October 09, 2004
October 08, 2004
Er Verschwand
Er Verschwand (für mein Vater auf seinem Geburtstag), 2004, HTML, 198 x 162 pixels
Self 1984
Self, 1984, pencil on paper, 11 x 8 1/2" (from a book of 118 bound drawings, scanned)
At 27 years old. There is a lot wrong with this drawing. It's not quite my nose, the chin is too round, the mouth is just plain terrible- look, there's no upper lip. What's a few anatomical inaccuracies? Didn't affect my buddy Ingres. And still, there's a lot I like about this drawing.
- I like the darkened line on the left side of the face down from the foreheard starting at the hairline to the cheek.
- I like that it is made wth blue and red bic pens, and that the image is composed of a bunch of organized scribbling, that it shows its own making.
- I like the thick red accumulation of almost opposing diagonal strokes on the cheek on the right of the page.
- I like the bag under my left eye, i.e., the eye on the right of the page; it's sort of convincing, even though it isn't really drawn as flesh, but is a pretty basic approach to a rounded surface.
- The left eye itself, the eyeball and cornea, is pretty weak, but the right eye, on the left of the page, from the eyebrow down to the crease under the eye as it looks over the bridge of my nose, seems more alive, reads as an eye that is looking.
- This drawing shows how inaccurate one can be and still be pretty strongly representational, that the viewer so easily wants to see "things."
This doesn't really look like me. On the other hand, in my looking at it, except for the problems I've already described, it looks just like me. I know how I felt then by the look on my face, and the way the image is made, and I look back at that feeling and see and feel the connection to me now. I still look at the world this way.
October 07, 2004
Untitled 1-10
Untitled 1-10, October 2004, HTML, 340 x 594 pixels each
There are ten drawings in this series. I wanted to take a single drawing and try to make a variety dynamics from drawing to drawing-- simple things, like foreground and background, in and out, space and solidity, continuity and discontuity (well, maybe not such simple things)-- with different approaches to color.
The drawing started with a specific image in mind. It's pretty obviously a landscape. The image I have in mind is driving 80 north of Sacramento towards the Sierras: flatland in the bottom row, foothills in the middle, and either sky or mountains on top.
The basic drawing is simple:
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Head, 1984
Head, 1984, pencil on paper, 11 x 8 1/2" (from a book of 118 bound drawings, scanned)
October 06, 2004
Self, 1984
Self, 1984, ink on paper, 11 x 8 1/2" (from a book of 118 bound drawings, scanned)
I remember doing this drawing over twenty years ago; I'd come home from work, it was quiet, and I did a few drawings just before dawn by kerosene lamp light.
October 05, 2004
Drawing: Book (1 X 2 W&Ws)
From a book of eighteen original drawings titled 1 X 2 Wood and Words, pencil, colored pencil, ink, 11 x 8 1/2", 1992-93, spiral bound (scanned from the book; the next page is visible as a ghost image):
October 04, 2004
Drawing: Book (1 X 2 W&Ws)
From a book of eighteen original drawings titled 1 X 2 Wood and Words, pencil, colored pencil, ink, 11 x 8 1/2", 1992-93, spiral bound (scanned from the book; the next page is visible as a ghost image):
October 03, 2004
Drawing: Book (1 X 2 W&Ws)
From a book of eighteen original drawings titled 1 X 2 Wood and Words, pencil, colored pencil, ink, 11 x 8 1/2", 1992-93, spiral bound (scanned from the book; the next page is visible as a ghost image):
NYTimes: For the Love of God...
For the Love of God. And Not Just Any God
1. REDS
Concentrated bursts of red and orange suggest an emotionally heated experience.
The blue-hued earthly incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu, he came to be known as a god of love. He fulfills his job requirement by asking Radha to make love with him. 3. HAND
Krishna's formal hand gesture, known as a mudra, signifies that he is making a speech or declaration. 4. RADHA
Shown sitting primly, she was the most special of Krishna's thousands of lovers, and the symbol of human longing for divine love. 5. JUGS
Waiting water jugs signal a meeting place where refreshment would be offered to those who gather under the hot sun. 6. BOWER
A nicely decorated bower complete with welcoming garlands awaits Krishna and Radha; its bright red interior sets the mood for love. 7.TEXT
A translation in the local Hindi dialect from the original Sanskrit of the ''Gita Govinda.'' True to the tradition of romance writing, there is talk of ''throbbing breasts'' in the verses. 8. SPACE
The lack of mountains or other geographic details frees the scene from being anchored in one place, fostering a sense that Krishna can dwell in anyone's consciousness. 9. SERVANTS
Although they were servants, not social peers gossiping over brunch,Radha's attendants take an interest in her love life by peeking through the trees and exchanging knowing glances.
10. TREES
Assorted cypress, palm and plantain trees yield a rhythmic visual pattern that
works with the vibrant colors to create a highly charged atmosphere, creating
visual suspense about the action soon to unfold.
Published: October 3, 2004
HEN it comes to love, the Hindu deity Krishna is one of the all-time stars. Indian art and literature are filled with tales of his amorous adventures. Although his main purpose on earth was to fight evil, Krishna - like any enduring hero from Zeus to James Bond - made time for the ladies, and plenty of them
The epic poem "Gita Govinda," originally written in Sanskrit during the 12th century, tells of the enduring romance between Krishna and his human lover Radha. In the poem's final section, the two meet in a grove with a very specific agenda, as depicted here in the painting "Krishna Invites Radha to Make Love."
The work, on view in the exhibition "In the Realm of Gods and Kings" at the Asia Society, is an opaque watercolor on paper that was part of a courtly manuscript from Udaipur, Rajasthan. It dates from around 1655 to 1660. No particular artist has been credited, but the work was done in the style of Manohar, a painter who was working in the area at the time.
The illustrated manuscripts of the era, usually kept in royal libraries, could be up to 200 pages long and were often read aloud, according to Vishakha N. Desai, president of the Asia Society, who organized the show. Through art and poetry, Krishna followers could keep up with his career highlights, and while he eventually married 16,108 wives, Radha is considered his One True Love.
Multi-Panel Painting (revised)
Earlier this week I wrote an essay titled "Panel Painters." This is just to say that I've been revising and, I hope, improving it, adding more observations and thoughts. I've changed the title to "Multi-Panel Painting."
Left to right: George Lawson, Klava, 1986, oil on slate, installed at Elins Eagle-Smith (SF); Anne Appleby, installation, 2004, oil on panel, at Paule Anglim (SF); Byron Kim, Synecdoche, 1991-present, oil on panel, at BAMPFA (Berkeley).