Painting by Otsuka

2/6/07
English 2:30
Painting by Otsuka
The painting I have chosen that intellectually means a lot to me is by Hisashi Otsuka. I could not find the title of the artwork (nor could I read the Japanese in the bottom left hand corner). It hangs in a picture frame in my kitchen. This piece of artwork means a lot to me because it reflects Japanese traditions. It reflects Japanese traditions because the woman is dressed in a kimono, has a white powdered face, and a decorative hair piece. It portrays that old Japanese culture defined beauty differently than the society (or America) I live in today.
When I glanced at the painting, the first thing I noticed was the far hand holding the fan. I noticed this faster than the bright red colored kimono decorated with all the beautiful flowers. In the actual painting, I believe that the focal point is the woman’s right hand holding the fan with the dangling tassel decorations. I think that is the area of the focal point because the white hand deeply contrasts with the brightness of the lady’s dress. My eyes want to rest on this part of the painting first because the whiteness is more stable compared to the other colors. The flowers also seem to bloom in the direction of the fan. The lines of the kimono point upward and downward toward the hand.
My vision is then redirected toward the other hand because the chopsticks point in that direction. The left hand is partially hidden beneath the sleeve. This reminds me of how conservative the Japanese people use to be.
The mood revealed is more serious, but elegant. I know that the Japanese never use to smile for pictures. This tradition is different that than how we pose for cameras in America. Her powdered white face, fierce red lips, and dark eyebrow and eye features make the lady look very urbane. It makes me feel that my old ancestors were too uptight and I feel like I want to break loose from such an organized ruling. I think that Otsuka was trying to teach about these customs. Hisashi Otsuka originally grew up in Japan, but moved to Hawaii in 1979. His paintings all portray ancient Eastern techniques.
The kimono is composed of mostly warm colors (or the red). This effect of warm colors help to illustrate the lady being more serious. The actual flowers are complimentary towards each other. The greens flowers are complimentary against the red fabric. The blue and orange flowers also compliment each other. One inner layer of the kimono is a less intense variation of the red kimono fabric. As a whole, all the colors are expressive together. The colors of the kimono give the entire painting the vibe of boldness and properness.
The artwork is pretty evenly balanced. The entire painting only consists of one Japanese lady. The flower designs are repetitious in color and style. I think this repetitious style is affective. The unique shapes I see are circles for the flowers, a curvy cylinder for her hair, and the rectangular shape of the entire kimono. Her hair is really unique because of the way it is shaped and styled. It looks very precise and neat. Also, the rectangular shape of the kimono stands out. The dresses are meant to be "flowy", but they way her arm is positioned makes the kimono shaped differently. My eyes move around the painting by noticing the hand holding the fan, then they other hand, then the actual kimono, and finally the lady’s facial features. There is no actual foreground, middleground, or background because the painting consists of only the lady. Although there is no setting, I imagine the background as deep. The background color is just an alabaster white and it leaves the woman standing alone. The background color emphasizes the lady, especially her kimono.
The bottom and top center of the kimono has vertical lines that lead to the hand holding the fan. Although they are not thick, these are the most obvious or strongest lines in the painting. The woman’s shoulder line is relaxed as is curves downward. Her arm hiding beneath the sleeve looks relaxed and has little tention. This arm uses little energy to show off the kimono by holding it out.
The painting does not consist of any obvious lighting to make parts of the painting more significant. The lighting is pretty balanced throughout the piece. The picture as a whole is pretty bright and there is no darkness.
There are three main textures within the picture. The different textures are the woman’s hard, skin, and material of the kimono. The hair looks sleek and smoothed down. The face and hands are flawless and fair. The kimono has creases that ruffle down the woman’s body. This brings out how the lady is neat and orderly. This is an important value in the Japanese culture.
The artist has made all these fine details to support ancient Eastern traditions. Otsuka wants to make the viewer think about how the culture he grew up in contrasts with the culture we live in today. The more I observed the details of the painting, the more I was able to realize how precise and different old Japanese culture is compared to the ways of a full Japanese girl like me.