Monday, July 8, 2013

Closing the shutters



This drawing is a good example of the principle that the design of a picture can be far removed from its medium, e.g. oil paint, charcoal, etc. Which may seem like an obvious point, but in fact we tend to associate certain approaches composition very strongly with their original format. The waist to head portrait, exemplified by the Mona Lisa, is very much an artefact of European oil painting, and when we see it in other media, like photography, we are often reminded of its origins. Frequently, the photographer deliberately reminds us.

In this case, we have a picture whose composition is a product of Tarragon's recent engagement with Japanese art of the 19th century. And yet, it was made on an Ipad, and is as distant from the complex handwork of a woodblock print as can be imagined.

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