Liu Wei It Looks Like a Landscape
Confusing
Intriguing
Shocking
Graceful
Hazy
Illusory
Thought-provoking
Clever
Monochrome
Smooth
Dense
Textured
Ancestral
Natural
Contemporary
I feel this piece can be looked at from two different perspectives either separately or simultaneously. On one hand, it can be seen as a modern take of the ancient tradition of Chinese ink landscape paintings. By capturing the photo in black and white this scene of bending bodies becomes reminiscent of layered ink washes that form a mountainous region. There is even the sense of depth like in paintings of the past, where the mid ground is left somewhat blank, creating a misty or cloudy patch between mountains. This photograph can also be seen as a study of bodies. Although posed to potentially look like hills or mountains, there is a natural, untouched quality of the skin and hair. These are real bodies with real flaws and imperfections that are displayed in a simple composition to accentuate the natural beauty of the human form. The more I look at this photograph, the more I find myself adjusting my eyes in and out of focus to see the image as a landscape and as the body. It reminds me of an optical illusion.
Scrolling through the long string of image posts, this photograph could definitely be mistaken for a monochrome ink painting. I like your assessment of this image as an "optical illusion". I find it very curious that while I would initially describe the naked flesh as provocative and even slightly crude (in terms of the present pubic hair and butt shots), the more I scrutinize over the image, the wore beautiful and majestic I find it. It's a conceptualization of traditional ink painting presented through modern means. In my mind, it illustrates Chinese modernity. The subject matter signifies a continually present influence of Chinese artistic/cultural history in contemporary art.
ReplyDeleteWhy is this image so captivating? so beautiful? and at the same time someone's naked butt bending over? Is the artist trying to say something more by choosing to depict naked flesh? Possibly to suggest the relationship between humans at their most primordial level and nature...
The idea to create a traditional landscape out of body parts in a culture that previously ignored realism and anatomical accuracy for hundreds of years is incredibly interesting. Whether this was the intent of the artist or not might not matter. Chinese art seems to be hardwired to ignore realism until quite recently. The sudden explosion into photography and nontraditional interpretations of the human form has come suddenly, and presents a completely unique interpretation.
ReplyDeleteThis artist has truly bridged modern and classical art beautifully. Like traditional Chinese Landscapes, this is truly an image I can explore, as described by Caitlin. It's beautiful and simple, monochromatic. Yet the more you delve into it, the more you want to follow each curve, and inspect each knee.
When I first saw this image it took me a minute to realize what it was. With how commonplace ink landscape paintings are in Chinese history I agree that it is amazing to think that the same thing can be done with a black and white photo. This image is beautiful and grotesque at the same time.
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