“Memory” Do not forget how the red leaf floating alone crumbled into blue. [photo and haiku by Lynn Langmade] When my mom was a child, she lived in Japan. Consequently, our house was full of Japanese paintings, screens, and scrolls. I became fascinated by Japanese painting early on, and studied it more depth when I went to college. The photo today is really my way of thinking about the Kanō school of Japanese painting, which had a distinctive style that set it apart from its predecessor. The school was founded in the 16th century and broke with established tradition by moving away from the black ink of Chinese painting and toward bright colors and large flat open areas. They also commonly painted birds, plants, water, and animals. In particular, Kanō ink painters composed excessively flat pictures, which usually featured a very detailed object/animal in the foreground and a very abstract background, sometimes, entirely blank. This background would usually serve as negative space, suggesting mist, clouds, and sky or water. I thought it would be a fun experiment to translate the stylistic elements of this particular school of Japanese painting into photography. To go with it, I wrote a little Haiku in the spirit of Basho, the 17th-century Haiku Master who is credited with introducing Haiku, [Hokku], as a standalone poem in Japan. Happy SaturdayStyle everyone :)
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“Memory”

Do not forget how

the red leaf floating alone

crumbled into blue.

[photo and haiku by Lynn Langmade]

When my mom was a child, she lived in Japan. Consequently, our house was full of Japanese paintings, screens, and scrolls. I became fascinated by Japanese painting early on, and studied it more depth when I went to college.

The photo today is really my way of thinking about the Kanō school of Japanese painting, which had a distinctive style that set it apart from its predecessor. The school was founded in the 16th century and broke with established tradition by moving away from the black ink of Chinese painting and toward bright colors and large flat open areas. They also commonly painted birds, plants, water, and animals. In particular, Kanō ink painters composed excessively flat pictures, which usually featured a very detailed object/animal in the foreground and a very abstract background, sometimes, entirely blank. This background would usually serve as negative space, suggesting mist, clouds, and sky or water.

I thought it would be a fun experiment to translate the stylistic elements of this particular school of Japanese painting into photography.

To go with it, I wrote a little Haiku in the spirit of Basho, the 17th-century Haiku Master who is credited with introducing Haiku, [Hokku], as a standalone poem in Japan.

Happy SaturdayStyle everyone :)

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