“Art commences when artists stop representing simply what they are looking at, and begin representing what they are seeing.” J Kacian
Seeing is a choice, it is contemplation of the relationship between things and between things and ourselves. It seeks to make connections. This is true of haiku and haiga also. R Blyth said “In haiku we attempt to see into the essence of things”. How right he was. In haiku and haiga we are not just looking at the visual and/or textual image before us, but it requires us to see, to make the connections.
A good definition of haiga has come form Ray Rasmussen:
”Traditional Japanese haiga involved brush art work coupled with a haiku poem done in brush calligraphy. Like the haiku poem, the focus of haiga is in simplicity of expression. Digital art-haiku is one form of modern haiga. Other forms include photo-haiku [haiku attached to a photographic image] and all modern forms of art coupled with haiku. Of course, traditional haiga is still practiced. Just as the haiku form often contains a juxtaposition between two of its lines and a third line, so does or can modern haiga contain a juxtaposition between the haiku itself and the digital art work. In short, the art work does not necessarily directly represent the images presented in the haiku.”
So if my haiku is about a rose, I would not just have a picture of a rose in the haiga. The image or artwork in the haiga needs to add something to the haiku, a juxtaposition between the haiku and haiga, where the reader/observer can see to make the connection.
One form of haiga can be a linked haiga. You can “put together haiga with similar subject matters and similar representational styles. When they are combined and appropriate adjustments are made, they can be a single coherent art work. In painting, coherence and consistency is most important for a work to be appreciated as a piece of art. The same rule applies to haiga. I also consider the haiku. In my linked haiga, haiku verses do not work like in renku, but I feel that they somehow resonate and produce interesting effects.” Kuniharu Shimizu
Haiga was traditionally painted in sumi-e style on rice paper. But the modern/experimental form of haiga uses all means of artistic expression – digital media, photography, sculpture, graffiti, comic style. It seems the possibilities are endless.
There is also a form called ‘haibunga’ (haibun and haiga). This was based on Buson’s ‘byobu’ painting (six-fold screen) on which he wrote the entire words of Basho’s ‘Narrow Road to Oku and added his illustrations to it, in a similar manner as Buson created his other haiga.
The influence of Zen on haiga has been substantial, and the Zen philosophy of ‘wabi-sabi’ seems to be important in haiga. ‘Wabi-sabi’ can be seen as “beauty in imperfection.” This is especially true in ‘Zenga’, which is a more minimalist style of haiga.
Sources:
http://raysweb.net/haiku/pages/haiga-definition.html
http://www.gendaihaiku.com/kacian/haiga.html
http://www.haigaonline.com/issue7-1/experimental.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haiku#Haiga
http://www.reedscontemporaryhaiga.com/Haiga%20&%20Digital%20Rendering.htm
http://laurence55.deviantart.com/journal/21853893/
http://happyhaiku.blogspot.com/2005/11/shahai.html
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