Jean Shin's art

Jean Shin is "recognized for her monumental installations that transform everyday objects into elegant expressions of identity and community. For each project, she amasses vast collections of a particular object—prescription pill bottles, sports trophies, sweaters—which are often sourced through donations from individuals in a participating community. These intimate objects then become the materials for her conceptually rich sculptures, videos and site-specific installations. Distinguished by her meticulous, labor-intensive process, and her engagement of community, Shin’s arresting installations reflect individuals’ personal lives as well as collective issues that we face as a society." I loved the vinyl work "The sound of Wave", top right, with the vinyl records, recreating Hokusai's famous wave. The TEXTile installation, 2006, is a "fabric" created with 22.526 recycled keycaps with a keyboard at one end and the text at the other. You can see it clearly here.

Van Gogh and Hokusai's tree on blue background

Whenever I look at this van Gogh's painting, Almond Blossom, I think about Hokusai's work.

I don't know if van Gogh saw this printing but it's known that he was influenced by Japanese's art like many of his contemporaries and bought some of them.

Or it's quite a coincidence!

Hokusai the Japanese painter and printmaker

"The Great Wave of Kanagawa" is the most famous of Hokusai prints and has been studied by many art critics and art lovers but what I want to stress is the left "Beauty with Umbrella beneath a Willow Tree" that was painted on silk. If you take a look at Van Gogh's Père Tanguy you will have a better understanding of what he is depicting in the background.