But everything changed when the fire nation attacked...
Sorry, but Shinichi Maruyama's "water bending" brings back a little bit of nostalgia for me. Not to brag, but I may have watched every single episode of "Avatar the Last Airbender" at age 10. Twice.
Anyways, I think Maruyama's work is absolutely incredible. I suppose, in a way, Maruyama is bordering a fine line when it comes to art: finding a balance between controlling your materials and simply letting nature take over. As someone who works often with natural materials and patterns in their work, I know it can be difficult to figure out where exactly to take artistic license versus where to let nature take it's course. I mean, nature is supreme after all!
Maruyama's sculptures are entirely controlled by nature. Gravity, science, and pure dumb-luck ultimately form the beautiful images you can watch in this clip, and I suppose as a result one could potentially argue that this isn't truly art because Maruyama cannot necessarily control the outcome. However, I disagree entirely. Art is about working with nature, creating a harmony with it, utilizing its beauty without completely destroying what it already presents. Maruyama's work captures a split second of time, a moment that goes unnoticed to most, and emphasizes it--ultimately showing just how much we miss every moment. The creation of his sculptures is absolutely beautiful as well, as you can see in the video above his process is organic and spontaneous
Anyways, I think Maruyama's work is absolutely incredible. I suppose, in a way, Maruyama is bordering a fine line when it comes to art: finding a balance between controlling your materials and simply letting nature take over. As someone who works often with natural materials and patterns in their work, I know it can be difficult to figure out where exactly to take artistic license versus where to let nature take it's course. I mean, nature is supreme after all!
Maruyama's sculptures are entirely controlled by nature. Gravity, science, and pure dumb-luck ultimately form the beautiful images you can watch in this clip, and I suppose as a result one could potentially argue that this isn't truly art because Maruyama cannot necessarily control the outcome. However, I disagree entirely. Art is about working with nature, creating a harmony with it, utilizing its beauty without completely destroying what it already presents. Maruyama's work captures a split second of time, a moment that goes unnoticed to most, and emphasizes it--ultimately showing just how much we miss every moment. The creation of his sculptures is absolutely beautiful as well, as you can see in the video above his process is organic and spontaneous