Edutainment > Kaiju Manga (3) - Dragon Bowling Fire

Dragon Bowling Fire, 2006
copyright Tom Kristensen

Tom Kristensen, born 1962, is a young artist from Australia who works in the tradition of Japanese woodblock printmaking. On this page, he writes about his latest series "Kaiju Manga".

Here is the original text written by Tom Kristensen. Text and images are copyright protected and may not be used or distributed for other than private use without the prior consignment of the author/artist.

Dragon Bowling Fire - No. 3

In the East the dragon has an ancient feminine cosmological association with water and wind. Most often the dragon is associated with clouds. Dragons are the protectors of Buddhism and often hold crystal balls representing the treasures of faith.

In Japanese mythology the dragon has a sacred connection with the sword: the storm god Susanoo-no-mikoto pulled the imperial sword from the tail of an eight-headed dragon. The dragon motif is often found engraved on swords, with the dragon twining around the blade. The dragon has come to represent both yin and yang.

In the West the dragon is the keeper of material treasure, an adversary to be conquered. In Christian mythology St. George put the dragon to the sword in the Middle East to open the way for Christianity. The St. George Cross was used as a logo by Christian crusaders and later it became the flag of England, where it remains in the Union Jack.

Nevada is a rugged state in the Mid-West of America that includes flat desert. Part of this land is used for weapons testing at the Nevada Test Site. This print depicts the mushroom cloud of an atmospheric nuclear test carried out in 1953 and named Grable after the Hollywood star. Grable produced a 15 kiloton blast and was the largest nuclear weapon ever fired by cannon.

Founded in the Nevada desert in 1905, Las Vegas is the largest American city built in the 20th century. In the early 1930s work began on the clubs that would grow into the Las Vegas Strip. To attract people, and their money, the legislature decided to overlook some standard prohibitions. Since 1931 gambling has been legal, alcohol is served around the clock and prostitution is legal in outlying counties. The Strip is famous for its fantastic neon displays and buildings made as theme parks. Many buildings draw on classical themes of opulence with decadent recreations of ancient Greece, Egypt and Rome. At the heart of the Vegas strip is the welcome sign with the star atop, an ancient beacon to desert travellers.

Tom Kristensen
April 2006

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The artist was first discovered by Eric van den Ing, co-author of a classic ukiyo-e book "Beauty and Violence" and owner of Saru Gallery. After Eric van den Ing had placed Tom's woodblock prints on his online gallery, a few days later a collector had bought the whole set. Mr. van den Ing seems to have a "magic hand" for new artists. He was the first to introduce Paul Binnie in 2000 to a larger online community of friends of Japanese prints.

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