trippy
when i was a young hippy, underground comix were all the rage, but of course we would never say 'all the rage.' we would say, 'far out,' or 'blows my mind,' or 'toooo much,' or maybe even 'outta sight!' but for sure we would say.... 'triiiippy.....'
of so many of the japanese prints we've seen we might ask, 'what were they smoking?!'
the answer could actually be, 'the same thing you were.' not only was weed legal and enjoyed by many, but it's not such a stretch to see its effects in the prints (of yoshitoshi and kunisada especially).
the outline. the strong graphic elements. the flat areas of color. the new and unexpected (to western eyes) uses of and juxta- position of pattern, color, and design. that so many of the prints were surreal goes without saying.
now i am not saying that dave sheri- dan (dealer mcdope) had seen jap- anese prints and used them for inspiration -- he may have, or may have not.
but i can suggest that some of their prede- cessors very likely did. artists like winsor mccay and frank king were wor- king at just that same moment where we here at japonisme usually hang out.
Labels: comics, comix, dave sheridan, frank king, jim steranko, klimt, kunitero, Kuniyoshi Utagawa, Tsukioka YOSHITOSHI, winsor mccay
6 Comments:
Herge, Tintin's and the "Ligne Claire"'s father (lotusgreen, tintinswave,22/06/07),is very close to japanese prints, at least for certain albums: no cross-hatching, no shadows, flat areas of colours.
Since you know french, enjoy cette chinoiserie:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=nW7SheFg_GM
d
oh i totally agree! the layout of every frame attests to that with its layout -- perfectly hiroshigian!
thanks for the link but i couldn't watch very far. i just recently learned of the british 'plot' that addicted the chinese to opium and i still am outraged.
and i couldn't understand the song cause i really don't speak french all that well....
Outrageous, indeed. This song was against it too. "What were they smoking?" reminded it to me. Concerning Herge again, there is a huge difference between his american inspired beginnings and the later Ligne Claire, when he literary jumps in neo-japonisme as a choice because he wasn't submitted to engraving technical problems. It's strange that Herge specialists from Belgium or France pretend to ignore it. d
i just went off looking and you're right--herge is consistantly credited with *inventing* ligne claire, which they then go off to describe, using the exact descriptions of japanese prints.
Great post as usual , my head's swimming ;-)
thanks, dominic! yeah, i guess this is right up your alley!
Post a Comment
hi, and thanks so much for stopping by. i spend all too much time thinking my own thoughts about this stuff, so please tell me yours. i thrive on the exchange!
<< Home