Forest Rogers - 'This Work Is Love'

[Moonchime]

Hmm really interesting stuff - the Japanese never fail to surprise, but then Forest has left me a bit bewildered too - at least now you've posted some of her even more disturbing pieces.
Funnily enough before I even saw all your comments I was put out by the finished Shrimp - I so agree with you all I think it is much more powerful without the added paint -or at least without the painted face with the red spotted cheeks; it becomes so doll-like then and detracts from the beauty of the piece as a whole. For me less is often more and as she is able to do such exquisitely fine work I do not think it needs the addition of a lot of colour.

I love some of her gentler pieces and indeed some of the octopus works, although the last ones do have expressions of pain that are not present in the first one posted, which is one of my favourites.
She has a wonderful skill of fusing the animal and human in a seamless way - so that there is no obvious join but a welding of similarities sometimes making you wonder which is which. A lot of food for thought here. Thank you.

[NurseRatched]

Lori:

Its artists produced woodblock prints and paintings of such subjects as female beauties; kabuki actors and sumo wrestlers; scenes from history and folk tales; travel scenes and landscapes; flora and fauna; and erotica. The term ukiyo-e (浮世絵) translates as "pictures of the floating world" or "transient world".

Thanks for the context. Very clever of the artist to swap out the cloth & insert a mouse. I'm intrigued by the concept of the "floating world" or "transient world". With all the discussions surrounding death, grief, dreams and the after-life, I want to know more about ukiyo-e.

MC:

Funnily enough before I even saw all your comments I was put out by the finished Shrimp - I so agree with you all I think it is much more powerful without the added paint -or at least without the painted face with the red spotted cheeks; it becomes so doll-like then and detracts from the beauty of the piece as a whole. For me less is often more and as she is able to do such exquisitely fine work I do not think it needs the addition of a lot of colour.

You've nailed it, MC, it does become doll-like. It's so detailed and delicate on its own!
(If I ever have my own band, it shall be called "The Finished Shrimp"...this image cracks me up & I'm more of a "Shrimp In Progress" which is another phrase in here...too funny )

I find myself coming back to this art again and again. The faces! They range from serene to a look of superiority (I think MC mentioned this elsewhere, an aloofness) to fearsome. I guess I can see why she feels the need to add some color, because some of the details could be missed due to the monochromaticity.

[Dee]

I think we should put "Shrimp In Progress" into our Piccadilly dictionary, for things that are pretty much perfect before someone (even ourselves) try to perfect them!

I think this is one of the hardest thing when you create a piece of art, music, a poem... When do you stop? When do you feel it's finished? The temptation to add, to decorate, to change, to improve... it's hard to resist, But more often than not, things work better in their rawer, simpler, more instinctual shape and form. Before we overthink it.

[NurseRatched]

Ooh, a dictionary! What fun that would be..It would be a HUGE undertaking....I nominate Lori.

And this has also come up elsewhere-how DO you know when something is finished?!! It fascinates me!!

[Dee]

Mz NR wrote:

I'm intrigued by the concept of the "floating world" or "transient world". With all the discussions surrounding death, grief, dreams and the after-life, I want to know more about ukiyo-e.

I've found myself intrigued too. Wikipedia is always handy place to start, and my goodness, someone has done massive research there on the subject.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ukiyo-e#

Ukiyo-e[a] is a genre of Japanese art which flourished from the 17th through 19th centuries. Its artists produced woodblock prints and paintings of such subjects as female beauties; kabuki actors and sumo wrestlers; scenes from history and folk tales; travel scenes and landscapes; flora and fauna; and erotica. The term ukiyo-e (浮世絵) translates as "picture of the floating world".

The term "ukiyo", which can be translated as "floating world", was homophonous with an ancient Buddhist term signifying "this world of sorrow and grief". The newer term at times was used to mean "erotic" or "stylish", among other meanings, and came to describe the hedonistic spirit of the time for the lower classes. Asai Ryōi celebrated this spirit in the novel Ukiyo Monogatari ("Tales of the Floating World", c. 1661):

"living only for the moment, savouring the moon, the snow, the cherry blossoms, and the maple leaves, singing songs, drinking sake, and diverting oneself just in floating, unconcerned by the prospect of imminent poverty, buoyant and carefree, like a gourd carried along with the river current: this is what we call ukiyo."

[Dee]

Shiba Benten Pond - Kawase Hasui (1883-1957)

Some of these pictures are really stunning. Perhaps we should dedicate a thread to explore Japanese art. Between creating a Piccadilly dictionary and answering life's greatest questions... why the hell not?

[Moonchime]

Absolutely why not? Yeah go for it - I love Japanese art - well a lot of it anyway.
Cherry Blossom viewing is definitely a big thing there with families making special excursions to view the wonders of the Cherry Tree.

(If I ever have my own band, it shall be called "The Finished Shrimp"...this image cracks me up & I'm more of a "Shrimp In Progress" which is another phrase in here...too funny )

Rock on NR - I am so hoping you will form this band one day NR - I really am.

I guess I can see why she feels the need to add some color, because some of the details could be missed due to the monochromaticity.

I think you definitely have a point here NR - the details can be difficult to pick out - I will look through again and see where some added colour has helped.

[Dee]

Ok. We shall go for the Japanese Art thread then!


Back to Forest Rogers, here is a little treasure: "The Little Prince":

[Dee]

Pandora Study in Hope and Clay

[Dee]

Banshee

[Dee]

[Dee]