77: Literature and Arts of The Americas 41. 2 (2008): 259-264.
Werthein, Judi and Leandro Erlich. Turismo: La Habana, Cuba. New York: Kent Gallery, 2001.
I am a casual fine art enthusiast like majority of the people and I highly appreciate majority of the art movements such as the modernized impressionism, cubism or surrealism. There is a mystery behind minimalism, which I fail to understand. Minimalism is a unique type of art that one can easily fail to understand and be pleased.
It is a presentation made of simple arcs or shapes arranged in series to form a pattern may be overwhelming but an unbearable collection, if one is not able to find content that they can positively receive. This paper wills try to analyze minimalism in the aim of finding meaning and probable appreciation.
Definition of Minimalism
From a personal point of view as an art professional learner, the definition of minimalism in art has basis on the “Less is more” concept. In most cases, this notion lacks applicability because unlike all the common art forms such as sculptures, paintings or drawings, an artist has the freedom to use only the basic shapes such as the geometric shapes or elements of art.
Common minimalism involves sculptural figures that have been reduced to structures made, drawn or painted from basic geometrical shapes (Obendorf, 2009, p.310).
Through my personal interest to learn more about minimalism, I found some sense in the work and appreciated common and favourite artists of the style such as Dan Flavin, Richard Serra and Donald Judd.
Concept of Minimalism Artwork
According to Meyer (2010, p.18), In order to appreciate minimalists’ artwork such as Dan Flavin’s collection, there is need to remain open-minded and accept any new ideas which might meet the requirements as art. From a personal point of view, very few people are able to have such kind of reaction over fine artwork. Critical analysis of specific objects or shapes in a collection is also very important (Meyer, 2010, p.18).
Most up-coming art professionals, artwork admirers and those pleased about general art will often perceive the contents in a collection or as a complete form just like a painting, drawing or a sculpture. Minimalists on the other hand perceive objects as single entities detached from the main work (Meyer, 2010, p.18).
Examples of Minimalism
A good example of minimalism is the “Tilted Arc” done by a renowned artist, Richard Serra. The artwork was a gigantic 12-foot high steel tilted to an angle as its reference phrase indicates (Kleiner, 2009, p.792). The sculpture was set up at New York’s Federal Plaza but was later brought down due to negative public debate.
Arguably, the public could not understand the artwork especially when they had various views from ether sides, thus the controversies. It was taken apart since people did not appreciate. The sculpture represented a different effect depending on the side of view. The confusion brought out by contractions and expansions depending on the position of the viewer changed the entire environment.
From an artistic point of view, the sculpture made the viewer to be aware of his/her movements. This is an indication that simple art objects are detachable from the entire form to interact with the viewer, and thus assist in defining their movements through the plaza.
This type of interaction is mainly found in minimalism especially in sculptural work. The simple shapes are the key pieces that enhance change and results to a form of interaction with the viewer. The pieces determine the feeling and perception of the viewer during interaction (Buskirk, 2005, p.22).
Placing basic shapes individually such as geometric shapes, lines or arcs, presents a collection of boring objects. When the same shapes are merged to form an art form, they interact with the viewer due to dynamism of shapes from various angles. They pieces therefore become more powerful and influences one’s movement around the artwork, thus altering perception or feeling.
Minimalism may not have similar effects as other common artworks, but the viewer is able to feel some effect from the collection. Another good example of minimalism belongs to Dan Flavin who had a strategic setup of coloured florescent tubes to form a collection (Marzona and Grosenick, 2004, p.48). Different colours of the fluorescents formed an interaction between the lighting.
The lighting interacted with the observer. Colourful lighting combined with simple but dynamic shapes presents a delightful effect that can easily alter moods. Common application of this artwork is in our home where we decorate our rooms with glowing glass light sheds. Spectacular effects are achievable from very simple by combined elements; therefore, ‘less is more’.
Effects of Minimalism
Unlike other common artworks such as drawings or paintings, minimalism has more effects that are negative because it requires the observer to act or respond in order to understand and appreciate. One has to be part of the artwork to realize the artist’s message.
The drawings, paintings and defined sculptures are easy to appreciate without necessarily understanding the artist’s motive or theme, because the technicality is evident.
With minimalism, it is not easy to appreciate an oval, a cube or a splash of paint on the surface. It is intimidating to have a collection of basic shapes and convince people there is artwork when, characteristic theme is not visible.
Conclusion
Regardless of the rejection, minimalism receives; it is possible to overcome the intimidation. The basic pieces used in this form of art have a close link to life than the typical or general paintings or drawings.
The only problem is that the link is more hidden and one must interact with the art to find meaning or inspiration.
With powerful interest and concentration on objects made from minimalism, one can understand or appreciate the exclusivity of the work. Te interaction means that minimalism is able to fulfil true success of an artwork, which is interaction with the viewer.
Works Cited
Buskirk, Martha. The Contingent Object of Contemporary Art. Massachusetts MA: Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Press, 2005. Print.
Kleiner, Fred S. Gardner’s Art Through the Ages: The Western Perspective. Massachusetts, MA: Cengage Learning, 2009. Print.
Marzona, Daniel and Grosenick, Uta. Minimal art. New York, NY: Taschen, 2004. Meyer, James. Minimalism. New York, NY: Phaidon Press, Incorporated, 2010. Print.
Obendorf, Hartmut. Minimalism: Designing Simplicity. New York, NY: Springer Press. 2009. Print.
Since times immemorial, art has been a way of reflecting and interpreting the reality surrounding people in their daily life. In order to comprehend the reality in all its variety, artists have striven to depict as many objects and phenomena as they could only find.
One of the most intriguing subjects for reflecting upon via art is human being, and this fact is confirmed by the vast amount of works of art depicting people. In painting, portrait as a way of contemplation on the human nature has enjoyed enormous popularity for centuries on end.
Artists of various époques, styles, and nationalities have depicted people of all possible ages, social backgrounds, and occupations. Among portraits, the genre of self-portrait appears most attractive due to the specific quality of the artist’s self-reflection present in the paintings.
The present paper focuses on the works of one of the most famous portraitists in Baroque period, Rembrandt van Rijn (1606–1669), whose oeuvre cannot be imagined without a multitude of his self-portraits.
Against the background of the general popularity of portraits in the seventeenth century, the gallery of Rembrandt’s self-portraits stands out as an exciting encyclopedia of the evolution in the artist’s personality. This artistic transformation can be observed through tracing the changes in the elements of the techniques, the style, and the tone in Rembrandt’s paintings.
The art of portrait in Baroque
After the rejection of any individualism and the resulting oblivion of the portrait genre in the art of the Dark Ages, the era between the late Middle Ages and the seventeenth century celebrated the renascence of portraiture. The commonly known anthropocentrism that dominated the Renaissance art resulted in a dramatic increase in the artists’ interest to human personality, which in its turn found reflection in the genre of portrait.
Creatively responding to the growing popularity of portrait, artists elaborated on the genre; as a result, a whole range of sub-genres emerged, featuring “full-length portrait”, “three-quarter-length portrait”, and various kinds of “head-and-shoulder portrait”.[1] Within those sub-genres, different poses and positions of the sitters were practised, with the most widespread being the “profile view”, the “three-quarters view”, the “half-length” and the frontal, or “full-face view” (Schneider 6).
In addition to developing variations within the genre of portrait, by the seventeenth century artists had sufficiently expanded the range of their subjects, depicting not only the aristocracy and the clergy, but also members of many other social groups. “Merchants, craftsmen, bankers, humanist scholars and artists” themselves sat for portraits and thus appeared in the public eye (Schneider 6).
The latter addition to the subject range appears especially revealing for our discussion, since it means that artists started to openly depict themselves and thus emphasize their own social significance.
The tendency to individualism and personal identification in painting reflects the general interest to personality in the art that continued the anthropocentric ideas of the Renaissance and developed throughout the Baroque époque. In the literature of the period, one can observe a definite interest to various kinds of autobiographic narrative, and more and more self-portraits appear among the paintings as a kind of autobiographic sketches made by the artists (Schneider 113).
It is noteworthy, however, that the notion of self-portrait as such did not exist at the time, and what we now call a ‘self-portrait’ would then be described as the artist’s “own picture & done by himself” (van de Vall 98).
Rembrandt’s vast heritage in self-portraits
Although the genre of self-portrait was popular and widely practised by most artists in the Baroque period, Rembrandt remains unsurpassed in terms of the quantity of autobiographic images: apart from multiple etches, over forty paintings of himself have survived up to the present time (van de Vall 98).
A popular cartoon depicts Rembrandt as “a rather plump, jowly artist, palette and brush in hand, turning from his easel and calling [to his girlfriend]: “Hendrickje, I feel another self-portrait coming on. Bring in the funny hats” (qtd. in Wheelock 13). However, there is probably much more behind the multitude of Rembrandt’s self-portraits than a mere wish to try on another fancy headwear.
The reasons for emergence of this many Rembrandt’s self-portraits can be searched for in two directions. On the one hand, the artist could have used his own body as a material for exploring the complexity of human nature on the whole. On the other hand, Rembrandt’s self-portraits can be viewed as an opportunity for self-investigation and revelation of the artistic inner self. In addition, there might emerge still another interpretation: since Rembrandt’s self-portraits were meant for the market and sold, they could serve as a way “to gain honour and immortality and thus fame, and to appeal to a public of buyers and connoisseurs” (de Winkel 135).
Such commercial intent can also be interpreted more deeply, since through looking at the artist’s self-portrait the connoisseurs of his work could admire both the artist’s personality and his excellent technique (van de Vall 99). In each separate case, the intent behind Rembrandt’s self-portraits can be deduced individually, since in various periods of his life the artist produced astonishingly different samples of autobiographic paintings.
Conventionally, Rembrandt’s self-portraits can be grouped according to the three chronological periods: the early years in 1620s, the middle years spanning the next two decades, and the late years starting from the late 1640s. Each of those periods can be characterized by a certain purpose that inspired Rembrandt to paint his self-portraits, as well as features stylistic peculiarities indicative of deep internal motives underlying each painting.
The evolution of style and meaning in Rembrandt’s self-portraits
The early years
The époque of Baroque brought about an obvious progress in exploration of the emotional side of personality. While the masters of the Renaissance observed the ways to render the inner emotion through pose and gesture, the art of Baroque expanded the artistic techniques by adding facial expression to the wealth of expressive means. Thus the interpretation of feelings in painting could be dramatically intensified and varied.
In his early self-portraits, Rembrandt definitely explores the multiple effects of facial expressions. Face becomes the focal point of his compositions, performing the key function of feeling representation. “Alarm, worry, torment, fear” — those are but a few of emotions depicted in etchings and paintings of the 1920s (Schneider 113).
Experimenting with his own face in front of the mirror, Rembrandt worked out a whole list of facial features, the interplay of which could render a widest possible range of emotions: “a forehead, two eyes, above them two eyebrows, and two cheeks beneath; further, between nose and chin, a mouth with two lips and all that is contained within it” (qtd. in Bruyn, van Rijn, & van de Wetering 165).
A brilliant expert in facial anatomy, Rembrandt apparently taught his pupils to closely observe one’s own face: “thus must one transform oneself entirely into an actor (…) in front of the mirror, being both performer and beholder” (qtd. in Bruyn, van Rijn, & van de Wetering 165).
One of the most significant facial features possessing an extreme expressive power was viewed by the seventeenth-century artists — and Rembrandt himself — in the mouth and the musculature surrounding it (Bruyn, van Rijn, & van de Wetering 165). This being a difficult facial element to depict, Rembrandt spent years perfecting his skill in constructing various facial expressions with the help of different mouth positions.
Experimenting with the shades of colors and the play of light and shadow, Rembrandt seeks for the most successful rendition of most varied emotions. Self-portraits with open mouth let him place in the teeth as an additional expressive touch. A mouth open in a cry of astonishment, surprise, despair, joy, or without any obvious reason — all this diversity can be seen in Rembrandt’s early autobiographic sketches.
As a result of his multiple experiences with facial expressions, by 1630s Rembrandt had worked out an encyclopedia of human emotions that he could apply in his later works. Such, for example, is the famous laughing face which occurs not only in the early self-portraits, but also in those of the late years (Bruyn, van Rijn, & van de Wetering 165).
A remarkable feature of Rembrandt’s early self-portraits is that — however renown the artist is for his ingenious depiction of clothes — there is hardly any attire in his early sketches. The reason for this can be found in the fact that during the initial period of his artistic work, Rembrandt appears to work in the tradition of a so-called tronie.
By this word is meant a picture that focuses on a certain detail of face, without emphasizing the unique personality of the sitter (de Winkel 137). Therefore, familiar and recognizable stereotypes were depicted, such as a wrinkled old man, a soldier, or a pretty young girl.
Since the image stopped at the level of the sitter’s shoulders, not much of clothing could be fitted in the picture. Rembrandt’s depicting himself as a tronie can be seen as a way of de-individualizing the image in terms of clothes. However, this lack of outward information was compensated by a splendid rendition of facial expression.
The middle years
As Rembrandt gradually gained social recognition and enjoyed considerable success as a commercial artist, his self-portraits demonstrate a tendency to a multitude of experiments.
It appears quite laborious to investigate all the range of techniques he employed in his paintings of 1630s, since it is extremely wide. The reasons for this can be found in the fact that Rembrandt ran a series of workshops at the time, and due to time pressure he often had to resort to assistants’ help in finishing the paintings.
Such can be the case with some of the self-portraits as well: while Rembrandt outlined the composition in general, especially talented apprentices were allowed to work on details of body and clothes in order to speed up the process (Wheelock 19). While the result of such collective work demonstrates excellent painting technique, it is difficult to assert whether some of Rembrandt’s self-portraits are his own works or workshop productions.
Against the background of social success, Rembrandt gained the opportunity to experiment with a large number of altering roles and social positions in his self-portraits.
Making use of the general understanding of clothes as a way of creating the desired image of self, Rembrandt juggled an endless number of costumes and attributes creating a new character in every painting. The question of which image reflects ‘the real’ Rembrandt of the time still remains unsolved: was it a prosperous burgher, a learned gentleman, or an insightful artist that he really was?
In terms of costume in Rembrandt’s self-portraits, one can single out three main tendencies: self-portraits in contemporary clothing, in antiquated costume, and in working dress.
It is quite rare that Rembrandt depicts himself in a formal pose and a fashionable dress. The reason for such preferences in attire can be viewed in the fact that Rembrandt wanted to show his difference from the average customers that ordered their portraits from him. Unlike other artists who depicted themselves in the same sumptuous robes as their customers, Rembrandt positions himself independently from the general crowd.
Taking into consideration that the artist was wealthy enough at the time to allow rich garments, such reluctance to mix with the general style can be viewed from the perspective of social inappropriateness of exuberant clothing for lower estate. Despite the exception provided to talented painters for breaking social stratification, Rembrandt apparently prefers to preserve the distinction of his class (de Winkel 147).
Perhaps one of the details that immediately springs to one’s mind when thinking about Rembrandt’s self-portraits is the beret. Indeed, in the self-portraits of the middle period, the painter used this kind of headwear most frequently. The more surprising is the fact that in the seventeenth century beret was an outdated type of clothing, either worn by servants or used as a part of official scholar costumes (de Winkel 164).
It can be therefore suggested that by widely using the outdated beret in his self-portraits, Rembrandt demonstrated a connection with the famous engravers of the previous century, Lucas and Dürer, highly appraised by him (de Winkel 188). Thus Rembrandt’s historicism and reverence for the art of the past can be deciphered through one small detail of costume.
Depicting himself in a working dress, Rembrandt demonstrates yet another peculiar way of distinguishing himself from the generally accepted standards.
As of the seventeenth century, there existed no specific occupational dress for the artists of the time, and yet Rembrandt appears in a working dress now and again in his self-portraits (de Winkel 151). Not only can working clothing be noticed on the paintings of the middle years, but it is also the dominant attire in Rembrandt’s late self-portraits.
Taking into account the peculiarities of Rembrandt’s late style (to be discussed below), this deviation from the rules and appearance in everyday clothes can be interpreted as the artist’s statement of individual freedom and non-conformance to the generally accepted standards.
The late years
As compared to the flamboyant images of the middle years, Rembrandt’s self-portraits of the late period demonstrate a dramatic change in tone and style. An “increased sense of gravity and serenity” dominate the portraits of the impoverished artist who enters “a brutally honest phase in his life” (Stein & Rosen 116).
Critics remark on the especial “fuzziness” and “lack of sharpness” in the images (van de Vall 93). Although this quality can be ascribed to the artist’s worsening eye-sight, there can be yet another explanation. By alternating the areas of sharpness and blurredness in his self-portraits, Rembrandt creates a lifelike effect of really looking at a person.
This effect corresponds to what happens in normal communication, when people tend to alternate direct look and side glances at the interlocutor. Therefore, the “moments of blindness or unfocused seeing are just as essential as moments of sharp sight” for perceiving the image (van de Vall 105).
Another peculiar quality that strikes the viewer in the late Rembrandt’s self-portraits is the authenticity with which the painter renders the eyes in his face. Having gathered the experience of his whole life, Rembrandt reveals himself as “a virtuoso of vision, both with regard to what he saw and also with regard to the way in which he represented seeing” (Durham 14).
“Believable eyes, living eyes, seeing eyes, even eyes looking at something we cannot see” are impeccably rendered by Rembrandt with a highest professionalism ever reached in the history of painting (Durham 14).
His look pierces the viewer of his late self-portraits, as if extending the frame of the picture and letting the image step out of it. Through this mastery of the eyes, Rembrandt renders the message of an extremely deepened spirituality he achieved in the last period of his paintings.
Conclusion
During the Baroque period, the genre of self-portrait enjoyed its golden age in the studio of Rembrandt van Rijn. Through his many autobiographic works, one can trace Rembrandt’s astonishing evolution from an artist experimenting with the expressive potential of mimics, through an artist playing with his social positions, to an artist deeply submerged in the spirituality of painting. Thus, self-portrait for Rembrandt becomes a way to reflect not only the outward changes but also the crucial inner transformations in the artist’s world.
Works Cited
Schneider, Norbert. The Art of the Portrait: Masterpieces of European Portrait-Painting, 1420-1670. Trans. Iain Galbraith. Köln: Taschen, 2002. Print.
Bruyn, J., van Rijn, Rembrandt Harmenszoon, & van de Wetering, Ernst. A Corpus of Rembrandt Paintings: The Self-Portraits. Dordrecht: Springer, 2005. Print.
Durham, John I. The Biblical Rembrandt: Human Painter in a Landscape of Faith. Macon, GA: Mercer University Press, 2004. Print.
Stein, Murray, & Rosen, David H. Transformation: Emergence of the Self. Texas A&M University Press, 2005. Print.
van de Vall, Renée. “Touching the Face: The Ethics of Visuality between Levinas and a Rembrandt Self-Portrait.” Compelling Visuality: The Work of Art in and out of History. Eds. Claire J. Farago and Robert Zwijnenberg. Minneapolis, MN: University of Minnesota Press, 2003. 93–111. Print.
Wheelock, Arthur K., Jr. “Rembrandt Self-Portraits: The Creation of a Myth.” Rembrandt, Rubens, and the Art of Their Time: Recent Perspectives. Eds. Roland E. Fleischer and Susan C. Scott. University Park, Center County, PA: The Pennsylvania State University, 1997. 12–35. Print.
de Winkel, Marieke. Fashion and Fancy: Dress and Meaning in Rembrandt’s Paintings. Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press, 2006. Print.
Infernal Affairs is a crime film produced by Nansu Shi and John Chong. Yan (Tony Leung), an undercover police officer, tired of his current life and desires to go back to his former life. He finds it difficult to call himself a police officer as most of his undercover lifestyle has already changed him to a gangster. Yan works as a spy for the police force, to the knowledge of his boss only, in the Triad Society since graduating from the police academy.
He does his best to fix this problem, something that eventually drives him to meet Ming (Andy Lau). Being in the police force for many years, Ming transforms into a law-abiding citizen, even though he is a mole in the force, trading information for Sam, the major antagonist of the movie.
Their discovery of each other sparks suspense in the movie as each one of them tries to hunt down the other. The two meet at the beginning of the movie not knowing each other, a contrast to their confrontation at the end of the movie. Infernal Affairs explores secrecy, conspiracy and betrayal in both police force and the underworld.
The Plot
Infernal affairs is a Basic Pictures action-packed thriller released in 2002. Andrew Lau and Alan Mak are the directors of this film. As the scenes opens, Sam (Eric Tsang), the leader of the Triad Society, trains and releases a group of young men to join the police force as spies. Out of all his trainees, Ming is the most successful and lives up to his obligation as Sam’s informant. He successfully rises up the ranks and wins the respect of many in the police force.
Yan, on the other hand, shows potency as a young recruit in the police force only to be expelled in his early years in the force. This happens only as a cover-up for him to work as Wong’s informant in the Triad Society. Wong (Anthony Wong), the police superintendent, and Yip, the police-training academy principal, remain to be the masterminds behind Yan’s undercover job and they are the only people he reports to. Yip later dies and Wang becomes the only person aware of Yan’s undercover job.
All seems to go well until an incident happens that raises suspicion of moles on either side. The police led by Wang, cuts short a meeting between Sam and a Thai drug dealer. Sam is however well informed of the interruption and his men cover-up any kind of evidence of the drug deal. Both Sam and Wang come to a common conclusion; there are spies working among them.
Ming follows up a secret meeting between Yan and Wang, and sends Sam’s gangsters to confront them. Inspector B (Gordon Lam), Ming’s subordinate, also follows up the meeting and sends a Hong Kong Police squad to his rescue, but Wang dies in the confrontation. Yan escapes unhurt but Ming tracks him through Wang’s cell phone. They arrange a meeting and agree to set Sam up through a drug deal. Their plan is successful leading to Sam’s death and the arrest of most of his gang members.
Yan goes back to the police department, a fulfillment of his desires, while Ming assumes a normal life. For Ming, this is a great achievement but another problem arises; Yan discovers he was a mole working for Sam in the police department (Infernal Affairs). His desire is to erase any evidence that he worked for Sam, and all other illegal activities connected to him from the pastor. He wants to be clean. Yan’s discovery comes in as an obstacle to achieve his goals hence, plans to eliminate him.
They both agree to meet on the same building Wang was killed. They finally meet, and after Yan disarm Ming and hold a gun on his head; Inspector B comes to his rescue by unexpectedly shoots and kills Yan. He then informs Ming that he is also Sam’s spy. It becomes clear to Ming that Yan is not the only person aware of his state; he therefore kills Inspector B to clean all traces of evidence about his past life.
The characters
Yan has sleeping problems forcing him to seek the help of a psychotherapist named Lee (Kelly Chen), whom he founds to be very beautiful and attractive. They seem to get along well but Yan takes time before making any commitments. Ming has a taste of lifestyle as he lives in a magnificent apartment with his girlfriend, Mary (Sammi Cheng).
She is writing a novel whose main character fits the descriptions of Ming. He is very charming and confident though arrogant at some time. He remains faithful to his boss, Sam, something he comes to regret later and commits the greatest betrayals of his life. He selfishly sells his boss to pursue his objective of erasing any previous criminal records.
Yan and Ming have a hunger to live a good life, the former wanting to leave his current lifestyle, while the latter wishing he could be who he was pretending to be. Infernal Affair is a classic example of an undercover life can be. The two main action leaders are in a trap, a lifestyle that is not their own, to such an extent that it changes their personal characters.
The Film
The cinematography, directed by Andrew Lau is excellent, displaying the magnificence of Hong Kong architecture. Some scenes are shot on the rooftops, like the one where Wong is killed, giving beautiful sceneries that almost grasp the viewers attention from following the story. One is left to judge and differentiates between the good and the bad character. Yan is a nice person one hand, but his profession leads him into a ditch he cannot get himself out of.
He is working for the good of the society through the police force, but the way he does it questions his responsibilities as a police officer. Ming initially works for a Triad society, but the standards of his current job condemn him of his criminal record. The story is properly scripted, with the actors perfectly fitting their roles to produce this suspense-gripping thriller.
Conclusion
Infernal Affairs’ success in the Hong Kong film industry was not expected, but it is now one of the best selling movies not just in Hong Kong, but also in Hollywood for the last decade.
It is certain that it “does a wonderful job at building tension for the scenes of cat-and-mouse where Yan and Lau try to carry out their official duties while at the same time trying to keep their unofficial bosses apprised of what’s going on” (Desmond 1). As the story unfolds, events occur contrary to the viewer’s expectations, having some big surprises in between scenes. It is until the last scene that the viewer connects all the pieces from the different scenes to get a comprehensive picture.
It is not the kind of movie to watch while doing other things for it requires a lot of attention to get the flow of the story. Martin Scorsese’s fascination with the movie led to his redoing of the same as The Departed, where the flow is almost the same but he uses a different approach. Many critics may have made negative comments on Infernal Affairs, but whether they were genuine or not, it is certainly a film worth watching.
Every area of human activity is divided into certain periods with regard to the technological development, changes in social behavior, shifts in political regimes, and distribution of power. Photography is a branch of contemporary arts that is influenced by a great number of internal and external factors.
Different types of films and filters were used for many years to produce the image visible for human eyes but impossible to reproduce in photographs. All difficulties and obstacles advanced technological innovations and enabled photographers to take pictures without necessity to wait for printed pictures to come in a week.
However, outstanding photographers of their time took the challenges and invented their own methods to make the invisible visible and vice versa. Thus, it is necessary to analyze some works made by Irving Penn and Jan Groover who managed to benefit from use of black and white in their still life photographs and while shooting models and objects for fashion magazines.
Irving Penn And Jan Groover
Both these photographers are known for their talent and attention to details. Arrangement of the objects for a photograph is very important and this importance can be understood while looking at pictures taken by Irving Penn and Jan Groover. Use of color images is contrasted to black and white though both authors used different patterns while taking pictures of models for fashion magazines and still life pictures, some aspects of their work are different while others are similar.
Images of nude people and kitchen utensils were depicted in the most unexpected ways using specific arrangement of objects, certain color choice, light and shadow techniques and other special approaches that enabled a photographer to convey his/her message and show the things and people in the way he/she saw those.
Every decade brought something new to the world in terms of technological advancement; photography was not an exception. New techniques and brighter colors shifted the priority though did not change the talent and approach used by Irving Penn and Jan Groover.
Involvement. The involvement in terms of photography presupposes that an author is involved into a certain area, genre, or a single technique. This aspect is very important for contemporary authors as it enables us to trace the changes in the involvement of these two great photographers.
Irving Penn is known for several large involvements each being a theme of n exhibition as well as Jan Groover who had also established her style; certain themes and genres prevailed in the photographs of both authors depending on the period of their development. The involvement can be seen in the series of still life and nudes made with the help of certain techniques.
Thus, Irving Penn used silver and platinum prints while creating a series of photographs “Earthly Bodies” in 1949-1950. This technique enabled the author to present human bodies in the most unexpected angles and poses. In this respect, the pictures seem to reflect the real meaning imposed by the author concerning the beauty of bodies regardless of their imperfectness. He arranged the compositions so that all these people looked attractive.
We can assume that these bodies would not look attractive if they were not arranged and printed with the help of palladium and platinum. For instance, the picture “Nude No. 70” (see Fig. 1) is a part of the “Earthly Bodies” (1949-1950) series was acknowledged as well as other photographs from this series only when a few decades passed because they were avant-garde for their time.
Another major involvement of Irving Penn was the portraits and people from the real life and famous people that often appeared on the covers of magazines such as Vogue. For instance, his wife, Lisa Fonssagrives married him in 1950 after a picture taken for Vogue depicting models that could have been seen on the cover of Vogue in different issues and volumes (“Penn’s People” 103).
As you can see from the Figure 2, the author managed to depict beautiful women without making attempts to single out one person and make her a center of the composition. Irving Penn made wonderful portraits that were treated as masterpieces due to the perfect arrangement of things and people in the pictures. Every object could look appealing when appropriately arranged – this was the major idea of the author.
Jan Groover was more involved in taking still life pictures. While Irving Penn thoroughly arranged the objects to depict them in his works (Inc Icon Group International 86), Jan Groover said about the arrangement: “With photography I didn’t have to make things up. Everything was already there” (“Photography” 76). In this respect, Jan Groover claims that all objects were not intentionally arranged. However, this cannot be truth for the picture “Untitled” created in 1983 (see Fig. 3).
This shows us the main involvement of this author as she seems to be obsessed with different fruits, vegetables, knives, forks, and other objects that present still life. Triptychs and diptychs can be considered another involvement of Jan Groover as she uses this technique of depicting the same theme in three different ways and presenting these as a single unit.
This means that the common involvement of these two artists was the depiction of still life whereas nudes and household utensils can be considered the most obvious difference. Moreover, both author used white and black as well as color photographs to show how these objects can be understood, instead of showing just objects as everybody can see those in the day-to-day life. Still life was the major involvement of Jan Groover whereas portraits were the major involvements of Irving Penn.
Formal approach. The formal approach to depiction of different objects and arrangement of the things can be considered typical of works created by Irving Penn. The author managed to organize the things in the way they would look more appealing and benefit from this angle, filter, color use, and other aspects of every photograph.
Every picture can be taken as it appears; however, the author tried to show the things and people as they should be perceived instead of making things obvious. Thus, the meaning of the things can be better understood while looking at pictures by Irving Penn.
Jan Groover uses another formal approach by depicting some areas and objects with the help of the method that presupposes depiction of different objects or people with regard to a single topic of these pictures making a single unit that should be perceived as a single piece of arts. Thus, she uses triptychs and diptychs to show the same things with a specific vision.
For instance, the picture “Untitled” created in 1977 contains flower pots with flowers; the use of color can be considered one of the prominent characteristics of this diptych and the idea that unites these two parts of the whole unit.
However, the formal approach taken by Jan Groover can be called the method of taking pictures in the way they can be found in the real life as the author manages to show us her vision of those arrangement that were not arranged intentionally.
Photographic syntax. As every sentence in human speech consists of certain parts, a picture consists of a frame, light, shadow, gloss, mat surface, or other aspects that may positively contribute to the overall comprehension of what was meant by the author.
As every author uses some techniques and methods typical for his/her works, it is necessary to take into account the periods in the work of different photographers and their formal approach to taking pictures and arrangement of objects. In this respect, the pictures created by Irving Penn and Jan Groover are absolutely different because these two authors use different structures to create their masterpieces hence making the works more recognizable and appealing.
For instance, the picture “Members of The Ballet Society” created in 1948 by Irving Penn can be considered one of the strongest evidences of the outstanding photographic syntax used by this photographer. The most prominent aspect of this masterpiece is the arrangement of people as the girl appears to be in the center whereas she is also standing in the corner. This can be considered an allegory because the corner is used to reflect the real nature of these people. The author made them attractive and mysterious in a way.
Though all the four do not look tired or exhausted, three of them, the men, are sitting on the floor creating in this way a ground of the picture whereas the upper corners of it are intentionally left blank with the help of white color imposed and blurring as the technique that helps to make obvious things less clear and more ambiguous so that every viewer could invent his/her own meaning for this picture.
The pictures created by Jan Groover have their own unique photographic syntax as they are composed using the household utensils and vegetables. The pepper could not be depicted in a more appealing way that it was by Jan Groover. Thus, the author uses different colors, experiments with lights and shadows, implements black and white objects and applies other techniques to her photographs.
One of the characteristics typical for a great number of her works is that the main objects are not always depicted in the center of the composition. This aspect makes the composition look more natural and real instead of making it more glamorous and artificial. Thought the objects and people are arranged perfectly in the pictures created by Irving Penn, they do not look artificial or unnatural.
Art and technological determinism. As the technological advancement means a lot for photography, we should analyze the impact of technological determinism on the photographs created by Irving Penn and Jan Groover. Though most of their pictures were in avant-garde of their time and were acknowledged only some decades after their creation and presentation, this can be explained by technological determinism and other factors that influenced the photography greatly.
One of the aspects that influenced all areas of human lives in all times was the scope of changes that took place in the political, economic, and social life all over the world, in specific countries and areas, and in a certain neighborhood. Thus, nudes were popular in the period when every photographer thought it necessary to present his/her vision of human body through the images of naked people.
Though every author used specific colors, he/she could create something different from his/her usual works after being inspired with the contemporary tendencies. However, the range of topics should not be identified as one of the aspects that determined the use of technological equipment because the films and filters were the basic technological determiners for Irving Penn and Jan Groover as the author that managed to create outstanding pictures without technologically advanced materials.
The most typical of all pictures can be considered the use of platinum and palladium that were applied to the pictures to make them more glossy and three-dimensional.
Another technique that was used for color pictures were the chromogens used alternatively to the use of silver halide pigments to produce the image. Moreover, the work of chemical laboratories was one of the obstacles that made the production of images more time-consuming and reduced the scope for experiments.
While most pictures created by Irving Penn were produced with the use of platinum and palladium as the main compounds, Jan Groover implemented the use of chromogenic pigments. This fact can be explained with regard to the color of pictures prevailing in the works produced by both authors.
As Jan Groover used a limited tonal range and combined different tonal ranges in one picture including muted colors though fewer black and white pictures, Irving Penn used mostly black and white pictures to convey his message to the viewers. In this respect, the technological determinism can be viewed in the works by both authors contrasted to the color choice that was varied by both.
True subject. The true subject can be usually noticed after thorough examination of the work. Sometimes, there seems to be no meaning at all whereas other works are full of hidden meanings that can be changed in accordance with the context in which the story reveled in the picture appears. In this respect, the work “Untitled” created in 1979 by Jan Groover can be considered one of the most vivid and brightest pictures in terms of the theme (see Fig. 7).
This idea enables us to analyze this picture assuming that every little object has its own story that contributed to the overall meaning of the picture. In other words, vegetables, kitchen utensils and shells look very natural though it is unlikely for these objects to appear in this combination naturally. However, the composition presupposes that the mess created artificially was aimed at becoming the ground for the picture.
This picture shows how the simplest things can be arranged in the most harmonious manner and that even the objects that seem difficult to combine can be used in the most unexpected settings as well as peaceful negotiations can be held between countries that have been in war for years.
The pictures created by Irving Penn are marvelous due to the use of mostly black and white colors and perfect arrangement of the photographic syntax. Thus, his works seem to be full of hidden meaning making the viewers admire the depth of depiction and integrity of all objects presented in the picture. The same concerns the photograph created by Irving Penn in 1947 “Still Life with Watermelon” (see Fig. 8) where the author suggests his vision of a still life picture.
This image combines fresh fruits and a loaf of bread that was tried by a person. These objects are perfectly combined so that a viewer can experience hunger while looking at this picture. In other words, the real subject of this picture can be considered the hunger. Moreover, there can be a hidden message about the help that should be provided to those nations that suffer from famine.
Conclusion
To conclude, it is necessary to say that both authors can be considered genii of their time because they managed to create outstanding pictures regardless of technological determinism and lack of appropriate materials to produce images and catch the most gentle and lightest movements and details. Every picture is arranged perfectly in the works by Irving Penn whereas Jan Groover claims her pictures to be taken almost spontaneously as she took them when everything was naturally arranged by a mess or a situation.
In this respect, use of colors, the photographic syntax and other aspects related to the works of both authors determine the main difference and similarities of their photographs. Lack of materials did not prevent them from taking pictures that are acknowledged by contemporary audience as the most outstanding pictures of all times.
Works Cited
Begleiter, Steven. The Art of Color Infrared Photography. Buffalo, NY: Amherst Media, Inc, 2001. Print.
Inc Icon Group International. Penn: Webster’s Quotations, Facts and Phrases. San Diego, CA: ICON Group International, 2008. Print.
“Penn’s People.” Life 14 Nov. 1960: 103-109. Web.
“Photography.” New York Magazine 12 Sep. 1988: 76-78. Web.
Every member of the global community should learn about history and arts to be able to reflect the vision of the contemporary world. I have decided to visit an art gallery to enrich my experience and knowledge about contemporary arts and other interesting items that can be encountered in such a place. The Saatchi Gallery was the first place that came to my mind when I thought about necessity of spiritual enrichment.
A Visit To The Art Gallery
Overall impression. The overall impression of visiting this gallery can be compared to the first pictures (images) perceived by a little baby when he/she can see something but does not know what it means or did that. The first thing I saw was the entrance that did not presuppose any of the items I saw inside. There were walls painted with light pink; pictures hung on the walls.
The pictures varied in terms of topics and genres; glass walls that were used in the construction helped to keep in the outer world because there were a lot of different pictures and other items that can bring one to another world. Though some items were really interesting, their meaning is still unclear and ambiguous for me.
Themes and pieces. Every room or, to be more exact, a hall was dedicated to a specific theme or genre. However, I did not manage to find similarities in most pieces of art presented in the Saatchi Gallery. Some rooms were full of garbage that appeared to be full of artistic expression whereas other rooms were cramped with plates, vases, and other items decorated with original ornaments. Though some pictures were brighter than others, they were created to convey an absurd meaning.
On the contrary, pictures with darker colour use seemed to be more appealing than those aimed at attracting attention of the audience. The Saatchi Gallery contains pieces of art that present the history of arts during the last twenty-five years being one of the most valuable collections of items on various themes and genres.
“Pink Cher” by Scott King. There was one piece, a painting that attracted my attention and made me learn more about it. This was the picture called “Pink Cher” created by Scott King. The first aspect that grabbed my attention was the bright scarlet colour of it. The second thing was the format as I remembered to have seen something similar before. Moreover, I came closer and saw the portrait of Cher, a singer.
This was an unexpected decision as I knew that Che Guevera was depicted in this manner. So, the image of this rebellion leader was applied to a woman. I do not know the reasons for making Cher look like a rebellion leader; either do I know the reasons for the colour choice because scarlet is obviously too powerful and attention-grabbing; this colour should be used to provoke thoughts and encourage people for some actions while the image of Cher does not seem to be provoking.
Conclusion
The visit to the Saatchi Gallery made me learn more about contemporary arts and different applications and forms that contribute to the overall impression created with the help of certain colours, shapes, textures, light and shadow use. Each piece of art can be considered unique due to the space given to every item. Though the meaning of some pieces seems to be ambiguous, I saw a lot of beautiful attention-grabbing pieces.
Before the invention of printing press, people used to write in their respective handwritings. It was possible to identify the author of a written material from various works because everyone has unique handwriting. However, writers in the medieval ages developed calligraphy which was to be used for unofficial use.
Calligraphy can be defined as artistic form of writing which was developed manually by people who had passion for art. The good thing about this art is that one does not require any experience in art. The art of calligraphy was initially practiced for the purpose of adding beauty in one’s written work.
Nowadays calligraphers can earn a decent living by designing logos and other items and fields that integrate calligraphy such as textile industry and tattooing. When computers were invented these handwritings were integrated into computers as fonts. Just as they were complex in hardcopies they retained this quality.
Fonts come in different forms and shapes and just like handwritings there are some that are difficult to read. There are some fonts which can not be used in lengthy texts because they occupy a larger space. Examples of such medieval fonts include Ithornet, Cloister Black, Sir Fig, Perry Gcothic, and Teutonic which is appropriate for printed cards and T-shirts.
Other types of fonts such as Strassburg Fraktur, Cardinal, and MilleniGem are good for preserving space because they are designed to occupy minimal writing space.
Using such fonts in websites would confuse users and it would imply that the owners of such a web site are not serious about their business. In brief medieval fonts imitate calligraphy but the good thing about this modern calligraphy is that they are done digitally hence they are not time demanding and tiring like before.
When calligraphy is to be applied manually it takes a lot of time to accomplish the desired design. For instance, fonts such as Saraband and Teutonic would require a lot of concentration in bringing out the correct appearance.
Decorative fonts don’t have smooth edges on their characters thus they look distorted. Gothic fonts are more preferred for casual use because ordinary fonts are perceived to be boring. This means that gothic fonts capitalize on their beauty to capture the attention of the reader. Classic examples are Kingthings Spike, Metal Macabre, Middle Saxony Text, and Ardenwood.
A font should remain readable even when the font size is reduced. But then, some gothic fonts have so many curls and extensions which make them impossible to read when they are in small size hence they are suited for bigger font sizes. In this sense, if we consider writing a book or even a Bible using Rough Tuscan font, it would be difficult to understand the message in case it is in English.
Gothic fonts are good when they are used appropriately hence when one is designing a document it is important to consider the position of the written material that will be occupied by this kind of font. This is because if you use calligraphic font in the preface of a book, you will not drive the intended message home.
Furthermore, the preface will take a bigger space hence loose its meaning in the final end. Additionally, such font should not be used in official documents such as resumes because such documents are supposed to be written in fonts that are readily available in most applications.
Today calligraphy is still in use because it’s very easy to learn as long as one can read and write. Most people like it because the outcome is instant and does not require much effort. Even with the modern technology most people have refused to let go of the ancient calligraphy because it manifests the creativity of an individual.
In fact some people have integrated it into their other cultures such as the tattooing art among the Japanese. This is because some people don’t appreciate the ones that are already installed in computer applications hence they prefer to generate their own which makes them proud of their writing skills.
Buddha image is one of the most prominent and the origin of Asian art work. This image is inclined more towards Buddhist religion which most Hindu’s believe (Krishan 62). Before Buddha image came in to existence, Buddhist never used to worship images or forms.
The man behind the religion was called Buddha Vakali and he was devoted to teaching people concerning this religion. He taught them against worshiping images since he made them believe that God was formless (Coomaraswamy para. 8).
Until the 1st century AD, Buddhist followers remained faithful to his teachings and never used to worship the Buddha image. However, after Buddha Vakali passed on, some of his followers were worried that he would never come back. One of the Buddha’s disciples Maudgalyayana invested magic and sent some thirty two artists up to heaven in order to capture the image of the god Buddha used to teach them about.
It is therefore believed that the author of Buddha image was Shakyamuni, one of the artists sent to heaven by Maudgalyayana who can be considered as the patron of this art work. When Shakyamuni together with the other thirty one artists went to heaven, they captured the image and the likeness of Buddha in a five feet figure curved out of sandalwood.
When they returned from heaven, it is recorded that the image was such perfect that it rose up to greet Shakyamuni. It is said that the first person start worshiping this image contrary to Buddha teachings was king Vadya of Vatsa, yet he was a very devoted follower (Coomaraswamy para. 8).
Since the first Buddha image was curved, many artists have curved and painted a variety of images according to a person’s belief of how Buddha is supposed to look. Most of these images resemble human beings whereby their major purpose is worship and continuity of the religion (Krishan 62). Buddha images are usually made for Buddha followers and they are usually kept in their houses of worship to ensure that every person is in a position to worship without limit.
The first Buddha image was curved in sandalwood though this has been changing with time (Coomaraswamy para. 8). Today, most of these images are made of precious stones though there is a wide variety of wooden images since the image is regarded with a lot of respect due to its religious significance. However, most artists have turned this in to business whereby they finance projects for making Buddha images after which they sell them in order to recover their money as well as making some profits.
People have come up with various postures of Buddha sculptures depending on the belief of the events that took place in his life on a particular. There are seven postures of the image representing the events that took place each day (Thong para. 1). All the Buddha images carry the message of Buddha’s superiority as the only image that should be worshipped on land.
Most Buddhists have responded positively to the work of the first person who came up with this image since they have continued worshiping the image and it has spread out to many parts of Asia.
The various Buddha images are a great investment in Asian Art work. Their popularity across the world has enabled many people see the potential that lies among Asians and their ability to communicate through art. Apart from Buddha images, Asian artwork is recognized worldwide and generates a lot of revenue to the Asians both locally and across the geographic boundaries.
The current exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, entitled “The Emperor’s Private Paradise: Treasures from the Forbidden City”, reveals one individual’s very personal stamp on their environment. The retreat, designed and built by the Qianlong Emperor in a corner of the Forbidden City, demonstrates luxury, appreciation for beauty, decided ideas about beauty, and devotion to a philosophical ideal. This kind of private indulgence is rare, but not unknown elsewhere[1].
Among the 90 or so objects and artifacts included in the exhibit, the Screen of Sixteen Double-Sided Panels, represents much of what is interesting about the royal owner, is preferences, and the intimate space from which the objects were taken.
The screen in particular demonstrates how the interest and appreciation by one powerful person could affect iconography and fashions in decoration for many years after their lifetime
The Qianlong Emperor built his Studio of Exhaustion from Diligent Service in the 18th Century, with the intention of using it for relaxation, entertainment[2], meditation, and reflection. The Emperor planned to enjoy it when he retired from active management of the Middle Kingdom.
It is compactly built on a roughly two-acre plot in one corner of the palace grounds. He was able to choose whatever he liked in terms of design and decoration, and display gifts from his subjects as well. They are rare, one-of-a-kind, and expensive. Thus, the furnishing of the Studio of Exhaustion from Diligent Service reflects his own taste, rather than anything handed down from previous rulers.
The screen, from the pavilion named The Building of Luminous Clouds, has a colorful and romantic story. It was a gift from a provincial governor. The Emperor liked the surface of it that featured human figures, and it was therefore displayed with that part facing outwards into the room. As a result, the other side was not seen or even known about for several hundred years. The reverse side has decorations that are just as lovely.
The paintings on the surface that is best known are copies of works by an artist from the 9th century named Guanxiu. This Guanxiu was a monk in Hangzhou Province. He was inspired by a dream to paint images of the disciples of the Buddha, known as Arhats.
These figures are known in Chinese as Luohans. They are described as beings that have attained some degree of enlightenment. They “protect the faithful Buddhist”[3], until the whole human race achieves some sort of enlightenment themselves
The veneration of Arhats was at its height at exactly the time that the artist Guanxiu made his depictions[4]. There was no documentation of their actual appearance, and since Gautama Buddha was from India, not China, there were no local reports about them. However, Guanxiu claimed that he had been visited with a vision in a dream[5].
He created 15 of the images based on the dream but may have used himself as the model for the 16th.
The Emperor saw the paintings while visiting the region in 1757, and liked them. He ordered his staff to make copies of them[6]. He also wrote eulogies, or brief, haiku-like descriptions of each Luohans’ personality and spiritual characteristics.
Accounts differ as to how the copying of the images proceeded, but sets were sent to all of the 18 provinces for display. There are stone relief copies of them remaining in situ today in several provinces of China[7]. The abbot of the temple in 1757 must have been delighted at this opportunity for publicizing the monastery and preserving its 800-plus year old treasure!
With the paintings copied in stone, the images could be duplicated many times through stone rubbings. This seems like a remarkably innovative idea, but it apparently may have pre-dated printing in China. Stone rubbings had been used to preserve and disseminate all sorts of information and images, including Buddhist scriptures[8].
In the case of Guanxiu’s Luohans, it seems reasonable to infer that the Emperor and the abbot wanted to ensure the exact duplication of each image. This was especially true since it was believed to have been divinely inspired. In general, since art played an important moral role in China, correct copying was important[9].
These stone rubbings were copied back into painting form by the previously mentioned provincial governor. The Luohans were drawn in white on black, which is the way they would have appeared in a rubbing. This also gives them an almost cartoon-like effect. The eulogy written by the Emperor Qianlong appears in the upper right-hand corner.
The images on the reverse are painted in gold. They look like jewelry hung on the screen. The forms of some of the plants depicted are variously contorted to fit into the space. This contortion also evokes for this viewer the action of nature and time on all living things. Others, like the bamboo in the first panel, are so realistic that they look as though one might touch them and find them living.
These individual works of art were all installed together in a beautiful folding screen. It was lavishly crafted of “Purple sandalwood (zitan), lacquer, jade, and gold paint” [10]. This luxurious and flexible setting of the paintings would have allowed the Emperor to gaze at any combination of the images at once.
The trees and shrubs on the reverse probably have symbolic meaning. Given the deep religious significance of the Luohans, this would be reasonable to infer. Information on their symbolism is not readily available, perhaps because their discovery is recent. However, there were traditional associations of plants noted elsewhere in the exhibit. Some sort of similar symbolism may be reflected in the screen paintings. For example, the ‘three friends of winter’, depicted in the Emperor’s heavily decorated window, are described as pine, bamboo, and blossoming plum[11].
It must be noted that within Chinese Buddhism, there were Luohan cults associated with a group of eighteen, and five hundred, as well as the sixteen. These, unlike the cult of the sixteen, are described as “not canonical”[12]. This means that they lacked the backing of scripture or religious authority.
Thus, the Emperor, by commissioning the copying of the sixteen Luohans, writing eulogies for each one, and choosing to display the gift screen in a specially constructed niche, was giving his personal support to the sixteen-Arhat cult. This is very much like Michelle Obama dressing her daughters in J. Crew for the Presidential inaugural events, or Madonna wearing Kabbalistic symbols.
That fashion, or that religious practice, becomes more popular with the population as a whole, as a result of the adoption by an opinion leader. In this way, the Emperor had the power to affect artistic and decorative choices all over the country.
Indeed, Guanxiu’s images are said to have been reproduced all over China[13]. Was this entirely the result of the Emperor’s interest? This is certainly the view of some Chinese commentators. Sets of these images were reproduced in jade, and other materials and given as highly desirable gifts[14].
The Emperor’s interest certainly did not discourage the spread of these depictions. In fact, these depictions seem to continue to be reproduced in mass-marketed images today, if a visit to a Chinatown souvenir shop is any measure.
The copies of Guanxiu’s images on the Screen of Sixteen Double-Sided Panels are very un-Chinese in their prominent features, and they have been described as wild and eccentric[15]. They are depicted as old and they look downright ugly to 21st century eyes. A modern commentator described them as “grotesque, enlightened, wrinkled old coots”[16]. Since Buddha was from India, they may have reflected popularly held conceptions of the appearance of non-Chinese people.
One of the images, shown below, seems to be the Luohan (or Lohan) named Asita, and nicknamed Long Eyebrow Lohan (for obvious reasons). This immortal is described as, “Compassionate elder, A monk who has attained enlightenment. Perceptive of the infinite universe, with tacit understanding.” His name in pinyin is rendered as Chángméi Luóhàn[17].
This consistent lack of prettiness has been assumed to convey an important message. The message may have been that a person’s spiritual strength or beauty was not related to their physical beauty[18] This is also characteristic of the Chan school of painting in that part of China in the 9th century, which sought to show spontaneity, like the process of creation.
This school of painting also sought to shock and surprise the viewer[19]. In addition, art in China, particularly art that depicted people, was meant to convey a moral message rather than depict the accurate details of a person’s appearance[20].
Each Luohan is traditionally associated with one or more objects, animals, plants, or accessories. These are not readily visible in all of the screen paintings.
Every item in the exhibit is similarly rare and significant. For example, a mandala, or aid to meditation, usually drawn in two dimensions, is depicted as a sculpture in three dimensions. The standing screens and window frames that included glass are an obvious expression of the Emperor’s interest in, and approval of technology and artistic techniques from other countries.
Glass was an expensive European import at the time[21]. Imported Japanese decorative arts are represented by cabinets with gold painting on black lacquer[22] . By selecting these items, he could have been signaling that it was ok to own items of foreign manufacture. The oddly shaped root wood furniture was symbolic of a Buddhist ideal.
The seeker after nirvana was supposed to display a rustic disregard for comfort or the niceties of life. However, the root wood furniture was actually made of very expensive wood with careful artisanship [23]. It was thus a style or fashion enjoyed by the Emperor rather than a real abandonment of comfort and culture.
The exhibit makes a very convincing statement about the Emperor’s taste, and his effect on the taste of his fellow citizens and women. Unlimited by money or labor, he collected the best of everything that he liked. His choices reflect a person deeply committed to his religion and curious about the world around him.
The Screen of Sixteen Double-Sided Panels discussed above is a very dramatic example of this. It conveys a spiritual message, and is a reproduction of something very significant to the Emperor. As such, it seems to have been copied and re-copied all over the country, for decades and even centuries. This sound very much like the way a viral video is copied and transmitted today.
The spread of the style and image of the Guanxiu Luohans was clearly boosted by the Emperor’s personal interest and affection.
Bibliography
Cook, Greg. “An Emperor’s Heaven on Earth.” The Providence Phoenix. 2010. Web.
East Asian Library, University of California, Berkeley. “What is a Rubbing?” East Asian Library, University of California, Berkeley. 2004. Web.
Joo, Bong Seok. “The Arhat Cult in China from the Seventh to the Fourteenth Centuries: Narrative Art. Space, and Ritual.” Scribd.com. 2007. Web.
Metropolitan Museum of Art. “Pair of Screens.” Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2011. Web.
— “Rootwood Chair.” Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2011. Metropolitan Museum of Art. “Rootwood Chair”. 2011. Web.
— “Screen of Sixteen Double-Sided Panels.” Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2011. Web .
— “The Emperor’s Private Paradise.” Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2011. Web.
— “Window.” Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2011. Web.
ShanghaiCentral. “China art: new Chinese arts and craftss silk painting..” Shanghai Central. 2011. Web.
Kuiper, Katherine, ed. “The Culture of China.” Scribd. Brittanica Publishing. 2011. Web.
Watanabe, Masako. “Guanxiu and Exotic Imagery in Rakan Paintings.” Go Antiques. 2011. Web.
Footnotes
Examples might include Monticello, Thomas Jefferson’s home, and that of Frederick Church, called Olana, both designed in every detail by their owner.
The Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2011. “The Emperor’s Private Paradise”.
Joo, Bong Seok. 2007. “The Arhat Cult in China from the Seventh through thirteen centuries: Narrative, art, space, and ritual”.
Joo.
Much like the founder of the Shaker movement, creating religiously symbolic images from a dream.
This is much like gravestone rubbings that history buffs make today in old cemeteries.
ShanghaiCentral.com China Art”. 2011. ShanghaiCentral.
East Asian Library, University of California, Berkeley. 2004. “What is a Stone Rubbing?. ”
Kuiper, Katherine. Culture in China, 2010. Brittanica Educational Publishing.
Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2011. “The Emperor’s Private Paradise: Treasures from the Forbidden City”.
Metropolitan Museum of Art. 2011. “The Emperor’s Private Paradise: Treasures from the Forbidden City”.
Joo.
Watanabe. Masako. “Guanxiu and Exotic Imagery in Rakan Paintings”.
ShanghaiCentral.com. “China Art”.
Watanabe, Masako.
Cook, Greg. “An Emperor’s Heaven on Earth”. The Providence Phoenix.
Wikipedia. “Eighteen Lohans”. Wikipedia.org. 2011. Although Wikipedia is not usually considered a scholarly source, it was the most comprehensible description of the Luohan iconography readily available that could be cross-referenced against the images on the screen itself.
Metropolitan Museum of Art. “Screen of Sixteen Double-Sided Panels”.
Photography is one of the most popular “expressive means” these days. Almost every newspaper article is supported with the relevant image. There are many kinds of photographs which are created according to certain technique and performed with different purposes. Photography in new has a great meaning as it helps readers understand the subject of the article, for example.
The documentary photography which is often used in news is aimed at recording certain places and events. But the photograph is not only a still image to be view, but according to Barthes (in Camera Lucda):
“The photograph has a dual function. It is (at once) a fetish object and a transformational object (the w o ina) be closer…terms). The photography is also the means by which the shadow of the object understood as the real (and/as the mother) falls on the subject” (Kember 214).
Thus, each photo is a significant addition to the text, but it can also serve as an individual source of information. Everything used in photography, focus, light, line, space, shade, etc. has specific meaning and function which produce the effect on the audience. In this paper, we are going to provide a critical response to images covering the crisis in Libya. The still images under analysis are from the BBC News: Libyan Crisis (image 4) (Fig. 1) and The New York Times: Detritus of War (image 3) (Fig. 2).
These images are not only informational, but also contain certain ideas and tell stories. Every part on each picture is important in terms of the context and idea. In this paper, we are going to analyze the ideas and arguments of both pictures and discuss how the elements of each still image are used to transfer that idea.
Main body
First of all, it should be mentioned that both pictures are aimed at providing additional information to the articles to which they refer.
The Fig. 1 image refers to the article in the BBC News “Gaddafi ‘not Targeted’ by Strikes”. It shows one of the protest movements against the UN-backed action. In the picture, we can see several people from the crowd with placates with slogans like “No Blood for Oil”.
People are anxious, their faces are tense. People and placates are on the central focus. The setting of the image is quite difficult to define, as we can see only people, but it is some street. However, the setting is not very important. What is important is the idea: to show what people fight for.
In the second picture, from the New York Times (Fig. 2), we can observe only one person and a burning car. The aim of this picture is to show common situations that occur in the streets in Libya. As opposed to the first picture, it is possible to see the setting and picture is not as emotional as the first one.
The position of objects in both pictures is different and has a great meaning for the perception of the image by the audience. Barthes focuses attention on the relationships between object, image and time. He describes them as “that-has- been”:
“I call “photographic referent” not the optionally real thing to which an image or sign refers but the necessarily real thing which has been placed before the lens, without which there would be no photograph.
In the daily flood of photographs, in the thousand forms of interest they seem to provoke, it may be that the noeme “That-has-been” is not repressed but experienced with indifference, as a feature that goes without saying” (Barthes 22).
Thus, a common thing between these pictures is that both of them provide information about events that took place during the conflict in Libya, and function as additional source of information to the articles.
However, they use different settings, focus, details and composition because they provide different ideas: Fig. 1 depicts the “mood and intentions” of people. Human emotion is in the focus of the picture. The aim of the second picture is just to illustrate the situation, show the fact.
The second thing in common with the two pictures is that they have descriptions (or captions). According to Barthes, “the caption helps to choose the correct level of perception, permits to focus not simply the gaze but also understanding of the image” (118). Thus, the first picture Fig. 1 says, “Small-scale protests against the UN-backed action have continued in various cities around the world”.
Thus, the reader understands the history of the picture and acquires better understanding of its idea. The reader of the second article from the New York Times “U.S.-Led Assault Nears Goal in Libya” will be interested in evidences supporting the information in the article. Thus, the second image informs that, “for miles leading south, the roads were littered with burned trucks and civilian cars”.
Thus, the reader understands the situation and becomes more informed of the issue. Burrett mentions that “descriptions are important to readers, because they contain crucial and interesting information that leads them to understand and appreciate images” (35). Thus, we see that description is a very important element of the still image, especially the one that is used in the newspaper article.
Furthermore, as it was mentioned earlier in this essay, that every image is aimed at sharing a certain idea. As Bull says:
“What a photograph means does not derive entirely from its content (although it is essential that content is analyzed). By their very nature photographs are mobile signs whose meaning change across space and time and through virtual space too” (46).
Thus, the idea of the photograph will be understood differently by different readers. Consequently, the context of every picture has its cultural implications and helps understand the peculiarities of the nation.
In addition, both pictures have an ideological context, which can also be understood from the content, especially, in the first picture which depicts people, “reading an analog photograph as connected to reality is an ideological function of photographs based on their indexicality” (Sutton 165).
Conclusion
In the article “The Shadow of the Object: Photography and Realism,” Sarah Kember mentions the words by Fred Ritchin that “the viewer must question the photograph at the basic physical level of fact” (8). In this light, the still images are used mostly to inform the reader and show certain facts.
However, it cannot be argued that composition, focuses and other means used in both pictures are essential for the understanding of the articles to which they refer.
Moreover, apart from their main function to illustrate the information in the article, they contain certain ideas that can be understood by readers and help the audience to create personal opinion on the issues that images depict.
Fig. 1. BBC News: Libyan Crisis (image 4)
Works Cited
Barthes, Roland. “Camera Lucida – Reflections on Photography” in The Photography Reader. Ed. Liz Wells. New York: Routledge, 2003. 19 – 30.
Barthes, Roland. “Rhetoric of the Image” in The Photography Reader. Ed. Liz Wells. New York: Routledge, 2003. 114 – 128.
Barrett, Terry. Criticizing Photographs: An Introduction to Understanding Images. New York: Mc Graw Hill, 1999.
Bull, Stephen. Photography. New York: Taylor & Francis, 2009.
Damian Sutton, “Real Photography,” in The State of the Real: Aesthetics in the Digital Age. Eds. Damian Sutton, Susan Brind, and Ray McKenzie. London: I.B. Tauris & Co. Ltd., 2007.
Kember, Sarah “The Shadow of the Object: Photography and Realism” in The Photography Reader. Ed. Liz Wells New York: Routledge, 2003. 202 – 217.
Images:
“Detritus of War.” Photograph. The New York Times, Web.
“Libyan Crisis.” Photograph. BBC New, 22 Mar 2011. Web.
