Waves
Posted: June 27, 2012 Filed under: Galleries, Museums, Private Collections | Tags: art, art blog, arts, Edo, Katsushika Hokusai, life, Maggi Hambling, orgasm, sea, sex, waves 10 CommentsYou will be tossed. Which way would you like it?
Katsushika Hokusai, The Great Wave Off Kanagawa from “Thirty-six Views of Mount Fuji”; 1823-29, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Hmmm. . . big fan of the Japanese version, tense. Heroic. But my vote’s for Hambling’s fearsome sensuality. No explanation needed on this one friends – you are on your own.
Maggi Hambling, Rising wave, 2009 © Maggi Hambling
I am the shifting shingle you approach with stealth
then in the dark moons of you curves I am tossed, lost, displaced with greedy lover’s tongues and lips
You suck me in and in again we rise together, we rise together, then float safe on liquid breasts until the dance begins again and you thrust deep and my resistance is low
dissolve, dissolve
no defence against your relentless advance
I am but a ghost of the shore disappeared in you
Hambling, 2008
igetitart 
##Wicked, cackling laughter## hahahaha!
** maniacal, cackling laughter **
I guess its not a fair fight eh. . .Who is going to chose heroic sex over mind-blowing sex? Its a naughty interpretation, and Hokusai deserves much better.
It’s Hambling for me- I love the way the colors swirl and the center of the wave is like the depths of the ocean. The Japanese version shows the mathematical underpinning of a wave, but Hambling’s wave shows the chaos of reality, the dual nature of life.
Can you believe Hambling paints a wave on a piece of glass, then makes a one-off print, transferring the paint to paper. If it doesn’t come out to her liking, she rips it to shreds. She then starts the who painting process over. There is much more ripping in her studio than saving. Knowing this gives me an even deeper appreciation for this work.
I had no idea that’s how she paints. Talk about a labor of love and finding meaning in the process. I love your blog, by the way, especially the great new artists and info like this that I would never find out about otherwise.
Thanks so much! You are very kind.
I could be wrong, but I think both of those waves got me once at the same time while snorkeling in Costa Rica. I thought I was going to die. I prefer the gentle rolling but massive swells of the Pacific just a few miles offshore (while fishing) with no chaos and no white caps either.
The color in Hambling’s is damn impressive though, I agree. I would really like to see it in person and stand there and stare at it for a while.
As I recall, you left your partner to fend for herself in the ensuing rip tide. Fortunately she is a staunch supporter of survival.
yeah, I meant to apologize for that.