The Great Wave Off Kanagawa - Fragment - c 1820 - Itsu Hokusai "The Great Wave Off Kanagawa" by Katsushika Hokusai is maybe one of the most iconic images in the world today. One of a series of woodblock prints titled "36 Views Of Mount Fuji" it almost singlehandedly contains the dramatic visual impact that has made these prints so popular. It is a beautifully balanced and confronting composition placing the viewer immediately at the centre of the action. When first viewed in Europe in the 1800's it must have had a shocking impact on the privileged public who had access to it. The solid bands of colour and sculptural arabesque of the line work would have seemed very alien alongside the sfumato and chiaroscuro realist paintings being painted in the early 19th century.
Today we can look back and see the huge impact that this painting has had on successive waves of innovation in Western painting. In fact, we can state beyond reasonable doubt that this woodcut print from the "Ukiyo-e" or "pictures of the floating world" period in Japanese cultural history is the precursor to the "Pop" art "inclination," which first appeared in Paul Gaugin's "Brittany" paintings, Seurat's pointillist masterpieces then "Art Nouveau" then via the Fauves and Matisse, proto-popists Charles Demuth and Stuart Davis via the Abstract Expressionism of the New York school, through Jasper Johns and Robert Raschenberg and culminating in the work of Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and Robert Indiana in the early 60's. It takes little imagination to see the influence of this style on painting in the West. Today, we can pretty confidently say that Pop and Surrealism are the two dominant modes of perception in contemporary art production with "Pop" almost the pre-eminent descendent of "36 views!"
Today we can look back and see the huge impact that this painting has had on successive waves of innovation in Western painting. In fact, we can state beyond reasonable doubt that this woodcut print from the "Ukiyo-e" or "pictures of the floating world" period in Japanese cultural history is the precursor to the "Pop" art "inclination," which first appeared in Paul Gaugin's "Brittany" paintings, Seurat's pointillist masterpieces then "Art Nouveau" then via the Fauves and Matisse, proto-popists Charles Demuth and Stuart Davis via the Abstract Expressionism of the New York school, through Jasper Johns and Robert Raschenberg and culminating in the work of Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and Robert Indiana in the early 60's. It takes little imagination to see the influence of this style on painting in the West. Today, we can pretty confidently say that Pop and Surrealism are the two dominant modes of perception in contemporary art production with "Pop" almost the pre-eminent descendent of "36 views!"
If Hokusai could have foreseen the "ripple"effect of his work he would have been astounded that such a thing could be possible! Here we are speaking mostly about the combined "aesthetic" impact of style and technique on shaping perception and ultimately cross-cultural thinking. We see this wave as a "natural" form or event and the idea "tsunami" springs to mind. The "wave" is depicted as more than a wave, more than nature, more as an obstacle, a hurdle thrown in the way of the boats struggling to navigate rough water. Of course it's always easy to speculate about meaning and to guess about the artists intentions. The question here is probably, what are these small boats doing out in such rough seas? These are dangerous conditions and the scene leads me to think that these boats have been caught, unaware of the change in circumstances. These men have no option but to fight for survival in a scenario not of their choosing. Looking at the picture this way, the wave becomes emblematic of man's struggle against nature. Even more, the scene becomes prophetic of man's future struggle against the great wave of change rising up suddenly before humanity with problems that threaten extermination. Could this great picture be alluding to a "wave" or "waves" so terrible, that life as we know it may come to an end?
We are told by experts that we are facing another great wave of "animal extinction," a wave of "nuclear" annihilation, a wave of "super pathogens," waves of war, waves of technological upheaval, waves of social disparity and waves of hopelessness and despair! Looking back, Hokusai's "wave" suddenly takes on a prescient aura, embodying a warning from a dead artist to future ages.
"Surfer Girl" by Yoshio Okada is an attempt to update Hokusai's warning. The artist depicts a young female surfer out for fun but suddenly caught in a tube so overwhelming as to provoke panic and fear and maybe even her death. The terrified look on her face rivets our attention and contrasts powerfully with her supple, youthful body bent supine, suddenly aware of her precarious situation. If you've ever had the opportunity to go surfing and suddenly got caught in watery conditions way beyond your ability to handle, you'd understand this girls panicky realisation of what comes next. It's a bone grinding, gut wrenching and lung searing roller coaster tumble as the brute force of the wave rips and tears at your body. If you're lucky you'll make it back to the surface and live to tell the tale of what might have been! The second image by an anonymous artist has morphed the great wave into a slapstick "Pokemon" less threatening than comedic although the intention is clear. Japanese commercial imperialism, a giant wave of consumer goods via electronics, animated characters and "pop" culture became the catchword during the 70's and 80's although a more or less spent force these days as other Asian waves flowing out of China and Korea supplant its global power and influence.
"Surfer Girl" by Yoshio Okada is an attempt to update Hokusai's warning. The artist depicts a young female surfer out for fun but suddenly caught in a tube so overwhelming as to provoke panic and fear and maybe even her death. The terrified look on her face rivets our attention and contrasts powerfully with her supple, youthful body bent supine, suddenly aware of her precarious situation. If you've ever had the opportunity to go surfing and suddenly got caught in watery conditions way beyond your ability to handle, you'd understand this girls panicky realisation of what comes next. It's a bone grinding, gut wrenching and lung searing roller coaster tumble as the brute force of the wave rips and tears at your body. If you're lucky you'll make it back to the surface and live to tell the tale of what might have been! The second image by an anonymous artist has morphed the great wave into a slapstick "Pokemon" less threatening than comedic although the intention is clear. Japanese commercial imperialism, a giant wave of consumer goods via electronics, animated characters and "pop" culture became the catchword during the 70's and 80's although a more or less spent force these days as other Asian waves flowing out of China and Korea supplant its global power and influence.
Ukiyo-e#PNG#6P - 2013-14 - Li Hsiyan Then again, maybe Hokusai was simply depicting an event the Japanese people were all too familiar with, earthquakes and Tsunami's. Superstition and mythology play a great part in the mind of the Japanese people even today so traditionally these forces waxed larger in the day to day life of these island people so haunted by "nature." Japan sits directly astride the Pacific "Ring of Fire" and is probably more directly affected by "tectonic plate" movement and volcanic activity than possibly any other nation in the Pacific Ocean basin. Maybe Hokusai is simply in "tune" with his environment and has intuitively created an image symbolic of the reality of what all Japanese live with every moment of their lives. Whatever the circumstances behind its inception and creation this is an enduring image that stays in the minds of all who see it. It is both worship and warning so to speak, of the fragility of man and his cleverness in the face of "nature," a sober reminder, a "moral" alert of the disaster that is always "near."
Great art isn't capable of politics, doesn't pass judgement or promulgate ideology nor should it ever be used for these purposes. Art is great when it speaks its silent mysterious message of "presence" across neutral space and time to any generation. Great art insinuates itself into the life of the mind through its "presentness," its "hereness" simply because human agency was miraculously able to find a vehicle that could "emanate" a convergence of thought, feeling and medium. This kind of art is an event capable of changing collective dynamics, of transforming lives. Hokusai left behind an awesome art legacy inspiring the next generation of Japanese artists like Ando Hiroshige and ultimately those further abroad globally. His work radically changed the representation of "Ukiyo-e" enabling new directions in printmaking to open up the door for modern "Manga" which would come much later. I'm inspired by Hokusai and his "Great Wave" and by its complexity and simplicity on multiple levels and by what i see as a timeless warning for those who "have eyes to see."
