Springtime Frolic
By Liz Brent
I was reading The Kimono, History & Style by Sacico Ito and Etsuko Yamashita, which features historical art, garments, and photography showing the evolution of the kimono, and I ran across an image on page 87 featuring a painting from the Momoyama era (1568-1600). Unfortunately, I’m not sure of the title or the artist because the footnotes are in Japanese and my Japanese is pretty nonexistent these days. But here is a scan of the original art.
I was studying this image and was struck by the trio of three graceful, energetic dancers, two with fans and one with a drum. And yes, there is a fourth dancer just below them, but I really interpret the top three together as a group. What I liked most was the third dancer, farthest on the right. She appears to be slightly out of unison with the two dancers in the front and to the left, but perhaps this happened because she was truly enjoying the dance. Notice how she is bending much lower at the hips than the other dancers and her right foot is kicked up with a jaunty energy.
Yes, not quite with the others, but enthusiastic. Something about that enjoyment, linked with imperfection, touched me. Because of this third dancer, I found a genuinely human moment in this Momoyama painting. One that I often find myself when dancing…
Maybe not quite perfectly in unison with those around me, but enthusiastic…
The moment when I let go of perfectionist tendencies, worrying about the past or the future, the subsequent stress, to truly enjoy the music… the movement…
A springtime frolic…
I took it upon myself to sketch this scene, trying to replicate the image as a study of the original artistry, and experiment with how my own style could emerge. Then, I applied neon, bright, pastel colors, which are a reflection of what has been showing up in current spring fashions. After scanning my drawing into Photoshop, I was playing with the Hue & Saturation settings, and liked the Warhol-esque results. These are some of my favorite variations.
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