Art Analysis Tomie: Moromi - Junji Ito
For this post I wanted to focus on the use of lines in my chosen artwork.
The entire work of Tomie by Junji Ito is a wonderful blend of stunning, horrifying artwork and a bizarre plot. The frame I have chosen to look at today is a scene from Moromi which was first published in 2000 in the magazine Nemuki (or Monthly Halloween as it's called in english). Moromi is a chapter in the Tomie series in which Tomie's current lover decides the best way to dispose of her body is to turn her into sake.
Putting the story context aside, I'd like to draw attention to the line work of this frame. All the shading that is done to add to the depth of the piece is done with line strokes. There is no cross hatching techniques or pencil shading. I believe this adds to the illusion that she is flowing out of the tank. The choices of where to draw lines closer together and where to draw them farther apart also add a feeling of thickness. On the faces, I find that the negative space is important in conveying the texture. There is not a lot of fine detail put into the faces but more fine lines and squiggles that give the impression of melting faces. With purely the placement of lines, Ito is able to create this horrifying frame showing the texture, speed, and anger in which Tomie rises from her fermented grave.
Unfortunately, I do not have any links to view this photo. I took this myself from an art book that I own: The Art of Junji Ito: Twisted Visions. If you were to look up this piece, some colored versions of the frame will show up, but I feel the color takes away from the original work.
Citations:
Itō, J., Allen, J. and Washington, M. (2020) The art of junji ito: Twisted visions. San Francisco, CA: VIZ Media, LLC.
I always really liked Junji Ito and Tomie has a special place in my heart. (I own her signature fragrance from the BPAL collaboration.) One thing that interests me about this one is that there’s a limit to the eruption on each side, but the Tomie faces extend past the top of the frame. I think Ito could have chosen to also extend the eruption to the left and right, but limiting it gives it dimensions and therefore a real physical presence. This is definitely nothing ethereal but a clear and present danger.
ReplyDeleteI love Junji Ito! His work is always bizarre and uncanny, both in his illustrations and storytelling. I like how you mentioned Junji Ito's use of line and value. While the use of line is subtle in the scene, it adds an eerie and unsettling feeling when it's focused on darker areas like where Tomie is emerging. The lines here convey movement, it gives you the feeling of urgency and adds more to the already terrifying atmosphere. His use of negative space on faces and environments always make me feel uneasy, especially when it portrays the emptiness of Tomie's eyes. This was a great analysis of the panel, thank you for sharing!
ReplyDeleteJunji Ito and his work is always stunning in how he creates these horrifying pieces through such simple techniques, and I love this example piece you showed. I love the line consistency, and his ommissions of certain details on Tomie's face really adds to the creepy horror feeling. Something that I think should be noticed as well is the amount of lines in the image and how much space it takes up. The piece itself feels overwhelming, the lines filling up a majority of the negative space. The reader isn't given much visual room to breathe in this page and creates this oppressive image of Tomie overwhelmingly filling the page. In a sense it gives the reader a sense of what the lover/protagonist is feeling, which I feel like adds to the horror. It makes the page feel suffocating.
ReplyDeleteOverall, wonderful analysis, and wonderful taste in work!
This drawing is truly amazing. Even though it is in black and white I can still feel its depth. It appears as if there was a lot of detail that went into drawing this but I believe it is simple. You can see that the boy is trying to get away from a secret and the faces are a representation of something scary. I think it is very unique how each face differs from one another.
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