Waltz For Goddess

Back to the drawing board again. Well this time around, i decided i was going to stick to the sentiment i mentioned in my last post; which was to talk about something less self-centric. As a result it got me thinking, and i ended up stumbling upon this Ukiyo-e art piece by Hokusai. It's a well known piece, his most well known and it's called "The Great Wave Of Kanagawa". I remember talking about this piece for my art GCSEs, and being honest i never really looked to deep into it. I mostly spoke about the techniques Hokusai used to give the effects i was going to use in my course. But when i came back to this picture around last week it just struck me more deeply. What's brilliant about this piece is that nature is so simply yet so effectively personified. What might be seen as white wisps of foamy water in real life are transmuted into deadly phantom claws, which the sea uses to grasp onto the men struggling to survive, taking them to the beyond. The cold whiteness in a way reminds me of the true power of nature, that unsentient power that Man should be humbled by and in awe of, which is also accentuated by the towering water over the men. You would think that having claws changes the character of nature, making it more sentient than what it is, but i think Hokusai uses it to emphasise nature's power. There's something so ethereal about the power of this wave, in a way that doesn't need undefined wispy pastel use to accentuate it. For me the defined black lines which cause the wave to be personified instantly allows us to connect to nature, which you could say is a celestial experience. The claws also remind me of horses riding on the waves in a odd way. Hokusai's style is perfect for personifying nature because it's exact....so precise with the black outlines. The claw like nature of the wave is accentuated because of it. However, the more i think about it, the more i can see why Hokusai might've personified the wave. Alot of japanese culture revolves around Buddhism and Zen philosophy, which (i think) has a focus on nature having a spirit. Now that i think about it, maybe that wave really represents not just the power of nature, but the spirit of nature. It might seem morbid to see nature taking away life, but in reality, death is a part of life and nature. It's also quite interesting to see the blackness of the sky contrasted with the whiteness of the wave. What i think that represents is not just the idea of some sort of darkness to death, but the extent to which the men are trying to struggle against the weighted odds against them, which leads me to question the importance of living: you only get one chance in this life, why should you abuse it? when there are men like these rowers struggling for dear life, should you really choose to abandon it? some food for thought for me.

Moving on though, i think it's also very intriguing to note Mt. Fuji in the background and the struggling men. Why do i think that's interesting? well mainly because there are many men in the boats, struggling together with Mt Fuji: a symbol of japanese culture on the same level as the flag of the rising sun. What's also interesting about Mt. Fuji is that it's depicted with the same cold whiteness as the sea, as if nature is in harmony. Japanese culture has traditionally been collectivist rather than individualist i.e. Japanese culture tends to dictate ideals that are more in line with group harmony and filial behaviour than individual efforts. The men fighting against death from the great wave have the same uniformed look, are dressed in the same attire and their faces are hardly visible and non-individualised. Therefore, for me, those men are not only struggling for their own lives against the great wave, but they are also the symbol of quintessential japanese collectivism. Personally, although i live in an individualistic culture, i prefer the idea of collectivist culture because it sounds more harmonious. Individualistic cultures seem to be too focused on aspects that directly or indirectly involve your ego. The ego itself can lead to dangerous places without restraint, arrogance being one of them. Arrogance itself might not seem like a dangerous thing, but it is the symptom of far more complex human insecurities and ego defence mechanisms. The idea of a unified group seems to me more appropiate to appreciate your fellow human rather than trying to ultimately undermine him/her. Japanese culture has always interested me, and from Hokusai's piece i can see the roots of the later generations of animé and manga artists; that sharp distinct black outlined style is used heavily. But if i was to say one animé work that really reflects what Hokusai could have been saying about nature's power, than i would have to say that work is none other than Princess Mononoke by Hayao Miyazaki. The struggle for power between man and nature is highlighted quite significantly, but it is the spirit of the forest, which can choose to take or give life away, similar to an idea of a spirit of the sea as in Hokusai's piece.

Now that i look back, there are more points i wanted to make out, but they aren't coming or flowing out the way i wanted. Nonetheless, i managed to talk about what i really thought about this art piece, and added some on as i looked at the piece more. Art is a funny thing, but it sure does captivate people and bring their creativity to the forefront of their thoughts when a person is interested. As August Rodin said: "Art is contemplation. It is the pleasure of the mind which searches into nature and which there divines the spirit of which nature herself is animated". With that quote, i'd like to finish this entry.