MOLOTOV
Watercolor woodblock (moku hanga)
11 x 17 inches (28 x 43 cm)
Made from 5 blocks, 8 hand-rubbed applications of color
Edition of 8 on Yukimi paper
Shapes derived from seven video stills of a molotov cocktail being thrown at a wall.
___________________
About a week ago, just as I was finalizing this print, I visited the Rubin Museum of Art which specializes in art from the Himalayas and I noticed this descriptive text about a class of Tantric Buddhist deities who are shown as wrathful:
One of these kinds [of deities] includes enlightened beings that assume fierce appearances to remove obstacles or perform other protective functions. Though they may look like demons, these deities are said to be wrathful manifestations of wisdom and method.When I first proofed the shapes that resulted from superimposing seven stills from a video of a molotov cocktail exploding against a wall, I noticed that they resembled some kind of a cartoon monster. That monster likeness plus my musings on fire and anger combined in my mind with this text and so I decided to mimic the flaming hair and "aura" that I had seen on the wrathful deities at the museum for one last layer.
 | ||
| Detail of the Tantric Buddhist inspired flames. |
 |
| Black Hayagriva from the Rubin Museum |
4 comments:
That is gorgeous
Thank you, again, for sharing your work & it's process.
A fascinating juxtaposition, and so apposite. I like it enormously. The cocktail itself is such an appropriate depiction of political anger, a symbol generally of impotent, frustrated anger. So many of us are there now.
How will this capturing of fire sit with the rest of the series - if it is to be thought of as a series?
Thank you both. Olga, yes — impotent frustrated political anger. Well put.
I'm not entirely sure how it will sit with the rest of the series, except that it seems to be moving from the personal to the political.
Post a Comment