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Things to know about the Great Wave

artic.edu

11–20 of 93 posts

Re: Things to know about the Great Wave

#11

I have several versions of this, I just enjoy looking at them. I have a desk mat, Lego set, and my favourite: https://shop.kozyndan.com/products/uprisings-poster Would the original be considered impressionist?

The Lego set is gorgeous. I was impressed that the finished design has built-in hardware in case you want to hang it on a wall!

Re: Things to know about the Great Wave

#12
post #9

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Historical Japanese text, written vertically, is read top to bottom and right to left (like in those prints). On the other hand, more modern text (including what’s more common now) is read left to right when written horizontally. There are some more variations on directionality. Nevertheless, the picture does look and convey a different impression when flipped.

This is true of documents, text messages, social media etc., but most books, magazines and other printed matter are still done vertically and R-L.

Wow, I didn't know that! I thought vertical text was a thing of the past. Interesting.

Re: Things to know about the Great Wave

#13
I first encountered it in a class where we looked at the whole series. It gives this sense of Japan being very diverse of setting, but always in the shadows of Fuji.

I've not been to Japan, and not sure of the accuracy of the size of Fuji but it does make it feel like wherever you are, Fuji is there watching.

Re: Things to know about the Great Wave

#14

Wow! Never thought about it like this before: > Because Japanese text is read from right to left, the earliest viewers of The Great Wave would have likely read the print that way too, first encountering the boaters and then meeting the great claw of water about to swallow them. So instead of riding along with the gargantuan wave as you might in a left-to-right reading, they would face right into the massive wall of o…

I think that's just the natural direction to draw a wave as a right handed person.

Re: Things to know about the Great Wave

#15

I first encountered it in a class where we looked at the whole series. It gives this sense of Japan being very diverse of setting, but always in the shadows of Fuji. I've not been to Japan, and not sure of the accuracy of the size of Fuji but it does make it feel like wherever you are, Fuji is there watching.

It is really awe inspiring to be in the presence of a great mountain like that. I was once driving up to Bend, Oregon (where I'd never been) at night with a friend and didn't notice Mt. Shasta on the horizon as we approached. At some point I looked over to my right and it was looming directly above us. It was almost scary. I had a visceral reaction to its presence. Not dissimilar to the experience of seeing the grand canyon for the first time in person.

Re: Things to know about the Great Wave

#16
post #5

I’ve been seeing this print my entire life, but last year was the first time I realized that there were boats and Mount Fuji. I was always so captivated by the claws on the wave that i never looked away from them

And here I am never even noticing the claws.

Re: Things to know about the Great Wave

#18
My own toots-worth of code version for the bbcmicrobot https://mastodon.me.uk/@bbcmicrobot/111846600975531195

Mandelbrot wrote about the Great Wave having fractal like properties (eg here in an interview https://www.edge.org/3rd_culture/obrist10/obrist10_index.htm...) but I hadn't seen an attempt to use a fractal to draw it; good subjects for the bbcmicrobot use repetition to help fit the code in so it suggested itself.

Re: Things to know about the Great Wave

#19
I've always loved this piece of art, and other similar works. One of my favorite contemporary Japanese artists borrows from that tradition, and I never get a chance to plug her work so I'll link to it here. Her name is Asuka Ohsawa: https://www.asukaohsawa.com/drawings-2#/archive/

Re: Things to know about the Great Wave

#20
> If not the most famous artwork in the world

Wait, what?? Am I the only one who thinks this sentence is off by an order of magnitude? I'd bet that the Great Wave is not even one of the 10 most famous. Unfortunately I have no evidence to support my statement...

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