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During my student days at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, professor Dan Gustin once regaled the class with the story of European painting's first contact with the people of Japan. The Japanese response to seeing examples of the Great Western painting tradition was to ask, "why are their faces covered in mud?"
All that chiaroscuro, the flesh tones, brushing and perspective could - in a moment - be revealed as just one in an infinite number of ways to perceive and depict the world. To this day, I find the story compelling and it really hit the spot as a student.
The Japanese use the ground of the paper to represent flesh and the Europeans use the literal ground beneath their feet - pigments composed of pulverized rock and metal and so forth. Contemplating the mutability of reality is a profound pleasure.
Posted by mark at December 19, 2003 08:19 PM