Hokusai Woodblock Print: The Great Wave Off Kanagawa

In Glenn legion’s painting “I do not always feel colored” created in 1990, he uses black oil sticks to paint black letters onto a white background. I chose Glenn Legion because he beautifully demonstrates how we as a species should stand up against societal stigmas of different cultures and instead embrace each other’s originality to create a better world together. In this piece, Legion succeeds in promoting a visual dialogue of how separated he feels our society has become based on our skin color. While the text in the painting is visually legible to read in the beginning, it becomes increasingly difficult as the words “I do not always feel colored” begin to smudge into the white background. At first, this gives the viewer the implication that races are separate and different from one another. But as we read on we notice the words beginning to blend creating a big smudge, this implies that color should never be a reason for separation. Moreover, we are all equally valuable and therefore should always stand in unity together. …show more content…
At the tip of the giant wave, it gives the impression of having large claws; this is possibly symbolic of the influence of western culture about to spread into Japanese culture. Though when we look in the background, Mount Fuji is standing tall, symbolizing the resilience of Japanese culture despite other impending views. I chose Hokusai because he was a spontaneous and disorganized man, much like the wave which appears to be abnormally large compared to the boats. The boats are like the obstacles Hokusai had in his life. Such as the need to move into multiple houses, his father, or his unhappy wife. Hokusai lived an unordinary life, and he didn’t let any complications stop him from what he wanted to