Pretty Things | Gentleman's Time

Ji’s Donnas

September 19, 2010

Delfina y Maria - Sylvia Ji

Yesterday as I was sitting with a friend in Barnes and Noble, thumbing through Hi Fructose magazine and grimacing at the nasty iced pumpkin latte I had ordered, I stumbled across something that knocked me slightly askew. The article is called Night Shade and the artist is Sylvia Ji. The first image I saw, Delfina y Maria, caused me to pause as if I had mistakenly walked onto the lot of some deadly circus full of beautiful and sad performers who weren’t necessarily interested in my personal safety. In an instant I was quickly flipping through the article trying to visually horde the rest of the romantic and terrible things I was discovering. I originally started this blog as a way to share my work with the world (mostly my peeps back in Utah), but I also want it to be a place where I can share the amazing things I’m finding that inspire me.

Catrina in Stripes - Sylvia Ji

After flipping through the article, I went back and closely studied the faces and clothing of these amazing women. The images stuck with me throughout the day and well into my overnight shift at work. Those of you who know me, know that my attention span is brief at best and that the slightest explosion of color or spastic motion will tear me away from whomever or whatever I was previously focused on and consume my attention. So, the ability of Sylvia’s Donnas to hold me speaks volumes of them already.

There's Nothing Like Living In A Bottle - Sylvia Ji

It’s apparent that Ji’s art is about the relationship with life and death and the cliché “no one is getting out alive” concept. Generally I find that theme to be overplayed and stale. Yeah, we’re all going to die. Shut up. But it’s the skill set of her painting (acrylic on wood with gold leafing), and the way these women look at you that I can’t turn away from. They’re young and alive and defiant. So, maybe that whole “we’re all going to die” thing isn’t as lost on me as I claimed? Either way it’s worth the effort to snag an issue of Hi Fructose and check out the article.

You’ll be glad you did.