when I was thinking about this, I thought it was interesting that an old person, certainly nearer to death than to birth, continues creating art/ beautiful things. Then of course there is the paradox of the beautiful leaves that are actually dying. Then there is the juxtaposing of words of death with a scene of such beauty. And I suppose there is a japanese flavor in all that.
Ed, your perception is very clear & I fully understand that. Somehow I am always intrigued & therefore attracted me. My feeling is that Death is perceived to be grotesque but inevitable, most eastern philosophy perceive death as a punctuation mark in journey of indestructible soul, hence the new beginning (re-birth!!) is joyous and therefore sits snugly with present things perceived as beautiful. This is just a line of thought and not necessarily a Japanese doctrine. Yasunari Kawabata has expressed many such dilemma beautifully in his writings.
thank you for your wonderful comments. Usually a lot of thought goes into the creation of haiga, and it is good to know that someone appreciates that depth of meaning. Ed
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why do this picture and your words remind me of Japan? Is it because Japanese juxtapose beauty & death so often? Hope I am not being naive.
when I was thinking about this, I thought it was interesting that an old person, certainly nearer to death than to birth, continues creating art/ beautiful things. Then of course there is the paradox of the beautiful leaves that are actually dying. Then there is the juxtaposing of words of death with a scene of such beauty. And I suppose there is a japanese flavor in all that.
Ed, your perception is very clear & I fully understand that. Somehow I am always intrigued & therefore attracted me. My feeling is that Death is perceived to be grotesque but inevitable, most eastern philosophy perceive death as a punctuation mark in journey of indestructible soul, hence the new beginning (re-birth!!) is joyous and therefore sits snugly with present things perceived as beautiful. This is just a line of thought and not necessarily a Japanese doctrine. Yasunari Kawabata has expressed many such dilemma beautifully in his writings.
thank you for your wonderful comments. Usually a lot of thought goes into the creation of haiga, and it is good to know that someone appreciates that depth of meaning. Ed
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