Kazuo Shiraga

Kazuo Shiraga一个日本艺术家，从他的作品里，我无法欣赏到艺术家试图传达的信息。因为我习惯了欣赏油画肖像，描绘具体的材料，如面部表情的细微差别，肢体语言，不过我承认他的配色给我的一个视觉冲击力。他打破抽象的传统渠道，创作了属于自己的抒情绘画风格。

At the first sight of the works of Kazuo Shiraga, an Japanese artist, I can’t appreciate it and get much information that artist tries to convey to me. Because I am used to appreciating portrait oil paintings which depict concrete materials such as nuances of facial expressions, and body language. However, I admit that his work indeed give me an visual impact because of the color matching, just as Kazuo Shiraga once said, “My complete work is not for someone to appreciate. It should have the impact of a blow.”

Unlike a variety of artists, Kazuo Shiraga breaks the traditional channels of abstraction. A wide range of paintings that the he made were about his feet when hang from a rope linked to the studio’s ceiling that he possessed. After putting the canvas that he painted on the ground, the artist would utilize a suspending string on the top in order to keep balance. After a period of time he would speed up his actions, that is to way, he would pivot very fast. He seems to be blessed by a dancer, and it is worthy of mentioning that the performance of the painting is as gorgeous as the completed paintings. 

Actually, it is after experimenting with various forms of expressions, such as knives, spatulas, and his fingers that he finally decided to paint with his feet. As far as I am concerned, this form of expression with feet requires not only great sense of appreciation for the aesthetics, but also accomplished dancing ability. To some extent, it’s more challenging to create a piece of stunning painting, compared with other forms of expression.

Abstract painting refersto the painting style of twentieth century characterized by breaking the limit of the traditional concept that painting must approach nature. Kazuo Shiraga and Robert Motherwell,both are prominent painters, but the works of the two belong to different branches of abstract paintings despite the similar artistic concept and artistic language. Kazuo Shiraga belongs to lyrical abstractionism,which highlights the unlimited expression, while Motherwell belongs to geometrical abstractionism, which attach importance to extreme minimalism and harmony. In the works of Robert Motherwell, color is outweighed by shape.He pays more attention to using visual form to express artistic spirit, emphasizing the aesthetic feeling of straight line and right angle, Onthe basis of that, he deemed too many colors would diminish the limited shap. By contrast, Kazuo Shiraga painting with his feet, depicited irregular shape with various colors. These shapes are not conceived in advance, instead are just emotional outbursts.

Maybe someone would say I can also paint with my feet, but he never reaches the point that his painting is highly recognized and appreciated, in other words, it’s just scribbles drawn quickly and roughly. So why is the work of Kazuo Shiraga is aesthecized and emotional and where is the beauty embodied? In fact, Shiraga’s foot paintings could be boiled down to a more direct, more violent struggle between body and material, and he was making no stones unturned to gain freedom all his life. 

Of course, Kazuo Shiraga deserves being highly acclaimed for he once swore to never copy anyone, and he did.

All the paintings are brilliant, and every artist is worth to be memorized forever, I have obtained some thoughts of how to draw a fantastic paintings although I do not really know how to paint. Those pictures were reminiscent me of a variety of things that happened before. For instance, I have done the same things that Kazuo Shiraga did, to suspend a rope, however, I did not paint anything, I just did it for fun.