The Modern Haiga Creation
Process
By Ray Rasmussen
When I look at traditional Japanese
Haiga art works, I see beauty in simplicity and
form [even though I can't read the Japanese characters
and appreciate the haiku and the link between
haiku and art]. The calligraphy and even the
artist's chop blends in and is part of the visual
presentation. Like haiku, a haiga painting is
bare bones, a form of minimalist painting.
Modern haiga is like modern haiku
- in the process of becoming. Whatever it becomes,
it will be something very different than traditional
Japanese haiga.
Types of Modern Haiga
In looking over current haiga
practitioners whose work appears on the
Internet, I find several varieties of artistic expression: 1. Art work done
with brushes and paint [art haiga?]; 2. photographs with haiku written near
the photograph [photo-haiku]; 3. photographs with haiku integrated into the
photograph or its frame [photo-haiga?]; and 4. digital art work [digital-art
haiga?]. Of course, there are still practitioners of the original haiga, 5.
traditional brushwork haiga. I have placed question marks beside some of the
categories because, at present, there are no agreed upon names or categories.
The Issue of Juxtaposition
In
addition, some of the art work or photography
acts as a direct representation
of elements in the haiku [e.g., a haiku about
a flower will be accompanied with a photograph
or art work depicting a flower] and, some, just
as is the case with modern haiku, reach for an
element of juxtaposition Š the image and
haiku are not obviously directly related and
the image is an attempt to translate a deeper
meaning or mood of the haiku.
I could classify my own approach
to modern haiga as a combination of
3 [photo-haiga] and 4 [digital art haiga]. I begin my process in one of two
ways: A. starting with the haiku or B. starting with the image.
A. Starting with the haiku
When I read haiku of current haijin
or of the published haiku masters, images usually
jump into my mind. Some of these images come
from photographs that I have already taken. Some
don't exist and I go out and take a photograph
that corresponds to the image that has come to
mind. Sometimes these images are direct representations,
e.g., when Basho mentions an iris, I see an iris
in my mind, look through my iris photographs,
and sometimes simply place his haiku directly
on
an iris photograph. However, some would say, and I would tentatively
agree, that such direct representation doesn't enhance a haiku that already
stands alone and that has stood the test of time or that has been judged as
outstanding by current haijin. Whether the image + haiku makes the haiku more
pleasant to read, I don't know, but I do know that many of us are visually
oriented and that a visual entry to the mood of the haiku or to some element
of it could enhance our motivation to read the haiku. At other times, and here
I don't how the process happens, the image that jumps to mind isn't a direct
representation of any of the specific words in the haiku. Instead, the image
I imagine contains a mood or a feeling that one can associate with the mood
or feeling of the haiku. This would be considered a juxtaposition. I tend,
more and more, to prefer these sorts of representations Š and to reach
for juxtaposition between haiku and image.
B. Starting with the image
In the well-known photo-haiku
process established on-line by Mitsugu
Abe, people look at photographs and write haiku
to accompany them. These are posted beside the
image Š the two stand alone as linked but
separate elements. This is an example of category
2, photo-haiku.
My own approach to haiga is different.
First, I work primarily from photographs, some
of which I use directly and some of which I modify
by using software to painterize or otherwise
alter the photograph. If successful, the product
becomes a form of digital art. In either case,
pure photograph
or digitized art derived from a photograph, ideas for haiku come to mind [desk
haiku in this case] based on what I see in the image and in its expressed mood.
More and more, I tend to reach for juxtaposition Š the created haiku which
itself contains a juxtaposition between two internal elements is itself created
to achieve a juxtaposition or indirect association with the image.
Tools of the Trade:
In my photography work, I use
a good camera [Nikon SLR manual], high quality
lenses [Nikon Macro 105 mm for flower close-ups;
Nikon 28-200 mm for landscapes and portraits],
and a good tripod. I use film that produces vibrant
colors. Fuji Velvia 50 and Provia 100 are the
two films that I prefer.
In my digital art work I usually
start with a photograph and use photoshop software
and a selection of photoshop filters made by
both
photoshop and other companys to painterize or
modify the image. A photoshop filter is what
it sounds like Š if you look at an image
through sunglasses [a form of filter for the
eyes], some of the contrast or glare is taken
out
of what you see. Similarly, the photoshop filters are a very powerful tool
for altering images. A large variety of painterly effects can be achieved and
as well everything that photographers once did in the dark room can now be
done on a computer screen, cropping, dodging, burning, color saturating, reducing
or enhancing contrast, combining images, removing elements, etc. etc.
Some of my haiga images are pure
photographs and have at most been cropped, framed,
and added to with the haiku poem. Others have
been dramatically modified from the originals,
indeed, the original and the end image could
not be easily matched in some cases.
Why haiga?
Just
as many haiku poets at some point ask themselves
why they want to write haiku,
haiga artists might ask the same question. For
me, the answer is one of focus. With both photography
and haiku, a big part of the motivation has to
do with the process of doing Š slowing down
on a walk and taking something in that becomes
the subject of a haiku, or paying attention to
a haiku moment. With photography, this involves
focusing my lens on a wildflower and looking
at it in a way that I wouldn't have had I merely
glanced at it as I passed by. A second part of
my motivation to produce haiga images from the
haiku of others is that it helps me to focus
on the haiku poem, to gain a sense of what it
means, its mood and color [can a haiku have a
color?]. The haiga image becomes my expression,
my "here's a picture of what I hear and
feel when I read the poet's words". A third
motivation is that the computer screen is an
especially color-vibrant canvas for art work.
Creating haiga images is an excuse for working
in form and color. Whether the digital-art or
photograph indeed enhances the haiku is an issue
of importance for viewers of the work, but for
me, it isn't the essential issue. The essence
is process Š getting more deeply into a
poetic experience through the mediums of photography
and computer digital work. Of course, it's also
nice if folks out there, you readers and viewers
of the work, also enjoy it.
Someone once likened the work
of a poet to that of stuffing messages
into bottles and casting them adrift in the ocean. The poet doesn't know who
will find the bottles, nor how the poems will be received. I, myself, find
such messages in bottles [the work of haiku masters and current haijin], and
feel moved to create images associated with their messages. In doing so, my
process of identification with the poet isintensified. Whether my messages,
these 10 images cast adrift via this issue of Simply Haiku, are found by you
and whether they move you is up to you. Like most creators who cast their messages
adrift, I hope that they do.
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