December 2nd, 2023

Happy Saturday! It feels like all I’ve seen this week on my timeline has been posts about Magnific and Krea.ai. The synthetic upscaling methods are really taking off lately, and it’s pretty exciting.

The $40 monthly price tag for Magnific feels too steep for me personally, but we’ll have to see if the market agrees on that price point for an upscaling product. @ClaireSilver12 was kind enough to provide me with an invite code to try Krea and I’m excited to dive in this weekend.

I will say that after the OpenAI drama last week, it’s nice to get back to focusing on art and not worrying that ChatGPT is going to implode at any minute 😆 

This week I’m excited to do a deep dive on an artist I’ve been inspired by a lot lately. Let’s get to it.

Artist Spotlight - Wu Guanzhong

Career

Wu Guanzhong was born August 29, 1919, in Yixing, Jiangsu Province, China. His early art education was conducted at the National Arts Academy in Hangzhou under Lin Fengmian and later went to Paris to study at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts.

After returning from Paris, he applied the oil painting techniques he learned there to traditional Chinese subjects and themes. During the Cultural Revolution, Wu was forced to destroy many of his paintings and was sent for re-education. Despite these challenges, he continued to develop his style and later emerged as a leading figure in contemporary Chinese art.

His work gained significant recognition later in his career, both in China and internationally. Wu's paintings were celebrated for their unique blend of modern and traditional, East and West.

Contributions to the Art World

Wu played a pivotal role in modernizing Chinese art and bridging the gap between Eastern and Western artistic traditions. His most significant contribution lies in his successful fusion of traditional Chinese painting techniques and aesthetics with Western oil painting methods. This blending created a unique visual language that was both modern and deeply rooted in Chinese culture.

Wu revolutionized the way Chinese art was perceived and created. His work opened up new possibilities for Chinese artists, encouraging them to explore and incorporate global artistic trends while maintaining their cultural identity. His art served as a bridge between the ancient and the modern, helping to bring Chinese art into the contemporary era. His paintings reflect a deep understanding of both Chinese and Western art histories, blending them seamlessly in a way that was innovative and accessible.

Wu consistently emphasized the importance of preserving and expressing Chinese cultural identity through art. His paintings often feature landscapes, architecture, and scenes from daily life in China, depicted with a modern sensibility. His perseverance through the Cultural Revolution, a period when he was forced to destroy many of his works and endure harsh conditions, is a testament to his commitment to art. His ability to continue creating and innovating under such circumstances is inspiring.

Style

Wu Guanzhong masterfully integrated the brushwork and compositional principles of traditional Chinese painting with the techniques and sensibilities of Western oil painting. This fusion created a distinctive style that was both modern in its approach and deeply rooted in Chinese artistic traditions. He employed oil painting's color dynamics and sense of depth that he learned in Paris but often combined them with the flowing lines and aesthetic sensibilities of ink painting.

One of the most striking aspects of Wu's style is his emphasis on line. He often used strong, flowing lines to create forms, reminiscent of the strokes in Chinese calligraphy. This focus on linearity gave his paintings a sense of rhythm and movement. He embraced simplicity and often distilled landscapes and scenes to their essential shapes, creating compositions that were abstract yet recognizable, capturing the essence of his subjects.

Wu's use of color was often restrained but deliberate. He utilized a palette that could range from vibrant to muted, applying colors in a way that enhanced the compositional harmony and emotional tone of his work. His compositions are noted for their balance and dynamism. Wu skillfully arranged elements within his paintings to create scenes that were lively yet harmonious, often leading the viewer's eye through the canvas with careful placement of color and form.

While Wu's paintings were often rooted in the physical world, they also carried deeper symbolic meanings. His work frequently reflected themes of beauty, resilience, and the interconnectedness of man and nature. Despite the apparent simplicity of his paintings, they are imbued with emotional depth. Wu's art conveys a range of feelings, from tranquility and harmony to the more dynamic and powerful forces of nature.

Influences and Lessons

Wu's early education in China imbued him with a deep appreciation for traditional Chinese painting, particularly its brushwork, composition, and thematic focus on nature and landscapes. His mentor at the National Arts Academy in Hangzhou, Lin Fengmian, was a significant influence. Lin advocated for blending Chinese and Western techniques, a philosophy that deeply impacted Wu.

During his studies in Paris at the École Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts, Wu was exposed to Western art movements, particularly Impressionism. Artists like Claude Monet and Vincent van Gogh, with their emphasis on light, color, and everyday subjects, left a lasting impression on him. The bold colors, expressive forms, and innovative techniques of Post-Impressionist and Modernist artists also influenced Wu. These movements helped shape his approach to color and composition.

Wu's work teaches the value of cultural synthesis. He demonstrates how artists can draw upon different cultural traditions to create something new and meaningful. His fusion of Eastern and Western techniques is a testament to the richness that comes from cross-cultural exploration in art.

He shows that respecting and drawing from one's heritage doesn't mean shying away from innovation. He managed to stay true to traditional Chinese aesthetics while incorporating modern techniques, offering a model for balancing tradition with modernity. Wu's journey underscores the importance of education and lifelong learning in an artist's career. His time in Paris was transformative, highlighting how exposure to new ideas and techniques can profoundly impact an artist's development.

Wu's ability to persevere and continue creating art during the tumultuous times of the Cultural Revolution is a lesson in resilience. It shows the strength and dedication needed to pursue one’s artistic vision, even in challenging circumstances.

Style Representation

Collectors Corner

WootScoot - Cataract

The second project is “Two Point Zero” by Tendernode, in collaboration with his 14 year old daughter. As a father to a 14 year old daughter myself, this one is special to me. My daughter is a budding artist of the paper and pen variety (and digital drawing because 2023) and I would love to get her involved with NFT’s as well at some point.

The Bauhaus inspired simplicity here just hits all the right notes for what I like. And at only 0.9 XTZ, go load up!

Tendernode - Two Point Zero

Artist Highlight - eirrann

I first met eirrann when I won an open call to exhibit on SuperRare in a collection called Strange History: Alternative Realities, curated by @historic_crypto. He later invited me to join the (un)curated Collective. I love his ongoing collection on zeroone called “flores ephemeri” depicting delicate glass flowers and wanted to peek behind the curtain on what drives his work.

Bio in his own words:

eirrann is an anonymous multimedia AI artist with a background in photography, which heavily influences his style.

His artwork can be found under the pseudonyms eirrann.eth on SuperRare and Foundation for the Ethereum blockchain and eirrann.tez on objkt for the Tezos network.

Inspired by the many ways that AI enables humanity, eirrann strives to create glimpses into unseen worlds using visual and narrative storytelling, coupled with cutting-edge AI art tools.

eirrann, can you share a pivotal moment in your life that profoundly influenced your artistic journey and the themes you explore in your work?

When I was in school, I took a few years of independent study photography, culminating in a few hours a day the last year. We visited a local college where Dale Chihuly was putting together an exhibit of his glasswork. He was there while we were, painting some sketches. We got the opportunity to stand out of the way and watch, and it felt awkward, so after a few minutes I stepped forward and asked if I could help. He let me pick some paints for a few sketches, then we had to leave.

After we left, my art teacher was in tears talking about how proud of me she was. I didn't get it at the time, but in hindsight I realize that it was probably one of her dreams to get to do what I did. All I had to do was ask. It was a powerful lesson in asking for what you want and self-advocacy.

My current artistic fixation on glass-like worlds is an attempt to do honor to this foundational memory that has stuck with me for decades. The fleeting moment of kindness shown by a renowned artist to a kid who was too poor to afford new shoes, but not afraid to ask if he could help paint.

How do you navigate the relationship between personal vulnerability and public exposure in your art? Is there a piece of yours that felt particularly exposing to create or share?

I am only comfortable sharing my artwork as an anonymous artist. In my personal life, I don't post on public social media and generally maintain a low public profile for professional reasons. The ability to not only create but share my creations with the world without worrying about how my artwork or social media posts as an artist might reflect on the firm where I work has been freeing.

Although this means that I don't feel particularly exposed now when I share my work, I felt very vulnerable and exposed when I created my genesis 'Uncanny Aliens' collection.

I joined the web3 art space in January 2023 and started posting publicly on Twitter for the first time while learning how to use AI art tools. In February, I released the collection, which was grounded in my background in photography: intimate photography portraits of alien subjects. So it was very uncomfortable for me to release these, both as someone unaccustomed to posting on public social media, and as someone who still hadn't discovered the audacity to consider myself an artist.

The only piece in the collection that has been purchased (core 1) was by my IRL identical twin, scizors. I've also traded one (roots 1) with an artist I admire and respect, Elnaz Mansouri. The remaining 26 artworks are still available.

Despite the lack of sales, I am really proud of the visual clarity I was able to get out of Stable Diffusion 1.5. I think the familiar vernacular and intimate close-framed composition makes for very compelling portraits that leave me wanting to know more about the subjects. And it is all the more special to me because it was my genesis as an artist, at a highly vulnerable time.

In what ways do your artistic practices and processes serve as a dialogue with your own identity, culture, or the larger issues of the world today?

While a lot of my art has been somewhat detached from what's going on in the world, a great example of a series that I have used as a sort of geopolitical protest piece, or maybe a call for reason in a world of endless proxy conflict among nuclear-armed powers, is Cerberus Chronicles. It explores an alternate timeline in which the Cerberus doomsday device destroyed earth, leaving the only survivors of humanity - scientists, astronauts and cosmonauts on a lunar outpost - blasted out of our solar system's orbit. A millennium later, their descendants are terraforming a new home, showcasing the limitless possibility of a humanity no longer burdened by conflict.

The four main artworks can be found in Strange History: Alternate Realities exhibit, part of the Sloika~Montage space on SuperRare. They are accompanied by more than a dozen minted behind-the-scenes artworks in the Joyn Showcase I created for the launch of my latest addition to the saga, Interrogation Interrupted.

Art often requires a balance between discipline and spontaneity. Can you discuss a time when a spontaneous change of direction in your work led to a breakthrough or a significant change in your approach?

A few months ago, I met a recent college graduate who knows a lot about algorithms. The kind of young guy who has a whiteboard in his bedroom covered in algos. This led me to start exploring what MidJourney would do with algorithmic prompts.

After much trial and error, including discovering that MJ defaults to creating images of surprised cats when presented with nonsensical prompts like "!^#*%]!&=^@*||!&@^!=#%*@!&^@*!=^#%*&!^@[!||!^#*%!&=^@*||!&@^!=#%*@!&^@*!=^#%*&!^@!=#*%!]!<>[] --ar 16:9 --c 100 --s 1000 --style raw", I developed what I call my 'pseudo-algorithmic prompting' approach (read more here: https://eirrann.art/updates/f/what-am-i-talking-about-pseudo-algorithmic-prompting-explained).

This has led me down the rabbit hole to my current fixation on glass-like worlds. For me, it has been a tremendous creative breakthrough.

So while I need to maintain a certain level of discipline to keep creating and marketing my art, this approach helps me to discover spontaneous new directions when I am struggling to find inspiration.

If you could have a conversation with one artist, past or present, who has significantly inspired you, who would it be and what would you ask them about their own creative practice?

The artist who has had the most impact on my own artistic journey as an artist was Chihuly. As I discussed above, I asked him "Can I help you paint?"

Since then, the artist who actually inspired me to install Stable Diffusion and start creating again after a pause of two decades was Claire Silver. I would love to help her paint some day.

Are there any pieces or collections that you want to direct readers to check out?

There are two different series that I am particularly proud of right now:

- my Cerberus Chronicles epic saga on SuperRare

- The newest artworks exploring my fixation on glass-like worlds, the latest of which - from my 'flores obscuri' series - are on the new Sealed platform.

Final Thoughts

One last thing, have you checked out the new Deforum Discord bot beta yet? It’s pretty incredible what huemin and team have put together and if you haven’t signed up to try it yet, definitely go do that before the beta ends.

Deforum Discord Bot Beta Sign Up

As always, if you enjoyed this edition I would really appreciate if you shared it. Just hit the share button below. And if you’re not following me on X yet, I’d love to follow you back.

On that note, I’ll leave you a quote that sums up why I love highlighting artists, both past and present.

Enjoy your weekend, friend!

P.S. If you have feedback I’d love to hear it! A reply to this email goes directly to me.