THE CREATION OF ADAM ft. Ukiyo-e and Art Nouveau
Our second weekly assignment featured ukiyo-e and/or art nouveau, whichever we choose, or both, if we're so inclined. Can you tell I just want that sentence to go on forever? If I were to write a poem, I'd write a fucking long paragraph that's comprised of one sentence.
There's this one poem I read about a year ago, Esse by Czeslaw Milosz. You can read it here. Except it's not really in poem format. There are no stanzas or rhymes or anything. It's more like a paragraph. But that's what I like about it---no pauses, a continuous train of thought. It's almost like Continuum, except for the format.
That was one hell of a tangent.
ANYWAY.
The Creation of Adam is a fresco painting by Michelangelo, only this time we're doing it ukiyo-e-art nouveau style.
Art Nouveau Characteristics:
- clear lines
- thick edges, thinner detail lines
- intricate lines, often featuring plants or fabric
- delicate gestures
- romantic
- often feature women (to support the whole "delicate" thing)
- colours are limited to their "sections", the opposite of sfumato
- organic shapes
- dusky colours
- use of gradients (within their own section)
- often feature borders with intricate designs
Ukiyo-e Characteristics:
- clear lines and colour sections
- faces are similar, with slanted eyes and eyebrows, sharp nose, thin mouths (this may reflect the beauty standards of the time)
- often depict the Red Light District and its activities, i.e. sexual intercourse
- delicate gestures
- porcelain skin colours
- sometimes feature text somewhere in the artwork
- harmonious composition, usually a few subjects on a serene background
- delicate flow of fabrics
- may illustrate myths and legends, such as mermaids and death
- patterns on fabrics are unaffected by its creases/folds
- clean outlines, especially in the nude figure drawing: there is seldom any muscular detail, unlike its western counterparts
This is the second drawing I made, inspired by the interrelationship between the sun and moon (oh, the deep shit I come up with):
And th-th-th-th-th-that's all, folks!