GEKKEIKAN SCREENS

More art, concerning trees and bonsai.
A friend of mine asked me to show this.
So here it is.






THE GEKKEIKAN SCREENS - The Traditionalists.

Pair of six-fold screens, ink and colour on paper, each measuring 152 x 336 centimeters, circa 60 X 133 inches

Theme:
Three companions repose and sit amid ancient rocks, overhead stand turbulent pine trees, foothills of mountains are suggested in the back-ground of the left-hand screen, while on the right-hand screen a decorated paper screen, potted Plum tree and potted Bamboo, give an atmosphere of privacy. This is reinforced by the addition of two stone garden lanterns, the sun hovering over the entire scene, as a silent witness.

The two men display their body tattoos of Peony flowers and a Dragon writhing in clouds, the young woman wears a kimono decorated with Cranes, Waves and Pine trees, pronouncing a felicitous occasion.

The famous GEKKEIKAN Sake cups and pot, stand clearly on the righthand-side of the two men, on the third panel from the left of each screen.

Sources of inspiration:
Monoyama, Kano School, ca. 1600.
Isoda Koryusai, 1160 - 1183.
Horiyoshi the Second, Kuronuma Tamotsu, 1914 -

Paper; Arches, aquarelle, grain fin, 300 grms/m2, (France). Rotring Ink (Germany).

Signature and seal of the artist, top far-left and far-right-hand panels, of the left and right-hand screens respectively.

January - September, 1985, The year of the Bull, (USHI).

Nigel Kent 1933, The year of the Rooster.

There is a slight difference with the colours along the screens, this only happens in these photos not on the originals.

Rito.

Not sharp, but calm and inviting.

Not bright, but soft and tranquil.


"The soft overcomes the hard in this world, as a gentle rider controls a galloping horse

Blunt the sharpness, soften the brightness"

-Lao Tzu, Tao Te Ching

Absolutely stunning.

Are prints available?

Only the originals are available.
No reprints.

Interesting. I don't think I've ever seen Yakuza depicted in this style of art.

I have been today to see the artworks live.
UNBELIEVABLE!!!
I never saw such work in my life.
It's entirely made of tiny loops in different colours.
He didn't work with models, just inspiration.
RESPECT!!!
Here are some details from the work, copies of photos.
Not to sharp.

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Where i'd done short,...... my most upward respect for nigel kent and his work.
It is truly unbelievable in many many ways!

Grtz machiel

sitarbonsai wrote:Not sharp, but calm and inviting.

Not bright, but soft and tranquil.

Well, I have never seen tattoos like that except on the bodies of the local yakusa in the bath house I was usually going to. This prevents me from finding the screens "calm and inviting ".

I think Alain's point is what makes the screens interesting for me. Like him, I associate (perhaps incorrectly) the tattoos with Yakusa, and so the presence in the picture of "gangsters" is fairly incongruous with the tranquility of the landscape. I think it gives a dramatic tension to the screen which in turn makes it pretty powerful. If it had been just "ordinary" people it would have been a nice wee scene that we'd all have said "Ahhh" to, then walked on by. The tattooed men, for me anyway, gives it that edge.

I'm interested in whether this assumption is correct. I snapped a portrait of a wedding couple in Japan and was later told that they are not the picture of young innocence that they at first appeared. His arms arms are covered in similar tatoos.

Um, that guy is not Japanese.

From what I understand, tattoos are still seen as taboo in the Japanese culture because of it's long association with the criminal world. However, I think it makes the artwork all the more interesting.

"Western style tattoos" (that is western in their locations and inspirations) seems to become more and more common between average Japanese people according to my personal study at a not-so-nice beach south of Osaka ( 15 years + of study).
But this kind of tattoos is still very much associated with the underworld, it is probably why they stop at the upper legs and arms to allow a minimum of discretion in everyday life.


As for the woman on the photo, she looks to me more as if she had taken a "Be a kyoto geiko for a day" tour than a real bride which would be consistent with the western guy wearing an underclass kimono.

I am walking the path of the traditional Japanese full body and it's not easy. I do not have any connections with gangs but my Japanese friend's grandparents still do not let me show my tattoos in their house. Almost all my tattoos are hidden from the public, as per the tradition. Thanks for sharing the paintings.