Adam+Locy

=//YOSHITAKA AMANO// = BIOGRAPHY Yoshitaka Amano is a japanese artist best known for his work on the character design for the first six Final Fantasy games, the Speed Racer animated series, and several notable animated movies such as Vampire Hunter D. He was born in Shizuoka Japan on the 28th of July 1952. Beginning in the 80s he began his artistic career as a science fiction and fantasy illustrator. In 1987 he was introduced to the company Square (later Square Enix) and began his work on the Final Fantasy games. Several years later Amano began to branch out and held his first exhibition. He also was involved in theater set design for several theaters, did some sculpting, and freelanced for several comics. He continues to this day as a world renown animator and artist who has been a key contributor to the Japanese animation industry.

 _ _ SAMPLE WORK







*Note that these are just three works from different periods in his career that I personally found interesting.

 _ _ FORMAL ANALYSIS



This Work Is one of Amano's more recent paintings. In 2001 Amano started to experiment with Sumi ink on rice paper, and then later transformed them into canvas and aluminum works. He incorporated the classic fluid and spontaneous brush strokes of the Japanese ink paintings with modern comic figures. This piece shown above was displayed in 2004 at the Kunstverein Heilbronn exhibit in Germany.

//**-Subject-**// This piece depicts a man, or the "hero" as it appears in the context of the picture, alongside some form of daemon or devil. It is a semi-abstract representation since neither the man nor the daemon (obviously the daemon is abstract in itself) are drawn proportionately to real life. The blank background and flowing shape of the bodies are also a clear indicator to its semi-abstraction.

//**-Form-**// This piece is one of Amano's recent works where he has taken Sumi ink to canvas. What is interesting about this drawing's form is how Yoshitaka has incorporated his drawing style into the theme of the work. The man on the left side of the drawing is drawn with very controlled and graceful lines. On the other side is the daemon which is drawn gestural with hard and somewhat jagged, and lines. In addition Amano drew the man with thin, light lines and the daemon with heavy, thick lines that almost black out its whole shape. This along with the position of the two figures give the drawing a strong sense of plastic space. It looks as if the daemon is looking down at the man. The fact that this drawing is done in nothing but black and white makes makes the sense of plastic space so much more impressive. Amano does not rely on color or even shades of gray to create plastic space, but rather uses the balance of black and white in different ratios in different areas to achieve that sense of a third dimension. This makes this drawing very economical. The drawing is not very balanced, but that plays well toward its meaning and theme. Most of the black in the drawing is concentrated in the daemon while the man has very little black in him. This unbalances the drawing and makes it appear as if the man is rising and the daemon is sinking. However, when looking at the shape of the figures the drawing is very balanced. Each figure is roughly similar in size and both circle around the center point of the canvas. The three organizational elements that appear to dominate in this piece are balance, harmony, and movement. The drawing is very imbalanced in black to white ratio, but very balanced in size and shape. The contrast in the two figures give it a strong sense of harmony, almost like yin and yang. Finally the position and orientation of the figures along with their weight give the drawing a lot of motion. Each figure seems to be circling each other while the man is rising and the daemon is falling.

//**-Content-**// The meaning of this piece is very clear and obvious, Amano is depicting the eternal struggle of good and evil. On the left we have the man or the hero. He is drawn with controlled graceful lines that give him a sense of angelic grace. The minimal use of black in his creation denotes purity and righteousness. On the other end of the spectrum we have the daemon, a horned devil that is the classic symbol for evil. He is drawn crude, with gestural lines that are thick and heavy. This represents its black soul, a black void that consumes all that is good. Then we have the movement of the drawing. The man, drawn very light appears to be rising up, while the daemon in the foreground appears to be sinking. This demonstrates the classic motif that good shall always prevail over evil. In other words, the man will rise up and cast down the daemon. Both figures also circle around the center point of the canvas. This seems to be symbolic of the continuous struggle of good versus evil. it is a constant and eternal cycle that never ends. Looking at this picture stirs a lot of different emotions, each unique to whomever is viewing it, but one stands out among the rest, and that is awe. This drawing makes me think of the countless struggles of good and evil that have taken place over the history of mankind, and I find myself awestruck at how much we as a race have endured, lost and gained.

//**-Conclusion-**// Yoshitaka Amano is in my opinion on of the greatest of modern artists. He has taken two different art forms, fine art and animation, and mixed the two to create something new. He has taken many different cultures and interwoven them to create unique art that brings in elements not just from one culture. Finally has has created his own unique style that has attracted fans from many different genres. Whether it be animation, comics, fine art, theater, sculpture, or any other type of art, Yoshitaka Amano has created something interesting.

 _ MY INTERPRETATION "Bring It On" Sumi Ink on 400 Series Paper 24"h x 18"w Adam Locy 2010

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 * //Sources//**
 * http://www.amanosworld.com/
 * http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yoshitaka_Amano
 * http://yoshitakaamano.tribe.net/
 * Bradner, Liesl. "One View; Wide-eyed Appeal." __New York Times__. 7 March 2010: E3. Pro Quest. 21 April 2010.
 * Ocvirk, Otto G, et al. __Art Fundamentals: Theory and Practice__. New York:McGraw-Hill, 2009