How Japanese Ink Painting influences my photography
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- Опубликовано: 28 июн 2024
- A few years ago, I discovered an art form that transformed my approach to photography: sumi-e, or the art of Japanese Ink Painting. This ancient art taught me to capture the world in a simpler, yet more powerful way. By studying sumi-e paintings, I learned to harness the power of suggestion and simplification in my own work, inviting viewers to engage and connect on a deeper level.
Books mentioned in this video:
Sumi-e, The Art of Japanese Ink Painting
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Japanese Ink Painting, the art of sumi-e
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00:00 Intro
00:49 Ma, negative space
02:45 Difference with the Western approach
03:45 Two books
06:29 Become the flower
09:26 Contrast
10:13 Only the essential
12:14 New tools for the toolbox
15:35 Make it your own
17:20 Imperfect beauty
18:43 Composition
19:36 Context
20:33 Outro 
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As an artist of Sumi-e I think you have captured the very essence of the Philosophy in your work, always look forward to seeing you Video's
I love your art and the philosophy it embodies, all my respect to you and what you do because even though the drawings look simple, I know they are actually very complex and hard to paint. I'd love to see some of your paintings.
@@aows thank you for your reply keep up the great work
Thank you for this video. When it comes to a personal style I have a difficult time developing one. Partly because when I shoot teal estate, clients don't want to see my personality. I am hired to show houses with no individual interpretation. They just want good, clean representations of a property. This video tells me when I'm on my own it's okay not to be "real." I think portraying a feel is worth its own pursuit.
I hear you. When you have a client and they expect a result, there's not much room for your own style to shine. But indeed, when you are making photographs for yourself, then you should create whatever you feel like making. It might be something like I talk about in this video, or the total opposite. As long as it speaks true to you, that's all that matters. Hopefully, it will also resonate with more people out there as your work will make them feel something. Good luck!
It's always good to follow up with someone who gives us inspiration for our own photography .
I'm glad to hear you found it inspiring! Thanks for watching.
I love this one a lot Adrian. About 15 years ago I travelled with an art lecturer around Japan and he taught me a few things about traditional calligraphy. My favourite lesson with the "self portrait". Students try to paint an "O", but because the ink and the brush and the speed and the pressure are always unique for each person, each of the "O" they paint are also different. No two are the same. Some have specs of ink flying off the edge. Some don't fully complete the circle. Some double around instead of just one circle. I do this with the camera as well, but with light instead of paint. I love it when my students get excited about their "self portrait" and the calligraphy tradition it comes from.
That's beautiful. Not only we all paint an "O" differently, but it's impossible to draw it exactly the same way ourselves even if we tried. It's those tiny "imperfections" that make them unique. I find these concepts truly inspiring, they make you look at the world with very different eyes. Thank you so much for sharing.
@@aows Exactly :)
Thanks for explaining your thought process and inspiration and introducing us to this amazing, beautiful Art.
I'm glad it was helpful, thanks for watching!
One should always look for inspiration. Great video with a great message.
Indeed. Thank you for watching!
You definitely need to visit Japan one day, and not only Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka !
I'd love to! It looks like a beautiful country I'd love to see and photograph.
It’s almost as if they are only capturing the darkest elements of each object, which makes sense when considering the ink itself is black. I could see someone staring into a landscape and only recording shadows with their brushstrokes leaving the rest of the details to the imagination. Thank you for introducing me to this new terminology. I love to learn about art beyond photography. Cheers
What an outstanding video. So informative. We understand now why your work is so unique. I have also now ordered Naomi Akamoto's book.
Thank you, Geoff! I'm glad you liked it. And good choice, that's a good book, I loved it.
Thanks for sharing your experiences. The "be the tree" concept is a great basis for pre-visualizing the image (Zen and the art of, well, art). Of course, all art forms (and many other sources) influence other art forms. My primary means of visual expression was non-objective abstract expressionist painting (inspired largely by nature), but over the decades I've embraced photography ever more, as nature is so much more "creative" than any human could possibly be, driving me to "cut out the middleman" and take more directly from nature. In art school, the concept of "indicate, don't delineate" was pushed ("let the viewer complete the picture in their mind"). This dovetails nicely with sumi-e (pronunciado como en español), and is nicely reflected in your work.
By contrast, much of my work in recent years is on the opposite end of the spectrum, as I often rely on great detail to show the intricate patterns, textures, and colors of nature, but instead of the more typical landscape/nature images, I mostly work on a smaller scale. In fact, my core work is considered abstract, as it's often not immediately evident what the subject is (if there is any subject). Talk about letting the viewer complete the picture (think Rorschach).
Another great and thought provoking video , thanks Adrian for your continued inspiration
Glad to hear it, Andrew! Thanks for watching.
Another great humility lesson, thanks Adrian!!
I'm going to an art museum this week. There's a new sculpture exhibit.
I've found your work, Adrian, to be inspiring to me. Since I've starting watching your videos, I've been doing more long exposure and black and white photography. This made me think about how I might add context to my usual subject, woodland macro photography.
That's awesome to hear, expanding our influences is one of the best things we can do for our own art. And sculpture can do that for photography for sure! I hope you enjoy the exhibit.
you open my mind here. Organic and Silence.
I'm glad you found it inspiring. Thanks for watching!
Tis a gift to be simple,Tis a gift to be free.
Yes. Perhaps the most important thing I learned from the works I showed in this video is that rules are there to be broken, and there are many ways to interpret and capture the world.
I just want to say, "Thank you"!
Thank you!
Very inspiring and informative , thank you again
Thank you!
Very refreshing, everything you talk about is right up my alley. Thank you!
I'm glad to hear it was inspiring! Thank you for watching.
This is probably my favourite video of yours. So interesting, so inspiring and it makes your art so much more relevant. Well done!
Thank you so much, Harry, glad to hear it was inspiring in some way!
Excellent video Adrian. I am familiar with Sumi-e as am living in Japan, but it is the first time to hear that Sumi-e had such an effect on your photography journey. It has made me think about my style of photography and why I look for simple artistic shapes in Japanese nature.
You may be aware of the Japanese Haiku and Tanka, poems written to express fully the artists feeling at the time of viewing nature, but using limited number of words.
What I am saying is, photography, I think is a similar process to haiku, where you have limited tools (light/contrast etc) to tell visually, a story of what you felt when at the time you took the shot. Haiku and Sumi-e both share that simpler way of expression.
Take care.
Ross
Thank you, Ross! I love the concept of Haiku, how to say more with less. Very similar to sumi-e, indeed.
The difference between photography and sumi-e / haiku is that you start with a a chaotic, busy world, and you need to find a way to capture that "essence". It doesn't require incredible skills like sumi-e / haiku, but it does force you to, perhaps, get out when it's dark, or raining, or snowing, or whatever, to find the conditions that better allow you to capture your subject the way you want. Or to be more creative with the tools you do have.
In any case, all arts that are interconnected and that can draw inspiration from one another.
Thank you so much for your comment!
Downloaded a couple Sumi-e books already. Thanks Adrian.
That's awesome! Let me know if you find another great one, I'd love to learn more about this beautiful art.
I completely understand you and it is the reason why I like your work and your videos. 'Ma' has been my guiding principle for many years - for my photography and my ink paintings. When I started painting I actually had both of the books you showed. 😂 I agree they are so inspirational far beyond the techniques. I never painted like that but they inspired me to go even more abstract. I think it is also wonderful to see how people can draw inspiration from the same things but interpret them so differently.
I can see that influence in your work, Isabel! I've always loved your paintings, something I never dared to do myself. And how you combine both, photography and painting. Do you have any other book recommendations to get deeper into sumi-e, or similar styles / art forms?
@@aows Thank you ☺️ I actually think that you already have the best Sumi-E instructional books that include landscapes. Most of the other ones I had were focused more on Calligraphy as I was going more and more abstract. But, if you haven't found them already, some of my favourite Japanese and Chinese artists (who are not completely abstract 🙃) might provide additional inspiration. Most of all Gao Xingjian - I love ALL of his images 😁. Then there are the mountain and rock paintings of Liu Guosong - so strong and mysterious. Also the soft 'waterscapes' of Yoshio Ikezaki are just amazing.
Apart from Asian art, do you know the works of Fernando Zobel, especially the abstracted minimalist landscapes of his Serie Blanca? When I traveled around Spain in my van end of last year I visited the Abstract Art Museum in Cuenca just to see some of his paintings and they are breathtaking but very minimal.
These are just some of my favourite artists...I love visiting art museums to get inspired, especially now, because I gave away nearly all of my books as there is not enough space in my van 😂... and space (Ma) is important for me in all aspects of my life. 😀
PS: I nearly forgot, you might want to have a look at this book if you can find it: "Ink Worlds: Contemporary Chinese Painting from the Collection of Akiko Yamazaki and Jerry Yang"
@@IsabelCurdes_photos haha, I hear you! I don't live in a van, but also don't have much room to keep many books around. Thank you SO much for all those recommendations, I will check them all out :)
Hi Adrian, a very fascinating and important look into Japanese ink art. I loved the FURY OF THE PACIFIC, a very important drawing that us photographers can learn greatly to make emotional compositions with meaning and a story behind it. The Japanese can certainly make great cameras and amazing ink art. Many thanks for showing this video. Sorry i took a while to watch this video. 😊
The most interesting video about photography and inspiration i have ever seen. Thank you.
Thank you, Nicolas! I'm glad to hear it was inspiring!
Awesome!
Glad you think so! Thank you for watching!
Love your work, and always appreciate your videos. This one has really opened my eyes and it it really was useful.
P.S. the photo on the wall looks crooked...
Thank you so much! Yes haha, I just moved into this place, hung the photo just for the video, it started to move as I was recording...
Im inspired by unique artists like you Adrian. To better understand why I like your work, to learn new techniques, I copied the style of your photographs several times. It was useful to work with such high contrast and balancing composition, eliminating distractions from the frame. Thank you for inspiration and thoughtfull photography!
You are a Magic Photographer! I understand completely! I shoot negative space, do things Japanese style. I never studied, it simply happened! I won a Major Prize Photo Prize in Japan! When I reached Canada, I found a Japanese Culture Library in Toronto! I was so disappointed! All the good images looked like mine! Or actually like theirs! Haha! our images are superb. But I need color! Bravo Bravo!
Haha, I hear you! We like to think we are unique and original, but most things have already been done before. And that's fine, by the way, as long as we do what we believe in. I'll forgive you for using color ;) Thanks again, Jason!
Many years ago, I saw a minimalist painting of a bull perhaps by Picasso? It was just a very few strokes of a brush with black paint on a white canvas I guess it took less than a minute to complete. I marveled at the shear simplicity. It was unmistakably a bull but without any detail. I try to get a similar feel to my monochrome images but I fear I have a long way to go. I enjoyed this video both for the beautiful art pieces and seeing your images some new, some I have seen before. A very inspirational video. Thank you.
By the way, last weekend I spent a day in the English Lake district with a friend of yours, Mali Davis. We were discussing your images.
Oooh, that's great to hear, Berny! Say hi to Mali!
I know the painting you are talking about, and it is true, it must have taken just a few minutes to draw. And a lifetime of practicing his art to get there.
I love those moments when we see a piece of art that makes us stop and wonder. How just one piece can change our way we see the world.
Very inspiring! You have enriched the art of photography by blending the unsaid dimensions of its sister art form - painting!
Excellent. Thanks for this. Informative and inspiring.
Thank you, I'm glad to hear it was useful!
I believe the idea of sparity is also found in some form in the Japanese language. I' ve read it somewhere that Japanese relies heavily on context, allowing omission of information that is understood from context. So it appears to be a much wider concept, something that cannot be fully grasped by an outsider, it's somehow inherent in the culture itself, starting with the succinctness of kanji. But negative space is much easier to understand - and apply. I follow an account on Twitter that posts masterpieces of Japanese paintings; they' re mostly minimalist and yet very expressive and well-organised. They can really inspire one.
Enjoyed this, thank you !
Thank you for watching!
Thank you for sharing!
Thank you for watching it!
Thanks so much for this introduction to semi-e and the examples from your photography. Love your passion and discussion of your ‘imperfections’. Very inspirational.
Years ago I read a bit about East Asian painting and it has continued to inspire me too. There's a Chinese painter named Zhu Da/Chu Ta, aka Bada Shanren/Shanjen, you'd appreciate. Love your work.
Gracias Adrian por tu contenido!
saludos desde Chile
Muchas gracias!
Very good indeed. I think this was quite daring of you actually as perhaps it required a little more of showing yourself. So, thanks for that. Excellent work.
Thank you! Yes, of course, I love sharing my sources of inspiration. And hearing from others as well. Expanding the way we look at the world is incredibly important :) Thank you for watching!
Eres realmente inspirador! Gracias
Very inspiring, thank you
Thank you!
A very thoughful and inspiring video, Adrian. You reinforce my interest in this style of composition.
Love it! I can’t wait to see your foray into tryptic.
Thanks for this excellent insight into your creative inspirations. I recently acquired my first photo book … Michael Kenna’s Photographs & Stories. I see how Kenna “becomes the flower” with his slow and contemplative process. Japanese art and philosophy are fascinating to discover and they have influenced my own artistic journey. 📷🙂
That's awesome! That book looks amazing, I've always loved his work. And I agree, I am fascinated by Eastern philosophy as well!
Very interesting, Adrian. At one time I actually studied Sumi painting techniques and it has never really left me. I can't say that I have tried to incorporate the Sumi principles in my photography but I think I will give it a try. I shoot B+W film and I print in the darkroom so I can manipulate images with contrast filters as well to increase contrast. Thanks for the inspiration!
That's awesome. Did you take classes? I'd love to practice it myself, but I wouldn't even know where to start with the tools. I draw from time to time, but I use a simple pencil and a regular notebook. Probably worth looking for a place around me to learn more about this art. Anyway, thank you so much for watching!
@@aows I learned from Henri Li in California. He had an on line class, as well as workshops, one of which I attended.
@@fbraakman thank you! I've found him here on RUclips and I'm already subscribed. Can't wait to watch his videos and learn from him. Maybe even take a class in the future. Thanks again!
Fascinating. Thank you. BTW ink picture or drawing is pronounced Sumi-e where the ‘e’ sounds like ‘eh’, as if you misheard something and wanted clarification.
Thank you! I knew I was not saying it right... :S
Three syllables: su-mi-eh
I knew I wasn't saying it right... :S
Good video and topic of discussion. I for one am not so keen on all this labeling such as ' negative space ' and the inevitable terms of use. I have always felt that a photographic subject, particularly in landscape photography, must relate to its surrounds to make a statement. It has to have ' room to breath '. The rest like this term ' Bokeh ' is just unnecessary jargon.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts! Yes, of course, there are many ways to approach photography. There are no hard truths, and the same landscape or subject will speak differently to different photographers. I share your vision on the subject having to relate to what's around it, that's why I emphasized giving it some "context". But a subject can also relate to "negative space", like a big open sky taking most of the frame, or a big and mostly clear foreground taking a lot of the frame as well. We don't have to fill those skies or foregrounds with stuff, to avoid the "void". We can, if that's what we want to do. But we don't have to. I guess that's the point of the video, to illustrate ways of capturing the world that are a bit different. Not better or worse. Thank you again for watching the video and for sharing your opinion!
Michael Kenna and Bill Brandt along with Sumí-E are funnily Michael Kennas influences and his photography, I appreciate what you’re saying but you’re not doing anything new Michael Kenna was there first and Bill Brandts work speaks for itself heavy black and white work with little to no grey zones. It’s so postmodernist for us to say we study and research something when all we do is buy a couple of books and a DVD and suddenly we are experts. I’m not mocking you but you are the typical western artist taking from cultures and never giving back once you have gained fame.
It’s all Michael Kenna rehashed to me invent something yourself or even emulate but don’t copy and then try to pretend you invented it.
That's a harsh and unfair reading of what Adrian said. He never claimed to have invented anything new, he is merely describing what inspires him and what has led him to develop the style he loves. Shooting landscapes with wide aperture lenses is noteworthy at the very least.
I've never claimed to be an expert. I'm not really sure where you got that I pretend to have invented anything, either. I have dozens of videos and posts where I share the heavy influence that both Kenna and Brandt have had on my work. This video is about how sumi-e has done the same, if not more. I've been sharing my sources of inspirations for years.
What would you want me to do? How can I give back? Or should I just stop creating what I believe in because someone else has done it before me?
Thank you. I'm always sad to see others discouraging photographers or other artists by the very tiring argument of "it has been done before". I love hearing from people telling me an image of mine inspired them to do something similar, or even visiting the same location to do the exact same thing. I'm sure Michael Kenna, Bill Brandt, and all the sumi-e painters would love to know there are artists out there (including me) that find what they've done inspiring and are trying to capture the beauty of this world using the tools they helped to develop.
Keep shooting.
Your comment speaks more of your own photographic insecurities than the beauty of the inspiration and journey so eloquently articulated in this video! I for one was totally inspired!!!