This is one of five illustrations done by the artist James Jean, entitled, the Lotus War. I am not usually drawn to centered compositions like this one, but the abstract shapes that come out over the finer details of this image is what I find most interesting. It looks as if you are studying an image from a Rorschach test. You can pay attention to the details, or if you step back, or blur your eyes, you can try to find hidden images within the shapes. The details depict an old, bald man floating above the corner of this black lit room with a bunch of melting lotus's hovering around him. The image is very psychedelic, or you could even say “trippy.” There is no tonal range throughout the image, only colors in gradient. And the colors are rather harsh as well; there is little usage of white, but the colors are bright enough to give the image a high contrast. If you pay attention, you can see an outlined skull near the right side of the image.
http://jamesjean.com/
This piece has a Salvador Dalí feel to it. It sort of reminds of his piece The Persistence of Memory with the melting watches.
ReplyDeleteIt sort of reminds me of that inverted colors effect you can do on a computer... Which at first seems like the coolest thing in the world, but you quickly bore of it. It's nice to see that look replicated by someone with a deliberate approach... It definitely evokes a altered mental state.
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