New project idea

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Group members: Gek, Raj, Pin, Son Tra

 

After some discussion and today’s lecture, our group have decided to change our visual respond to bijinga where not only in bijinga, many of the subject matter is females during that day. in the original bijinga, females are depicted shy, and not showing their face fully but having a sensual posture. however, they are still pretty well dressed. In our case, we plan to changing representation of women and perhaps with him having a bolder posture/expression in our modern context?

 

Point of View – Final

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Final individual panels

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Bird from the point of view of myself is reflection

With a pet parrot at home, i got reminded everytime how birds are a mirror of ourselves.

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Feathers from the point of view of Miyazaki is baggage

The idea behind his was from Howl’s Moving Castle by Miyazaki. In the movie, Howl was a birdman with black feathers and his castle forever changing due to the different emotions and the situations people will face. I fused this idea together. In order to portray this, i made sure that all the feathers have their own unique patterns.

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Midnight from the point of view of Edgar is change

Influenced by Edgar Allan Poe’s poem, the raven. There was a sentence mentioning “midnight” and “December”. I interpreted it as midnight being a very special timing, it can be the end, but it is also the start to a new beginning/day. The birds swarm around in cycle, like how a clock would work, however i purposely made a “beginning/end” at the 12o’ clock mark. What is going to happen next? We have no idea.

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A mapless journey from the point of view of birds is adventure

Migratory birds can travel freely around the world, without using a map, without getting lost. Using their inner magnet? or their inner instincts. They follow them to their destination. Each resting place might change every time, hence its always an adventure.

Flight from the point of view of birds is resistance

Flight from the point of view of birds is resistance

In order to fly, birds have to fight with air resistance. that’s a scientific view. however, if we rethink, in order to live, we have to fight with any resistance that comes along our way, to become stronger than before

Being alive from the point of view of humming bird is dance

Being alive from the point of view of humming bird is dance

Hummingbird, being the smallest bird that flaps their wings in super high speed. whenever i look at them the are just like they are dancing in the sky. Is this their way of portraying their freedom? but in order to survive, they have to dance forever.

On the wall:

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Concept: I wanted the panels to have the flow between the greens and blues, from head to tail.

Point of View Progress work

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Honestly, even though i tried the various monoprints I still had zero idea about what or how I should proceed on with my project.

I liked some of the ideas and the image of the edited monoprints but it still looks incomplete and there was a missing piece that i have no idea how to fill it in.

However as I was looking back on my initial ideas on wanting to cover the different parts of the birds and just so happened that i came across this absolutely wonderful image on google.

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This picture is so aesthetically pleasing that it sparked me into knowing what direction i want for this project. Boldly scrapping my monoprint idea, i knew that i wanted watercolour. However, I didn’t want to make it a loose watercolourpiece, i wantedmore defination. So I decided to try a style of watercolour painting/ illustration method that i never tried before.

Overall plan for my boards:

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  1. Wing/ Feathers
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Style test that decides all of my panels!

It was the first one that i started with and i forgot to take pictures right after the sketch

I specially made sure that each of the feathers are inked with different patterns, just like on a real bird, which fit perfectly of what i was trying to convey about the different baggage.

 

2. The cycle of time

i was very much influenced by this image of yosuzume

 

This was really a fun piece for me to do! Its a very different style and composition that i would usually do. This is a first for me! I really love how it worked out.

 

By this stage, I loved the green and blue backgrounds and I knew that i wanted to make it a series as such.

I made the close ups/certain parts of the birds spotting a green background while the far away birds to have the blue background.

3. Flight/adventure

I was always mesmerised by how birds fly in a huge flock and they never seem to get lost

4. Wings!

5. Head= which represents a portrait/reflection.

Just like the monoprinted bird head, I realised that it somehow feels like a self portraiture.

I wanted to add this in, to have a beginning for my set.

Having fun adding colours to my supposingly dark bird ww

6. At last finally!

Humming bird and dance in the sky

Digital Manipulation with the monoprints

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after scanning the monoprints that I made in class, i scanned and adjusted them in photoshop

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made the accidental mask more prominent in this print

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mirror image/reflection

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usable background texture?

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i purposely made the crow seem to come out through the darkness

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crow head// hiding under a veil

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masked crow with wings stretched?

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POV on Edgar Allan Poe

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Prof Ina suggested that i may want to take a look at Edgar Allan Poe’s poem on Raven. And here is a wonderful site i have found that summarized and deciphered his poem.

Click ME <-link to the poem

There are a few parts where i found it interesting:

Symbols: The raven ->usage of a non-reasoning creature.

->ill omen

The bust of Pallas – goddess of wisdom->raven is smart -> spoke from wisdom

“midnight” & “December” -> symbolise end of something, anticipation of something new, a change to happen

Deciding to do on crows, I have researched on various visuals that were created related to birds

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And also to start of the project, i have tried to use monoprint to create some impressions of the birds.

Ideas generating for POV

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POV in my own words:

choose something I like and express them in 18 different pov

how can this topic become when it is viewed from different ways or by different people.

1object/situation? ->18 variations

Final choose 6

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Topic 1: Bird

Topic 1: Bird

I also had the ideas of looking from various superstitions, and here are some that i found interesting regarding birds.

China:

  • The first person one meets and the first words heard are significant as to what the fortunes would be for the entire year. It is a lucky sign to see or hear songbirds or red-colored birds or swallows
  • Hearing a crow cawing between 3 and 7 am means the hearer will receive gifts; hearing a crow caw between 7 and 11am means rain and wind; and between 11am and 1pm means quarrels.

Italy:

  • It’s not good if a bird enters through your window.

Greece

  • Hearing a crow cawing between 3 and 7 am means the hearer will receive gifts; hearing a crow caw between 7 and 11am means rain and wind; and between 11am and 1pm means quarrels.

Russia:

Bird poop=rich

In Russia, there is a belief that if a bird defecates on you, your car or your property it’s a sign good luck and may bring you riches. The more birds involved, the richer you’ll be! So next time a bird poops on you, just count it all joy.

Somewhere in the world

It’s believed that the amount of crows in a murder has the ability to predict your fortune as exemplified by the popular phrase: “One’s bad / Two’s luck / Three’s health / Four’s wealth / Five’s sickness / Six is death.” More than six however seems to be up to the person whose counting.

 

However, as much as they looked interesting, i have not found a way to execute them in the point of views. Concerns is that thet might seem too literal.

 

Revised Essay

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Having an afterlife, especially a comfortable one is an important belief throughout ancient Chinese history. Families did not want their deceased loved ones to suffer in the yellow springs; a fictional location of immeasurable graves and where spirits congregated.[1] They brought along objects with them to their deathbed so that they are able to continue having them in the other world. The objects specially crafted and placed in tombs are known as tomb art. It ranges from bronze vessels, ivory, jades to clay figures.[2] Before the Qin dynasty (221-206 BC)[3], real sacrificial beings such as concubines and servants, and tiny figures no bigger than 5cm were found in the tombs.[4] However, this all changed when Qin Shi Huang, First Emperor of China and the ruler of Qin dynasty, started his conquering quest, spreading even to the underground.

 

The mausoleum of Qin Shi Huang built around 256BC[5], with an area of 56 sq. km, was planned and placed carefully in a strategic location. There are waters in the north and mountains in the south and west, leaving the thousands of terracotta warriors in the east, to protect the tomb[6]. With more than 1400 figures excavated to date, the tomb is estimated to house around 8000 figures in total such as the generals, infantrymen, cavalrymen, archers, chariots, horses along with armours and weapons.[7] In this essay, I compare two of the terracotta warriors, the cavalryman (figure 1) and the gongcheng(figure 2). Although they both are represented in life size, each with great attention to postures and facial features, the differences in size and clothing illustrate the different ranks of the warriors in the army.

[1] Wu Hung,. 2010. The Art Of The Yellow Springs. London: Reaktion Books, 1

[2] Wu Hung,. 2010. The Art Of The Yellow Springs. London: Reaktion Books, 11

[3] Portal, Jane, and Hiromi Kinoshita. 2007. The First Emperor. London: British Museum, 13

[4] Lai, Guolong. 2011. Terracotta Warriors. Singapore: Asian Civilisations Museum, 25

[5] “British Museum – Qin Shihuangdi – The Rise To Power”. 2016. Britishmuseum.Org. Accessed March 17 , 2016.

[6] Gray, Richard. 2015. “China’s Terracotta Army Swells As 1,400 Clay Warriors Found Buried”. Mail Online. http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-3070079/China-s-terracotta-army-new-recruits-1-400-clay-warriors-horses-chariots-buried-near-emperor-s-tomb.html.

[7] Lai, Guolong. 2011. Terracotta Warriors. Singapore: Asian Civilisations Museum, 9-16

 

 

And also, I have a very important question, May i know what tense our essay should be in?

Introduction for Essay

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Q1: What is Chinese Tomb art? Compare 2 bronzes from the Shang dynasty or compare 2 terracotta figures from the Qin dynasty.

Thesis statement:

Qin Shi Huang’s strict rule did not degrade the quality and variety of the figures produced, instead kept the quality and variety consistent even with mass production.

 

 


 

Having an afterlife is one important belief throughout the ancient Chinese history. Families didn’t want their deceased love ones to suffer in the yellow springs, they “brought along” things with them to their deathbed so that they are able to continue have them in the other world. The objects specially crafted and placed in tombs are known as tomb art. It ranges from murals, bronze vessels, jades to clay figures. One important archaeological discovery was of Fu Hao’s tomb which had jades and small statues buried together. Before the Qin dynasty, real sacrificial beings such as concubines and servants, and small figures no more than 60cm are found in the tomb. However, this all changed when Qin Shi huang started his quest of conquering, even the underworld.

 

Qin Shi Huang attained the throne at a young age of 13, it was said that he started building his tomb as soon as he attained his throne. Despite conquering and ruling the vast lands, he wanted to be a ruler of the universe, hence the building of his netherworld palace. The mausoleum an area of 56sq km was planned and placed in a strategic location. With protection from water in the north and mountains in the south and west, the terracotta warriors protected his only vulnerable east[1].

 

A comparison with two terracotta figures, the armoured general and acrobat strong men, it shows that even with the mass production of the terracotta figures, the quality of the figures has not been hindered.

[1] The first emperor. Page 124 (rough citation)

Revised Proposal

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Introduction:

-What is chinese tomb art.

-about Qin dynasty (when Qin shi huang got his throne)

-short intro about Qin Shi Huang

– why did he plan to build this tomb

-the reason behind him about his placement of the tomb.

 

-The terracotta warriors pits are purposely placed facing the east, guarding the emperor against his possible “enemies”

 

  • overall introduction about this tomb. (56sq km etc)

 

Compare between a cavalry/infantry soldier (?) VS a entertainment figure.

 

One is created with more live,fluidity while the soldier has a more stoic position.

2nd para:

both are found in the pits, but in different pits.

Visual analyisis on the soldier

What is the use (the position in the army)

what is it doing

-they used different methods to make the figures look different.

With different hair and accessories

 

 

3rd para:

the entertainment figure: prominent difference.

Visual analysis.

Look lifelike instead of the stiff look

-have a sense of motion

 

Conclusion: