Original Article published on Monday November 12, 2012
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Israeli-born and San Francisco-based illustrator Dana Harel's large scale graphite illustrations explore humans' places in the natural world. Using the repeated motifs of hands and wings, Harel's illustrations fuse the human body with plant and animal structures, provoking viewers to re-consider the human "hubris" as a dominant species.
Compare and Contrast the image above
The contrast to the drawing above MC Escher's is more lightly shaded and is mainly gray unlike MC Escher's drawing of the two hands has a lot of darker contrast parts around the shading.
ReplyDeleteThe upper one seems to contain a hidden illusion. at first glance it appears to be just some hands with leaves piled atop. Take a closer look and you can see that it's an elderly soldier, likely a veteran.
ReplyDeleteEscher's art has the clearly abstract style you'd expect from him. Instead of 2 hands depicting an image, two hands paradoxically are 'creating' each other
Fantastic observation! Keep up the good work :)
DeleteI really like the first drawing it makes me think of pie when its not. The second drawing makes me what to go cross eye because of the two hand. I like both of the drawings there differnt in the own way but they make you see different thing thats what i like about it.
ReplyDeleteMC Escher's hands seem much sharper and clear in contrast while Dana Harel's seem much softer and more childish. The foundation idea behind the two are also very different. For instance, MC Escher's hands are actively working to make each other real, while Harel's are in formed in the shape of a face. Both are interesting and play tricks on the mind.
ReplyDeleteI have to say that the top drawing has lighter detail and shading and the bottom one has even more detail but the only difference is that it has darker shading than the top
ReplyDeleteWell, they both appear to be an illusion of sorts. I can't really tell what the top one is, though. The one on top is brighter and doesn't seem to have as much shading as the one on the bottom. The one on the bottom looks a lot more detailed and realistic to me.
ReplyDeleteWell the first drawing is very detailed on the helmet. His hands are a lttle bit light and it makes it look a little cartoony but I like it. I think of a soldier who dies on the field and hes giving his helmet to another soul. Its just my vivid and detailed imagination._. Now the MC Escher drawing is darker and has more shading and even more detailed on the hands and illusion itself. It almost looks like one hand has got tired and collapsed and the other is saving it.
ReplyDeleteAgain my imagination is to blame.
The two both use hands as a subject and as a means to make and illusion. They have the same mediums, i'm assuming. But, Dana Harel uses hands to make the image on a soldier, making the piece borderline political while Escher is making an illusion for the sake of illusion.
ReplyDeleteGreat Observations!
Deleteboth drawings have hands in them, they both are uncolored and in some parts look flat were others are shaded. the first has plants and other objects in the picture as opposed to the second which is only two hands holding a pencil. both have different shading techniques and messages.
ReplyDeleteboth pictures are pretty alike.They both are black and white and they both have hands doing some kind of movement its pretty cool.The hat has a crazy design on it and the hands seem to be sending a message and so does thee other.
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ReplyDeleteThere both really good pieces. They both used hands in there pieces. The only difference is there both very different. The first one seems to have a story behind it , a sad tale , yet with a struck of life . The second one seems to have darker detail, and just straight up hands . The first one seems to be more light. It seems more abstract like theres multiple images in one, the second one is more concrete.
ReplyDeleteThe pictures look pretty alike to me do to the color. Though the way the hands are form are different. The first picture is when one hand is on top of another, while the second picture the hands are across from one another. The first picture I think tells about a person was in a war, while the other art piece tells about a person trying to complete itself when it's not fully drawn, or formed. That's what I could tell from both of them.
ReplyDeletedana herals and mc eshers drawings are alike by color and imagination with hands, but different from the drawing perspectives, one uses nature and the body.
ReplyDeleteThe first one with the soldier helmet possibly shows some kind of significant symbol. And you can see some sort of face. And the second portrait shows an interesting illusion which is a hand sketching another hand that's also sketching. And I think both explain that hands are something that make unique simple things.
ReplyDeleteThe first painting is more with nature as you can see the stem and the flower but also has a soldier hat on it . Both drawing have an illusion , but mostly the second drawing it seems as if those two hands were drawing each other to create an illusion.
ReplyDeleteThe drawing by Ms. Harel uses a Vietnam war helmet, one of the most iconic forms of combat equipment that isn't used for murder, to make a political/social comment about the nature of man. This, in combination with the delicate flowers adorning the helmet, show man's double mindedness about war and how we love to hate it.
ReplyDeleteI think that MC Escher's illustration is some comment about people taking control and creating themselves as he or she sees fit. Escher just cleverly hides the message in the form of an illusion to trick the eye and please the simple man.
Harel's work of art attracts the eye to the war helmet which could symbolize how man has a fighting vigor to him that evolution couldn't remove. The way the hands sort of clasp to each other makes me think of a prolific bond. This could always play "hand-in-hand" with the camouflage on the helmet itself. You know the camouflage is so the enemy won't see them but the variety of plants on this helmet have a sort of beauty to them in the way they curl and seem withered.
ReplyDeleteThe second one by Escher I like to think the message is that we build ourself. The hands bend and attempt to draw and it makes me feel serene. So both pictures cause a sort of beautiful ambience using limbs that the average human treasures.
Dana Harels's drawing has lighter shading and is more detailed. I really like the way the helmet was made to look realistic and the shading under the helmet.
ReplyDeleteMC Escher's drawing has a much more sharper contrast. What interests me the most about his work is that he likes to "explore" infinity. For example, this hand illustration makes one wonder how the pattern began and if it will ever end.
Well at first I thought it was an old lady but then I realized what I thought were facial features were actually hands. Then the bottom picture I really love because it looks like the hands are coming out of the paper to draw themselves some sleeves. The top picture I think is lighter but with very clear details then the bottom picture is darker with really bold details.Two things that are the same about these pictures is that they are obviously hands and stark sketches. Two things that are different is that the top one makes me think the artist was just sketching freely while the bottom picture seems like there was a plan before he started drawing and it's very precise and orderly.
ReplyDeletethe left hand is more detailed while the right is shaded more.
ReplyDeletebut they bothe have pincels in hand.
Dana Heral's hands depict a completly different image then MC's hands. Her's show the a face like a soldier, her hands have a lighter shade yet are composed well to make a face and the helmet on top completes what she was going for.I feel like she put more detail in the helmet and not enough in the ends yet is still looks good together. I like MC's more because of how he made it look like a constant hand drawing it self in a rotation. The way he shaded the hand to make it so detailed makes me wish i could do that, i like how he made the sleeve look like a mere drawing on a piece of paper plus the perspective of it make you see the real life likeness.
ReplyDeleteThe two both use hands as a subject and as a means to make and illusion. Dana Harel uses hands to make the soldier, making the while Escher is making an illusion for the sake of illusion. but in my opinion the 1st one i like more because it has more detail it tells a story
ReplyDeleteThe first drawing feels very meaningful. A love for someone that they are away for a long time. The helmet representing the man and the flowers representing the women. It gives off pain and love at the same time. As the second one i see that you can create a piece of art. The hands are creating art work. I see that the first is very light as if he wanted it to feel pale and sad. The second one has the dark and lights in it showing the different dark and light shading in art.
ReplyDeleteIn the first picture it shows a face. and the second one its.just hands. The fiyst picture shows a story. That is more complex then.just a hand drawing a hand. The first picture also has Alot more details then the other picture .
ReplyDeleteIn the first picture it shows a face. and the second one its.just hands. The first picture shows a story. That is more complex then.just a hand drawing a hand. The first picture also has Alot more details then the other picture . Both of the pictures have the hands and are hand drawn. They both also can tell a story. They have different stories but they could both be apart of each other .
ReplyDeleteThese two pieced are sort of similar. They both involve hands and are suppose to be making an illusion. But they are different because the drawing by Harold has more of a story to it. It has a steal pot helmet that has leaves on it. The hands are sorta making a face? It is very interesting! The other drawing by Escher is just an illusion of hands. But, they are both great pieces!
ReplyDeletethe first picture has a helmet with a net over it and flowers stuck in the helmet. Maybe the helmet was from the war. the second picture has a paper with two hands and pencils drawing screwed down with screws. the both have hands and there both telling stories.
ReplyDeleteOne has a helmet as if its going to stick together threw everything. The other has hand's crossing each other as they pop out. Their similarities may be that they are both hand's.
ReplyDeleteAn Exposure of an Idea
ReplyDeleteLeft Hand Right Hand
Passive Assertive
Justice Mercy
Lunar Solar
Emotion Logic
Receiving Giving
Unconscious Conscious
When comparing and contrasting Dana Harel’s “Idle Hands” with M. C. Escher’s “Drawing Hands” I find that knowing what the symbolism of the hand means is a good place to start. Since we are discussing the symbolic representation of both pictures it will be relevant. As you can see from the chart each hand represents an opposite nature from the other side. I will start by showing how the artists’ pictures show this same opposite nature.
I believe Harel’s picture gives the left hand dominance while Escher’s gives it to the right hand. This makes perfect sense to me. In “Idle Hands” the left hand represents justice, mercy and emotion while in “Drawing Hands” the right hand represents conscious, logical and oh so ever giving. One can easily see how this can be interpreted in the drawings. Following all these lines we can then conclude that both artists may have intended for the viewer to note this subtleness.
Escher was a great mathematician who used logic and math in most everything he did. His drawings are meant to invoke thought and conscious thought. Harel’s drawing however seems to evoke emotions using the helmeted hands of war. The viewer can easily find some heartfelt inspiration when approached with this drawing.
Having noted the simple differences in both pieces of work it would be ill mannered not to point out that both are drawn in pencil and both show the symbolism of hands. This might seem to be overstating the obvious, never the less it must be acknowledged. A much bigger similarity is that both were educated in architecture and are known to take a humanistic approach towards their work as it intertwines with the modern world.
Dana Hanel was a good drawer in my eyes. Hanel made hands that were in shape of a soldier.he had leaves attacked to a steal pot. What seemed to be a soldiers helmet in the drawing. Mc just took two hands and rotated eachothere.Both artist draw hands but in there own way. They both used good texture and shadding
ReplyDeletemc ecshers art work is more lighter than hanels. mc ecshers hands look more realistic. mc ecsher uses alot of shadow hanel does not. mc ecsher brings more attention to the right hand and hanel brings more attention to the left hand. i noticed a lot of similarities. both art works are drawn. the art works also both have hands. the two art works are both illusions. the two art works both end at the arm,they also have a left and a right hand.
ReplyDeletei think the similar things that they have are the hands and i also see that the hands in both images are helping each other out. i think the differences is that the hands in the first image has a helmet which can mean that they fight together and the other pair looks like they are helping each other out.
ReplyDeleteThe top picture has very light shading, and a suddle illusion that you really have to look for. As opposed to the bottom picture that has dark lines and the illusion is obvious. They'ew also similar because both images are pictures of two hands in a black in white drawing
ReplyDeleteBoth art works are a sketch design, and include two hands. The first peace of art work, shows the to hand resenting a head/face. The second peace of art work shows almost like a ying yang symbol, showing to hands drawing each other while in circular motion.
ReplyDelete