Non-Western Summative

The Process

This project was a unique one. When we were first introduced, we started to do a lot of brainstorming. The vague outline of the project made us try and go in many different directions. We originally had our heart set upon building a sculpture. We found out that this project would not work due to the material of clay, and the scale. We also thought of doing a large-scale painting that included inspired drawings from various motifs. This idea we felt was largely based on last years project with the video, so we felt the final product wouldn’t have been as original. The three countries that we studied were Africa, China, and Japan. The motifs from each of these countries were extremely different.

When looking online the MET museum website we found that most of the motifs we were studying were in these large scrolls.  These scrolls appealed to us as something that would allow us to incorporate the motifs of Africa, China and Japan. We originally thought of using a thin light paper with black ink, all in one connected strip. We later decided to split the scroll up into 5 different sections. Also the weight of paper we used was a thicker yellow paper, a weight that we felt was necessary to withhold the Black India Ink. We brainstormed a lot about what motifs we were going to paint. After looking through many pictures we decided the first section to be a tree with leaves evoking styles of the Japanese and Chinese motifs.  The second section we decided to draw a vista view, relating towards the Japanese Motifs. We wanted to include animals in one of the Motifs, which ended up being a giraffe in the fourth section. We had to think long and hard about what to do with the African Motifs because it was the most different of the three. We decided for this African Motif the third one (in the middle of the scroll) to be our focal point. The symbol was Mt. Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest Summit. We incorporated the Chinese and Japanese techniques by using the Black ink with simple defined line. We used these techniques to paint our African inspired patterns. The fourth panel we decided to include our giraffe, and for the moment we had no idea what to do for the fifth panel.

The first thing we did was measure our scroll, and then broke the piece into the 5 sections using tape that we later painted black. This was typical in the 1500’s to create a vista view, but another medium besides tape would be used (usually paint). When starting the scroll we knew we wanted to include more than plain black ink. This is where we came up with the giraffe stencil, Mount Kilimanjaro Stencil, and the Large Bird, located on the tree. We also experimented with different mediums. We used sharpie, watercolour, acrylic paint, and even spray paint. These mediums helped with the overall effect of the piece as the black ink and sharpie contrasted greatly with the spray paint and warm acrylic colours. In the end we came to the fifth section and had awful ideas. We tried doing a black ink painting and decided it did not contribute the final product in a positive way so we decided not to use it.

The part about this project that was the most difficult was how permanent every mark was. Since we decided to do a large scroll if we were to mess up one of the motifs, the whole outcome would be damaged. The use of Black India Ink made it hard for us to cover our mistakes. In past projects such as the Self Portrait Painting where we used Acrylic where you could go over and over with different colours. As I earlier stated experimentation in this project due to our freedom is key. But the experimentation that we did for this project would have to be done before working so that when it came to the Art piece we knew exactly what to paint. This made the element of precision key in the Art piece and made the work for Dominic and I a lot harder

Now that we felt our painting and drawings were done, we started to brainstorm ideas about what we should do with the piece. Leave it as a long scroll, or cut it up into little strips and re arrange them, we had a few clever ideas. We first experimented with the strips by printing off photos of the motifs we painted and cutting them up. We really liked the effect of this but in the end decided it looked too messy and busy and didn’t show the potential that the paintings had.

Finally with help from Mrs. Cockburn we figured out that we would display these strips (strips now of actual piece) as a sort of blind installation where both sides would show art. The contrast between the spaces of each blind overall give the piece a very interesting effect.

         Overall this project took more time than it should of. We were given the freedom to go in whichever direction we wanted. The vague nature of this project made it hard for Dominic and I to know where to start. Our original vision changed many times, and is one of the main reasons why this project to take so long in the first place. This project was defiantly the toughest project that I have ever done in Visual Arts, as it made me stretch my imagination and go into a new experience. So many things were new about this project to me: Working with a partner, Studying Japanese, Chinese, and African motifs, and doing a project with such loose guidelines. Both Dominic and I tried extremely hard on this project but felt that we didn’t achieve the final outcome we had originally hoped for. The original scroll was supposed to have an eternal feel of unity with the three countries we studied. When we cut up the motifs into individual works we noticed that we liked the motifs better alone. This confirmed our suspicions on the lack of unity in the piece.

         The actual paintings that we created were all of a certain scene where there was a main focal point. Whether this focal point was the tree, the giraffe, the mountains, or Mount Kilimanjaro, it gave each motif structure, and the rest of the paintings were based around these focal points. We liked the overall effect of the different texture throughout the piece. With the use of the stencils and spray paint the paper grew a tougher look.

         Overall Japanese, Chinese, and African Motifs inspired our paintings.  We did not copy certain motifs but rather gained the techniques from these time periods and tried to incorporate these techniques into our own paintings. The project was very long, and I am glad it is done. The experience of working with a partner is a good one but it will test your ability to share ideas, and use time management skills. Overall through all of the tough brainstorming and painting, I can come out of this project with the greater understanding of the Chinese, Japanese, and African Motifs, and how express the techniques used in the years of 1400-1600 AD.

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Section 2 Final without spray paint

Section 2 Final with spray paint

Hut coloured

Seciton 2

Giraffe Motif

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Giraffe Stencil

Starting off with the Mount Kilimanjaro Stencil, and Basic African Patterns.

This is a picture of the First section. A tree with coloured leaves. The colour creates a nice contrast with the background reeds.

Charlie's Non Western Art Unit

The three countries that Dominic, and I will be researching will be Japan, China, and Africa. The art in these countries has been along for hundreds of years. We will be exploring the artistic patterns of the 1400-1600 time period and see what mediums they work with, how they use line etc. We started the process by looking at photos on the Metropolitan Museum website.

Throughout history Chinese art has majorly changed. The time periods we will be looking at include the Tang and Ming Dynasty. The techniques that were used in these days were far different to our modern day art. The mediums used in this time in China were mostly sculpture, and ink drawings/ painting, and pottery.

The Tang dynasty was before the Ming Dynasty. Through looking at works it is easy to notice patterns in the motifs. The main technique that was used was the use of thin simple lines to outline a shape or object. The lines were very simple, but extremely detailed in some cases. Many sculptures were made at this time. Many sculptures of Buddha’s would be made during this time. Sculptures of horses, and pottery sculptures were all a main part of Tang Dynasty Art. The motifs they created with their black ink was known as a masterpiece in some cases, so much that, we cannot replicate these drawings today, it is too tough. Through the Tang Dynasty there was a shift towards people drawing more figures, and leaving the background unnoticed. Instead of drawing the background the setting would be written in a poem (Chinese Script) to describe the setting of the figure. This helped to give more meaning to a painting, where it throws the viewers focus on a single object and let them imagine the setting.

The Ming Dynasty followed the Tang Dynasty some 300 years later. These years brought much change to Chinese Art. Through this time more landscape was starting to be used in drawing and paintings. The background would not be recited in a poem but drawn or painted. The main difference between the two periods was the use of colour. The Tang Dynasty consisted of plain black ink drawings or sculptures. The Ming Dynasty started to involve warmer colours in their drawings while maintaining those thin simple lines. Overall the Chinese motifs consisted of thin use of line to make detailed drawings, and the use of poems and colour involved in Chinese art works. Sculptures, and pottery were also made in this during these time periods.

Japanese Art I found to have many patterns. The periods I chose to discover were the Muromachi and the Momoyama time periods. The Momoyama i found to involve a heavy use of colour. The detail was extremely fine and the mediums were for the most part inks and paints. One pattern I found with these motifs was the use of screens, as if the painter were looking out over a vista from his/ her place. To do this they simply draw vertical lines across the page such as the ones below. The vista would be the painting and in most cases would be in very fine detail.

Both of these motifs show the use of the screen and also a heavy use of the colour white. This use of white was mostly starting to change as people would change their palettes from one consisting of just black and whites to a variety of colours. The mediums that were used in Chinese Art included pottery, and wood sculptures, along with painting on paper. Japan like China uses lots of black ink, and brushes to paint. Although there is more colour and detail put forth in these Japanese photos. The Muromachi period brought more focus on the figures in the painting rather than the background. The figures were more recognizable and detailed, as the background would be vague and rough. This was not as evident in the Momoyama period as it seemed that the artist did focus on more of the background, as they would paint vistas with not figurative piece in the artwork.

The last region we decided to look at were the African countries of Kenya and Ethiopia. Both two countries used many different techniques than that of the Chinese and Japanese painting and art works of the time. African Art in general consisted of many different mediums. These included the heavy use of sculpture, pottery, painting, and basket weaving. Sculptures were made out of many different materials such as wood and copper, to sculpt things from people to crosses. The motifs made in this time were very simple. Lots of colour would be used but the figures would be extremely simple and the rest of the painting might not be as detailed but would still get across the message. I found the African art to be more distorted compared to the precise works of the Chinese and Japanese. I felt that the African Motifs were less skillful focused more on simplicity, while using more line.

Although it did seem that they stressed simplicity, but as I looked at more motifs I started to notice the very skillful use of pattern of line in some of the African Arts. This is a technique that has stuck with African Art to this day the line work and patterns created by line. There was use of a thicker line compared to the Japanese and Chinese motifs. Overall the African art consists of many sculptures and colourful motifs that portray a very simple figure of the human form.

This picture shows the heavy use of patterned line in some pieces from Ethiopia.

1. The motifs that I found in these three different countries in these time periods were all very different. The Chinese Motifs consisted of a lot of black and heavy use of thin simple lines to get across detail. These drawing mostly focused on the figure and left the background either undrawn or written in a poem. The Japanese motifs used more colour and instead of mostly black and whites it used more paintbrush. The motifs I found to focus on more of the vistas during the Momoyama period but during the Muromachi period the motifs would focus on single or a group of figures, taking away from the background. The African motifs were focused on simplicity. The line they used was thicker. The motifs would focus less on the figure but more heavily on the patterned line work.

2. I found that the motifs in Africa to stay more similar as the Chinese and Japanese motifs changed. The biggest change as I stated in the first question was the change between the Momoyama and Muromachi period motifs. The change from a background oriented motif to one that focuses on the figure. The Chinese motifs changed by using more colour as time went on.

3. The figure in Non-Western art has played a huge role. Whether it is detailed or not, to stand out or to be hidden in the background were all choices these cultures made when producing these art works. All of these cultures have sculpted, painted, or drawn the human figure in ways some thought impossible. The human form for the most part is proportional in these countries except in African Art figures may be distorted to help get a feeling or emotion across.

4. In the motifs I found I noticed many different designs. The last two motifs are African from Ethiopia and I feel that the general design of the motif is designed around the figure and is decorated with patterns and colour. The Japanese Art (the screen motifs + one below) show many unique designs. The vista view showing the background through "screen doors" shows lots of simple and light lines. The use of colour is more developed but still softer than African line. The Chinese motif is the first of all the pictures on this blog, and it shows all the focus on the figure. This is a way of showing praise towards this man who is immortal. One can notice the simple line and use of colour, mixed with a faint background. Overall lots of the same ideas in each of these motifs but each culture has their own way of displaying these ideas.