landscape typography

3d studies

somehow i feel a strong sense of dynamism from these sculptures. i made them from black mounting board and spray-painted them metallic. i had a photographer friend take pictures of them and it turned out great. just felt like posting the pictures here because it just feels so dynamic.

now it makes me question my major. do i really want to take western painting when i realise that with sculpture there can also be emotions as with painting.

he erased de kooning

someone somewhere talked to me about some guy who did this :

in 1959, Robert Rauschenberg, a young thought not inconsequential artist, asked William de Kooning to participate in an art project. De Kooning, who was not only older and much more established than Rauschenberg, but whose works sold for considerably sums of money, agreed to participate and gave Rauschenberg what he considered to be an important drawing.

the drawing de Kooning selected was executed in heavy crayon, grease pencil, ink and graphite. Rauschenberg spent a month on the work, erasing it completely. then he placed the de kooning drawing in a gold leaf frame and hand-lettered the date and title on the drawing: "erased de kooning drawing, 1953". Rauschenberg had not only erased de kooning's work, but he had also exhibited the "erasure" as his work of art.

its things like these that makes us question what art really is. in my point of view, a piece of art needs careful consideration, a huge amount of time spent thinking of the message (if there is one) and another deal of time spent executing the plan. painstakingly of course.

so if that is the case, then surely the erased de kooning is a piece of art? if there is a solid reason to something then that something surely must be viable. a month spent on a piece is surely alot of time spent. it might be cheeky but for me i think its something.

then there is this other example :

this famous artist is walking along the beach. he is then approached by this curator who wants to display one of the artist's works in his gallery. so this artist guy looked around, picked up a piece of driftwood and goes "here you go. call it Driftwood".

so many things to ponder. so little space left inside.

mama mia / el naufragio de los hombres

movie review time.

mama mia

fantasy
jubilant
emotional
funny
cheesy

a young girl getting married at a tender age. not knowing who her real father is, she sends out 3 wedding invitations to 3 possible 'candidates' taken from her mother's diary. the trouble ensues when the mother finds out at bad memories seep in amidst the jovial singing and dancing.

i think the musical part of the story sets the tempo of this film. most of the songs are fast exciting songs so the movie progresses quite fast though there are a few twists here and there. it seemed like taking a rollercoaster ride blindfolded because you never know when they will break into song. it's like those bollywood films but more exuberant and flashier. overall its quite easy to understand if you put all the distractions (songs) away. then again, im not a person that enjoys watching musicals.

the setting is immensely beautiful. the island on which this story took place is like a haven. a mini paradise if you suppose. the funny thing is, its crumbling apart in the story. its essentially a place you would want to go to, when troubles are boggling your mind. the colours were the people if i can recall. their many colourful costumes add most to most of the colours in the film.

the films characters were very fun to look at. each of the 3 'fathers' had totally different personalities and its funny how men seem to get along pretty fine even though they have their differences, unlike women. the dynamos were also pretty funny to watch. their costumes tell a great deal about their character. one of the uptight fathers business like personality is shown by how mostly formal he looks. pierce brosnan is portrayed as this charming man which is reflected by his clothes.

personally i think the film is ok. its just not my kind of film but i think its good. just needs to be less cheesy.


el naufragio de los hombres

dream-like
mystifying
slow
fantastical
meditative

this is about 'the small figure of man standing amidst a great expanse of vast, beautiful and also at some level, terrifying, natural landscape'. the artist finds it a way to bring about the realisation of global warming and globalisation. the story is quite easy to follow and is very calming and pleasing to the senses. though it is a slow-paced film, it grabs your attention and holds it firm till the end of the movie.

the landscape is amazingly beautiful. the play of light and shadows is extremely vibrant. the textures are also beautiful and mesmerising. the splendour of the background is simply unreal, like it is nowhere to be found on earth. the beauty of mother nature indeed.

the characters in this film are meant to portray god/ghost-like figures. they are clad in black and their identities are unknown. in the film they are seen somewhat floating across the water effortlessly. and in some parts of the film they are just standing on rocks, moving just so slightly. they are mysterious and brings a sense of mysticism.

i love this film. it is so simple yet so beautiful. there is meaning behind it and the use of nature inside the film is astounding. i like it even more for the fact that it is unedited and this requires much much patience to accomplish, having to wait for the right moment and the right time to capture such beauty.

humans

just a thought.

ive always wondered. why cant we all just get along? why cant there be compromise instead of fighting over whats right or wrong? and why cant everybody just respect everybody else's point of view?

the answer i think is simple. its just human. it is said that no two human beings are equal. some are passionate about things some are moderate. some aggresive some defensive and others, like me, are just passive. pacifists, aggravists and the likes. debaters, loners, loudmouths. etc.

what makes a human being isnt just limited to the biological structure of cells and whatnot science content. it is the things like cannot agreeing with one another or fighting over a different perspective. without all these qualities we are not humans. we are just animals. the ability to think for oneself and act accordingly, willingly.

this is what makes us human. the bad things about us, is actually the good thing about us. it is what makes us who we are. not getting along with the other, having a diverse point of view. thats individualism. the better things like being passive, getting along and all that. i think its easy to get along but it takes more effort to stray from the pack.

art and drums

i found this video link through a metalhead magazine kerrang! while browsing at the esplanade library.



its like a sculpture i think. interesting concept. a sculpture that involves interaction and feelings. emotions like fear (afraid of so many things all at once) anticipation (cant wait to play that!) confusion (ok so what do i hit first?). i personally like art that involves the audience. and then the weird thing is, it goes from a visual art to a performing art.

bosch

my history of visual arts lecturer once questioned me, "do you consider hieronymus bosch a fantasy artist?" sadly i couldnt answer her question at that point of time cause i didnt even knew who bosch was. so i decided to do some digging.

i stumbled upon a book in pageone at vivocity. something like the works of hieronymus. it wasnt the complete works but i understood what she meant when she posed that question. bosch's work is, to me, fantasy-like because it portrays the imagination. the secret garden and my personal favourite was this scene when he ponders what would have happened if adam and eve were still in paradise? a multitude of creatures filled the canvas, amidst a very whimsical portrayal of paradise itself.

"We marvel at the extraordinary fantasy of the artist. We also feel that the man himself must have been very morbid to have been so concerned with pain. Although his pictures, with their weird animals and monsters, look as if they belong to the Middle Ages, they are not too unlike some of the paintings that are being produced today by painters who are called surrealists. They too paint a world of fantasy. Bosch lived at a time when the medieval period was giving way to a new age. His paintings undoubtedly reflect his concern for a changing world. Looked at in this way Bosch and his fantasies are curiously up to date. "

"But whereas the Flemish painters created a world of serenity and reality, the world of Bosch is one of horror and imagination. His Vision of Tondalys both amuses and frightens us. We see a strange animal forcing a sharp stick through a large ear. A creature with a great head stretches open its mouth to show a table with people both behind and under it. A man caught in a big hat finds that one of his legs is sprouting roots. People fly through the air. In the background fire lights up the sky. "

here are some pictures,




sources:

http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/bosch/

surrealism appeals to me because with it because there is no right or wrong. i have a personal tiff agaisnt the idea of having a 'right and wrong' because being right and wrong is generally opinionated. but without it i guess there wouldnt be LAW would it?

forced art

the general assumption is that art is a freedom of expression. or a form of expression. a medium in which we show our innermost feelings. art can also be regarded as a tool for communication. a tool to bring about a message we want the world to know, or only a target audience.

but what if art is forced?

what if we force ourselves to draw. to paint. to sculpt. what would it be then? would it be an expression? the only expression that comes to mind would be anger or boredom. but if thats the case would it still be art? i can only imagine the misshappened figures or drawings, distorted and contorted because the artist is too lazy to observe proportions. or the crazy lighting, due to the same reason.

but isnt that art? when is art NOT art then? when there is no meaning? or aesthetic value? in the case of andy warhol it is all about the aesthetic and not the meaning. whereas some contemporaries have a lot of meaning but little aesthetic. then again aesthetics are all opinionated. subjective.

so forced art is still art. not only because the word art is there but. where aesthetics and meaning come into play, i guess it still is.

brom

Here is another fantasy artist, Brom. Brom is mostly known for his haunting art and his step into illustration has brought him many involvements, from novels (Michael Moorcock, Terry Brooks, R.A.Salvatore, E.R. Burroughs), Role-playing (TSR, White Wolf, WOTC), comics (DC, Chaos, Dark Horse), Games (Doom2, Heretic, Diablo2, World of Warcraft), and film (Tim Burton's Sleepy Hollow, Galaxy Quest, Ghosts of Mars, Scooby Doo, Van Helsing).







I am a big fan of dark fantasy. Brom has delivered a world that is rich and somewhat original in my opinion. He uses bold dark colours for most of his work and the amount of fine detail is amazing. I like how he paints the complexion of his figures. They are pale surprisingly pale but not unhealthy as how we would associate pale to be. His visions are morbid yet elegantly painted.

frank frazetta

To me, nothing can and will beat Frank Frazetta, one of the world's most influential fantasy illustrators.

art as an expression?

we all know that art is extremely subjective. but when you use art as an expression, how does one judge the art then? is it through the degree of emotion that is felt when one views the artwork? by how well the artist has managed to portray his/her emotions through the art?

i think emotion plays a big role in producing art. when one feels a certain way one usually acts a certain way. and when this happens, the art also conforms the same way. one good example would be frieda kahlo. with all her negativities in life she cannot help it by showing it in her artwork. all the pain and suffering she has to endure, it has to go somewhere right?

but i cant help but wonder where these artists get their concentration from when theyre under so much negativity. dont they break down when theyre literally re-painting that time of sadness in their lives? does being depressive produce a certain kind of art? a different art perhaps?

i used to think about negative things as well. didnt we all? i used to draw things that people would cringe to look at. like demons and people dying. dark sinister things which i do not even want to think about now lest it brings back all the memories.

then i think, not wanting to think about these things in the past. not wanting to think about the real world, where the real emotions happen. did that make me turn to fantasy art? where everything is surreal and composed? where anything can happen? come to think of it, it does seem like an escape route. a haven to hide from all the unwanted things in life.

having said that. art is making me go on a discovery of self. of my identitiy. it questions me about myself. what am i and what do i do? what is it that i want? maybe this is why we're encouraged to do all those self-portraits.

a thought on the contemporary

with recent visits to the bienalle/artists village/substation and my newfound reading of neo-classicism, i find that art is becoming more and more of a contemporary playground. but maybe it is because of my nature of loving fine details in work though i dont have the ability to do so yet.

i just feel (note that its just a strong emotion) that we should bring back the old art like realism and neo-classicism back into the picture. im not certain whether it is still present or not but i kind of noticed that its just not here in our hot and humid oasis.

shouldnt there be a really really good portrait of lee kuan yew done like how jacques-louis david did it?

now that's thats a good idea.

a short one

"a corkscrew uncorks a wine bottle because it only knows how to."

"a swiss army knife uncorks a wine bottle because it wishes to."


i dont know if im making sense. i thought of this while lying on my bed and the time was 2am i think. basically what i was thinking at that point of time is the difference between an artist that knows multiple media as compared to an artist that sticks to one media.

the multi-media artist (knife) can do whatever the other artist (corkscrew) does and he can do more than that. i wasnt thinking of indirectly insulting the one media artist but more of like, seeing the positiveness of having to be able to work with different media. if you can do more than you should. i think.

Artists Village Exhibition/Substation

New Castle
Chua Chye Teck

i think photos 1(seascape) and 5(melted dumpster) has left more impact on me than the other photographs. for the first photo, i think it has quite a balanced composition. the horizon of the sea is masked by the heavy fog and thus we cannot really see where is lies. does it lie exactly in the center of the image? or is it off-center? also, the colors and the contrast between the fog and the sea is not really contrasting but more of a monotone so it doesnt evoke too much presence. this view of the sea kind of evokes questions like 'what is beyond?' or 'what's going to happen next?'.

as for the dumpster, i kept thinking about the story behind it. was it a fight? a protest? or just silly vandalism? the details of the dumpster is so clear that you get immediately drawn to it. the contrast between the slightly blurred housing and the different colors (red brick houses/bright blue dumpster) helps to do this as well. i could also feel that the incident of burning the dumpster was only recent. the plastic looks and feels as if it is still melting.

some of the pictures are cleverly composed to force the audience to question the image. to seek the story behind it. however, i find that this thing of questioning can get too repetitive. some of the pictures more or less gives you the same feeling and with that it gets boring to view the same scene over again.

The Artists Village: 20 Years On

Under The Table, All Going One Direction
1992 Mixed Media
Tang Da Wu

"the issue of unrestrained crocodile hunting for their skin in the making of leather handbags. the spirit of the crocodiles enter the spiritual world through and altar stained with their blood due to the insatiable greed of the humankind for leather products"

the artwork evokes a sense of dynamism and establishes flow going towards the audience when viewed from the front. here the sense of scale provokes the audience and gives a sense of fear, as the white cloth-like crocodiles look threatening even when portrayed as spirits and gives the audience a brighter picture of how large this problem or crocodile hunting really is.

the audience is first drawn by the elaborately detailed crocodiles and then moves up towards the altar and then the blood on the altar. upon reading the contextual information the audience will then understand the whole meaning of the work.

the altar is a cold steel/wooden structure that might represent the feeling of the entry into the spirit world. the side ornaments on the altar might be there to emphasize that is is an altar. the use of steel further emphasizes the harsh and cold cruelty in which these crocodiles are slain. the white cloth-like visage makes the crocodiles look ethereal. they have no eyes and look very skeletal due to their opaque covering and their wooden frames.

overall i think is is aesthetically pleasing. the white crocodiles gives a somber tone towards the attitude of the work. what strikes the audience at first is the scale and size of the artwork. the crocodiles are almost life-like both in scale and anatomy and to see so many in a close space gives a direct impact on the audience.

being in a group has its pros and cons. its pros are that you have a very encouragng environment where it is easier to be productive. you get the opportunity to mingle and interact with those that share common interests and ways of thinking, philosophies. the cons would have to be that your work shares the same notion with that of others. the message is along a somewhat similar track and the aesthetic of your work might look similar to the others in the group. you dont get to be different and that unique. it is only to a certain extent where you can be different but overall it is more or less the same.

its like being in a band. if a band plays rock music then everyone has to strike the same chord. there has to be a distinct similar sound to classify the music as rock music and to recognize that the people playing together are a band. having said that, it is possible (in music) to mix and match different genres of music together to form a different kind. that poses many questions to me regarding about how if it is possible to do the same with art. a question for another day perhaps?

portraiture

yes that's me.

in this 'portrait' i tried to capture what i felt at that point of time which was excitement. i was experiencing a 'rock' vibe at that point of time, after listening to some heavy music. i also wanted to show my love for music, especially the drums since i am a half-baked drummer. with that it is only natural to display my influence in music and that is the red hot chili peppers, in the form of their band logo on my chest. the two hands clench the drumsticks in pure rock fashion with the two pair of 'horns'. that hand gesture is the devil's horns as they say in rock music. or sometimes it simply means to 'rock on'. i tried to capture some resemblance to myself though i am not very good at photo-realism so i added that faint scar on my left eybrow to compensate for this. this is done in pen and ink because that is my current favourite medium to work with and i feel comfortable using it.

carlos huante

I just love this guy. Carlos Huante is known for his conceptual art and fantasy illustrations. I think the most prominent of his contributions is for the Men in Black movies, where his imagination and concepts bring the alien creatures to life.






Carlos has a very strange sense of anatomy that not only is dynamic and surreal but correct as well, as with all good illustrators. His approach to building a character is by loosely shaping the muscles and the posture of the figure before going all out into developing the musculature of his designs. this he does boldly and stongly and his shading is close to impeccable for only a sketch.






His visions are twisted and distorted but they have a certain appeal to them, of beauty. I like how he plays with the human anatomy, contorting it in a way that is unreal yet real at the same time. The amount of effort he spends in developing his characters is inspiring.

adrian smith

ive always wondered about the difference between art and illustration. from what i think, i guess illustration is just doing what people want. then you get the commission. but what about art? i heard from a friend of mine, that art is supposed to be what the artists wants, and then its commissioned. i wonder. i dont want to dwell on this too much, thats not the main focus.

today its adrian smith!








remarkable. i wonder when will i get to this stage? what i like about him is that it looks classical/neo-classical (the big ones). there is a nice composition to the big pieces almost identical to the old paintings. his attention to detail is exceptional. i do enjoy looking at detailed work. do note that this was done many many years ago so having done this at that point of time sort of makes him an originator? i have to check on this. i have not really studied the history if fantasy painting, if there ever is one.

assignment 3

My first drawing when I was a child was that of a sea urchin. Not long after that I began to doodle about power rangers, mask riders, digimon and Pokémon, just like any other boy would do. It was during this time that I discovered I had the knack for drawing. That wasn’t surprising, considering my father was a draftsman and artist as well. So every afternoon at my grandmother’s place I would come up with wild adventures of monsters and action heroes and such, illustrating them on paper. However, my real interest in art began in the later part of secondary school, when I began to use images from fantasy art into my art exams and coursework.

The biggest inspiration for me would be from a game I picked up in primary school which is Magic: the Gathering. The great thing about this card game was that on every single card there is an awesome piece of artwork. There were dragons, knights, elves, goblins, warriors, spells and whatnot which greatly reminded me of my childhood. Then I decided that my dream was to in the future, illustrate a card for Magic. And from then on I began to find out more about fantasy art.

What I hope to learn in NAFA are all the proper techniques that are involved in producing artwork, for example, basic painting techniques. I also hope to cultivate a stronger creative and analytical mind, to see the world in a different way and using that, produce art in a different perspective. I like the notion of having no right or wrong answers, where everything is an expression of thought. I like to create funny and weird images but I want to create them as realistic as possible. That’s where NAFA comes into play. With the correct techniques I should be able to pull it off. Imagine painting elephant people but with the realism of mannerism.

After my diploma would be a degree I guess, because that’s more credible I think. Most people look at certification when it comes to employing people but there are some cases where they select you purely by portfolio. There were this point of time I was thinking of going into teaching art, because I thought it was a more stable job and well, this is Singapore right? I haven’t thought of anything in the long term but that’s because it’s just me. I tend to adopt a ‘go with the flow’ attitude, which might get me into trouble some day. And my father, Darth Vader, is now suggesting I aim for Lucas Studios because he is a big fan of Star Wars and whatnot and he also recognises that I am part geek as well.

Fantasy art is my favourite form of art. With fantasy art there is no boundaries and no rules. The only rule would be to make it as realistic as possible I guess. I don’t like to conform to normality. I am not a slave to the grind (Skid Row – Slave to the Grind). That would make me a rebel I think, like Courbet. With fantasy art, there is no right or wrong answer. Fantasy art allows you to be free, to do whatever you want. People can have four arms and live on orange soda and fly. Dragons can be a form of transportation or kept as pets. The possibilities are limitless. I like fantasy art because it is different. I want to be different I guess, so that’s why I tend to like it. But sometimes I think that would make me more of an illustrator. Also, I want to raise people’s eyebrows when they view my art. And I guess to normal people, fantasy art can do exactly that.

I love to play the drums. I have a band but we don’t jam much but when we do we rock the place out. I own a drum set but I don’t get to play much because my mum will complain when she watches her Korean dramas. My influences are funk, rock, jazz and metal which I find a bit weird as I find it impossible for a single person to love different styles of music that differ vastly. So other than art I guess music would be my other thing.

sketches

here's just some sketches i made. i started with the astronaut thing in pen. and afterwards i made this underwater character in pencil. so i thought maybe i should create more characters but with an underwater "search for atlantis" theme, complete with merfolk. perhaps it can be another side projects of mine. but the ting with side projects is that, it doesnt go very far. for me at least.

the introduction

i guess it would make sense to start of a journal with a brief introduction of my kind of art and that is fantasy art. i'll try to talk less and post more pictures. mostly creations of other artists that i like. mainly they are a source of inspiration, something that makes me get off the sofa and television. so here goes.

today its..

wayne reynolds



this guy has an amazingly unique style. he's well knowned for his contribution to Dungeons and Dragons. mention that game and his artwork come to mind.

i guess MOST fantasy artist are trained classicaly as well, meaning they have form, composition, lighting and all that present in their final work. their dedication to their trade is immense.