Weekend Diversion: Reverse-Pointillist Art (Synopsis)

“Every act of creation is first an act of destruction.” -Pablo Picasso

When you think about representing something physical in an artistic medium, you usually think of starting with a blank canvas and adding to it. Such is the case with musicians, who start with silence and add to it, like Tony Trischka as he plays his remarkable composition,

French Creek / Burning Springs.

But every once in a while, you discover a new form of art, where subtraction -- or even destruction -- is the medium of communication.

Image credit: Jihyun Park, working on a reverse-pointillist masterpiece, via http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/jihyun-park-reverse-pointillism-incense-paper. Image credit: Jihyun Park, working on a reverse-pointillist masterpiece, via http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/jihyun-park-reverse-pointilli….

Artist Jihyun Park has done exactly that, where his technique involves burning holes into rice paper using a single lit incense stick, one-hole-at-a-time, and then mounting the entire finished product onto a varnished canvas. From trees to clouds to landscapes and more, the results might leave you agog.

Go check out the entire thing, and don't forget to come on back for more wonders of the Universe, starting tomorrow!

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What a brilliant format .....

It is amazing how an artist can be so creative with such simple concepts and create art that is so remarkable!

By Sandra Yerha (not verified) on 07 Apr 2015 #permalink

Isn't it amazing how people cannot help but appreciate the art of creation! I am in awe of the beauty of the work done by Jihyun Park. What inspired him to create this extraordinary art?

By Mariëtta Janse… (not verified) on 07 Apr 2015 #permalink

This is a very interesting point you raised. When you quoted Pablo Picasso it reminded me of another artist who used a form of destruction to create spontaneity in his artwork. This Artists name is Cai Guo Qiang, he uses controlled explosions to create his artwork and documents the process in creating it. He mastered the use of gunpowder and now uses it as his signature in his artwork.
He puts a big piece of paper on the floor then stencils his artwork, in this case he used wolves, and places the gunpowder on strategically on the wolves. Then when everything is wrapped up and all the safety precautions has been followed he lights his artwork on fire, finalising it.
This artwork is one out of three, the other two artworks that accompany this one is an installation of 60 wolves and a video of 8 minutes and 40 seconds.

Check this artwork out:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MrTrKJQnwJs

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@Manon #4 it’s quite remarkable to be able to view art being created in this particular “act of destruction”.
It is clear that Cai Guo Qiang and Jihyun Park’s work is an astounding display of meraki.
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By Yuko Tabei (not verified) on 09 Apr 2015 #permalink

I love pointillism! This is a very modern take on an old teqnique. It was first used by the French Masters of the Post-Impressionist movement in the late 1800's. They did not mix colours, but used an overlapping technique of individual dots to create the final artwork. Jihyun Park did exactly the same but also the exact opposite at the same time.

It is creative. It is destructive. It is beautiful!

By Leana de Haan … (not verified) on 16 Apr 2015 #permalink

This is such a beautiful example of pointillism!
I am a great fan of the old technique of pointillism that was first used by the old French paint masters in the art period Post-Impressionism. Instead of mixing the different colours they needed, they overlapped dots of different colours to create different shades. Jihyun Park does exactly the same even though he does the opposite! The monotone colouring is very modern and off course the method is completely different. His art is a fresh take on an old technique. It is truly remarkable.

By leana de Haan … (not verified) on 16 Apr 2015 #permalink