Between Flatness and Depth

“Between Flatness and Depth: The Cultural Convergence of Eastern and Western Art in Painting and Video Games”

The intersection between Eastern and Western art traditions, particularly in how they approach the representation of three-dimensional space on two-dimensional surfaces, reveals profound differences that have shaped both traditional painting and modern digital media, including video games. These differences are not just about technique but reflect deeper cultural philosophies and aesthetic values.

Western art, especially since the Renaissance, has been dominated by the pursuit of realism, grounded in the use of linear perspective. This technique allows artists to create the illusion of depth, making a flat canvas appear as a window into a continuous, three-dimensional world. This approach aligns with the Western emphasis on rationality, order, and the accurate depiction of the physical world. It has deeply influenced not only painting but also the design of modern video games, particularly in North America, where First-Person Shooter (FPS) games and open-world environments prioritize immersion through realistic, first-person perspectives. These games often aim to replicate a lifelike experience, drawing players into a meticulously constructed virtual reality.

In contrast, Eastern art, particularly Japanese, has historically embraced a different approach to spatial representation. Instead of striving for realism through perspective, Japanese art often flattens space, emphasizing the two-dimensionality of the medium. This approach can be seen in ukiyo-e, where the composition is more concerned with the arrangement of shapes, lines, and colors on a flat surface than with creating the illusion of depth. The result is an image that is more about the symbolic and the decorative, often condensing a complex, imaginary world onto a single plane. This tradition influenced many Western artists in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, contributing to the development of movements such as Impressionism and Cubism, which began to challenge the dominance of linear perspective in Western art.

As the video game industry emerged and evolved, particularly in Japan, this cultural legacy became a unique strength. Japanese games from the 1980s onwards, including iconic titles like Pac-Man and Super Mario Bros., embraced the limitations of early digital technology, using pixel art to create characters and environments that were instantly recognizable and appealing. These games didn’t attempt to replicate reality but instead used abstraction and stylization to craft engaging, often whimsical experiences. This approach to game design can be seen as a continuation of the Japanese tradition of two-dimensional art, where the flatness of the medium is embraced rather than disguised.

This distinct approach has also influenced contemporary Japanese art, where the flatness of traditional painting is reimagined in the digital age. Artists like Takashi Murakami with his “Superflat” concept, and the collective teamLab with their “Ultra Subjective Space,” explore the boundaries between the two-dimensional and the three-dimensional, creating works that are both deeply rooted in Japanese artistic traditions and innovative in their use of modern technology. These works deconstruct Western perspectives, offering an alternative that challenges the viewer’s expectations of space and depth.

Kazuki Takakura’s works, such as his Nehan Pot and Kakitsubata Pot, further illustrate this deconstruction. Drawing on the principles of traditional Japanese spatial representation, Takakura transforms these concepts into psychedelic visions of the Pure Land of Ultimate Bliss, combining flat patterns and digital techniques to create works that blur the line between two-dimensional art and three-dimensional form. His use of Lego blocks to create vase-like sculptures from these flat patterns exemplifies the fusion of digital and analogue, traditional and modern.

Similarly, Kazutoshi Iida’s collaborative project, THE HOLE 2024, incorporates stereoscopic VR images into a traditional Arita porcelain skull, allowing viewers to immerse themselves in a virtual painting world. This blend of ancient craftsmanship and cutting-edge technology echoes the early experiments in cinema and the avant-garde works of artists like Marcel Duchamp, further complicating the relationship between two-dimensional and three-dimensional spaces.

These contemporary explorations, deeply informed by both Eastern and Western artistic traditions, highlight the ongoing dialogue between flatness and depth, abstraction and realism. As artists and designers continue to push the boundaries of these concepts, they challenge us to reconsider not only how we perceive space but also how cultural histories and philosophies continue to shape our understanding of art in the digital age.