Well almost is good enough for me!

Made it with a day left to spare! I intended to post earlier but these past couple of weeks have been particularly busy. The Japanese school year is coming to end, so i've been occupied with planning test, grading test, graduation preparation, etc...

First order of business, Sympathy of the Tyrant. You've probably made all the necessary tweaks. But i shall give my insight regardless. In the Future i'll be more prompt. I spent a long time staring at this piece and I'm thoroughly impressed by the complexity of it. 

The interaction between the shapes and the value patterns is phenomenal. I also like the balance you've achieved between loose and tight, the contrast between the less developed parts and the more refined aspects. You've kept things really fresh, though you have a knack for doing that with your drawings.  I know your aware of this but your finishes tend to loose some of the freshness of your initial drawings. I honestly have no major qualms, though there is one small issue. I can see the circular movement your trying to create with the torch, the tyrannts face,  the angels, the arm, etc....  but the finger draws my eye off the page, partly because of the contrasting value and also because of the reinforcing arrow shape that the curtain makes.  I'm not certain if this is intentional, and i think it might be a bit knit picky on my part. I might suggest brining up the contrast on curtain a bit more, specifically the left curtain and the inner edge. I think in doing so you could develop a stronger movement from the upper (tyrant) and lower (soliders) parts rather than a directional movement off the page. Honestly Dan, impressive work. I know we've talked about it and i have a vague recollection, but would you mind going into more detail about the subject matter. 

Now, I'm going to use  the Japanese school year as a point of departure, as it's a much different schedule than we are accustomed to. As you know i arrived in August, which was during  japanese summer vacation. So nothing out of the ordinary thus far, but what i don't think i mentioned was that the Japanese summer vacation is smack in the middle of the school year, so when my students returned from vacation, they began the second third of their 3 part school year. Trimesters, quarters call it what you will it doesn't seem all that bad. But i ask you to consider this, the school year ends march 25th with the opening ceremony for the new school year held on April 8th.  Thus, the students have literally 2 weeks to prepare themselves mentally for the next school year. Students who just graduate have 2- 3 weeks before they venture off to college. Also It's common for teachers to be moved, they too don't find out until roughly 3 weeks before the new school year. Thus they have a limited time to (1) complete all the necessary tie up all the loose ends at their current location (2) move (which in some cases is hours away) and (3) prepare for the new school year at an entirely new school! I would argue that a larger period of time is needed for both the students and the teachers, I'm a large proponent of gestation periods. Further Because summer falls smack in the middle of the school year, teachers load the students down with homework. So much so that the students have to work everyday in order to complete the work load. Not much of a break really. Now, There is something to be admired about a strong work ethic, but there is also validity to rest. Physically, mentally, and emotionally the body can't function efficiently when it's being taxed so severely. Perhaps this sheds some insight into why the suicide rate is so high in this country.

With that bit of a ramble aside, lets get down to the meat of things. So, YES, i am staying. YES you are more than welcome to occupy space in my humble abode. And YES, the mere though of it makes me tingle. But as of right now i can't give you any specifics other than that. Coordinating at the moment is a pretty multi-faceted problem which would best be explained in conversation. Basically i know that i'm staying but i don't know any of the details at the moment. May i suggest that you start by giving me an idea of when you would like to come, and how long you are considering visiting? Would you like to come within the year or are you thinking next year? Winter, Spring, Summer, Fall? Then, once things become a bit clearer concerning my schedule for the next year i can respond with what works and what doesn't.

It's a huge relief to know that i'll be staying. I feel that staying another year will allow me to have a more complete experience. My frame of mind has changed a bit as a result. And rather than viewing this experience as temporal I'm beginning to look at the situation in a long term context. It took me nearly 6 months to get my bearings here and to uproot myself again, after a year, would only further disrupt the focus that i was only recently able to reclaim. Looking back on my stay in the Netherlands, it was really around the 5-6 month mark that i started to acclimate and by that time the experience was coming to an end. At this moment in time, i'm greatful to have the opportunity to stay and also the freedom to determine the length of my stay.

When I embarked on this journey I set a number of goals for myself, for a period of time I was making little progress towards accomplishing those goals. While it has been a slow start I’m finally moving in the right direction, and I feel that the next year and half will be a period of momentous growth. I honestly feel more optimistic, inspired, and content than I’ve felt in quite some time. This goes far beyond my creative drive and is in respects to all aspects of my life. I’m averse to using the word empowered; because it smacks of motivational self-help seminars, but If I had to use a word that sums up my current state of mind it would be empowered, meh.

For no conscious reason I've been reading a great deal of literature with existentialist themes: Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky, No Exit by Sartre, The Stranger by Camus, Kafka short stories, and a number of books by Haruki Murakami. It seems quite "absurd" that at this time, i would read a string of novels having to deal with defining existence. Well lets just say i don't necessarily agree with the whole philosophical doctrine of existentialism, but there are some very intriguing aspects; In particular the central proposition that existence precedes essence and that man/woman has ability to define himself/herself. Further because it is within man/womans capacity to define their essence one can through choice alter their essence.

What does it all mean!?

Well as you know for the past few months I’ve been grappling with my artistic identity


For the first 6 months in Japan, I gave myself to the experience with relatively little artistic output. As you know I was conflicted, I directly correlated output with artistic growth. Now, i don't consider that the case, since January I've been working daily. Taking into consideration the your insightful words, I began to look at it this way: when you are working on a piece there comes a time when you stop and just look, you spend more time looking than working. You are trying to reach a state of objectivity, where you see the work not as it's creator but as a viewer. In essence the last 6 months has been a period of objective introspection.

I’ve confronted questions like; what do I want to say with my art? What do I want my work to represent? How do I want people to respond to my work? How do i go about making this ambitious goal of being an illustrator a realization?

I reached a better understanding of who I am as an artist and where I want to go. And I think that is more valuable than just increasing my ability through constant production

Currently, I'm working on trying to instill more of who I am into my work, my thought process, my humor, my love for detail and my perception of beauty. In that way my work will be a direct representation of me and looking at my work will in a sense by a dialogue between the viewer and myself. Struggling with the language barrier in Japan has led me to focus more on creating an accessible visual vocabulary. I think before I was focus more on technical pursuits rather than placing emphasis on the communicative aspect.

Things have moved along slower than expected, It's been a struggle but I've reveled in every minute of it, because it's exactly what I was seeking. The past 6 months has been a flurry of input, data coming in. It's taken me this long to process it all. I doubt that this flurry of input is going cease anytime soon. But now I've gotten into a steady routine of output, I've been working daily for the past few 2 months, I have a clear idea of the direction that I'm moving in. In all things are still a bit hazy it's just my eyes have gotten accustomed at this point.

What the next month holds in store: I should have a complete painting and a drawing. I’ve got an actual deadline, April 11th, as I’ve committed to submitting 2 pieces of work to a small one-night show. So I’ll be working diligently. At the end of the month I’m taking a trip down to Kyushu, which is the most southerly of the four major Japanese islands. If the timing is right I should be able to see the Sakura (cherry blossoms) blooming. I’m also hoping to get to the ocean as I’m currently going through withdrawals.

In all life is busy, but excellent. Although, sitting down to share a cold glass of CHIMGIGOLO and musing about life with my best friend would make it even more stupendous. I look forward to that day. But as you suggested, let’s set up shoot for the next best thing, an online chat. How does next weekend work? How about Sunday (March 9th) my time, Saturday (March 8th) your time? Morning for me is late afternoon for you. Let me know what you think. I’m particularly looking forward to geeking out about BSG.

Included a new value study, it was inspired by the Koyou (Autumn leaves).

Reading:
(Just Finished) Murakami- Sputnik Sweetheart
Kafka- In the Penal Colony, and other short stories
Camus- The Stranger

Wanting to read
Nabakov – Lolita
Rilka- Letters to a Young Poet
Burroughs- Naked Lunch

Music:
Lindstrom - Where you go I go too (crazy good electriconic space disco)
Junior boys- Be Gone Dull Care
Fever Ray-Self Titled (lead singer from the knife)
Billy Joel- The stranger
Ratatat- Classics
Lykke Li- Youth Novels (Another Norwegian)
Snowman- The Horse, The Rat and the Swan (If you haven’t, do give the a listen. I don’t really know if you’ll like it. Part of me thinks you will and part of me thinks you might not.)