Eccentricity: The Realm Between the Normal and the Crazy

For the past several years I have toyed with utopian/dystopian settings, fictitious characters that is beyond understanding, numerous bold colors, and the manga-inspired aesthetic in my works of art. I never thought of how to describe my creations until people started asking me. What do I say and what do you think (www.julianpena.com)?

This is what I end up scrounging for in my head: “It is neither representational nor abstract nor non-objective…” In an effort to not sound like I don’t know what I’m doing, I push my academic research further. I often spend time reviewing millions of books on color theory, Japanese art history, manga, other artists’ works, and art-related online content. In between full time day job and school, I paint to hone my techniques. Ultimately, I end up with something absolute that is brought to life from my very own mind. It is already understood that I am still an art student trying to make a name for him and discover who I really am as an artist. It isn’t until recently I have discovered a much clearer way to describe my work: eccentric.

Another sold work where I combined landscape and studied where the eye should move along the plane. I added a slight sense of humor with the cranes dancing and flying in the air. Unrealistic rainbows frame Mt. Fuji.

In Japanese art history beyond the 17^th century to today, the art become more commonly “eccentric.” Many of these online sources derive information from literary works of a great art historian by the name of Nobuo Tsuji. He wrote two books: “The Lineage of Eccentricity” and “The Categories of Eccentricity.” This concept of “eccentricity” inspired many artists such as Takashi Murakami (one of my favorite artists). These books described certain artists like Ito Jakuchu, Katsushika Hokusai, and Kano Sensetsu (all of which are very important to Japanese art history). Being classified as “eccentric” basically means to utilize techniques that are not orthodox or “Westernized” (from the Japanese perspective). 

Murakami talks about the presence of a single planarity in his "Superflat" essay and the movement of where the viewer's eyes go.

Here’s what Wikipedia has to say about “eccentricity”

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eccentricity_%28behavior%29

I’ve never been so confident about my figure drawing skills, yet I am confident with other aspects like color theory and aesthetics/design. Takashi Murakami founded his “Superflat” art movement based off of this information. I am not trying to follow that movement, but instead trying to develop my own by the time I get my Masters in Fine Arts. Though the similarities are present, I plan to survey more connections between Western and Eastern attitudes. So for the next person that asks me what type of art I create, I tell them “eccentric.” In the future I will develop more on this idea and post them along the way. 

People have told me that this reminds them of the Japanese version of Mona Lisa.