# Debut

**Published by:** [Artzì](https://paragraph.com/@artzì/)
**Published on:** 2023-07-17
**URL:** https://paragraph.com/@artzì/debut

## Content

Debutgm! Nice to meet you! I’m Artzì, and I’m here to share my journey into art with you. Let me share a quick story to get you introduced: Recently, my mother showed me a puzzle she had purchased, and it immediately sparked my interest. I could use some time off from work. Determined to find one myself I headed out and before I knew it, found myself in HRAS in Pasáž Rokoko. The very first puzzle I noticed was a 1000-piece of The Great Wave off Kanagawa’ by Hokusai. It must've caught my eye due to the Japanese mood I was in since I was reading ‘Ikigai’ by Héctor García and Francesc Miralles at the time. Returning home, I dove into the puzzle by gathering the corner- and edge pieces, a trick I remember from my childhood. Accompanied by a video about the painting on the YouTube channel ‘Great Art Explained’, it fascinated me to learn that Hokusai created this masterpiece in the early 1830s during Japan’s isolation period known as Sakoku. What, as a Dutch native, struck me even more was the influence of the Dutch, the only Westerners allowed to trade with Japan at that time, on this work. Apparently, the low-horizon Dutch landscape prints left a particularly strong impression on him. While busy with my puzzle journey, another video started playing. This time about Vincent Van Gogh’s ‘The Starry Night,’ also by Great Art Explained. It was mentioned that Van Gogh admired Hokusai’s ‘Great Wave,’ and how we can see resemblances between the two works. The composition, the use of a bright blue color, and the tempestuous seas in Hokusai’s work, and the turbulent skies in Van Gogh’s work. I found it remarkable how the Dutch influenced Hokusai, and in turn, a Dutchman like Van Gogh was influenced by the Japanese Hokusai. As I immersed myself in the world of art, watching video after video, I began puzzling over the connections between artists and myself. I couldn’t help but notice the unconventional lives, tumultuous journeys, and personal struggles many renowned artists experienced. Something I can relate to. Besides, I’m a web designer (and developer) and thus aren’t completely new to art or artistry. However, I’m still completely new to understanding traditional art, hence this journey. I think I simply never fully understood what art means, often seeing it as something only the old masters did. By this time, the art bug definitely bit me, and an idea struck me: What if I share my journey into art with others through social media? The benefits of doing so are vast: it would allow me to connect with like-minded individuals, reflect on my own experiences, inspire and motivate others, educate, and learn from a diverse community. The possibilities seem endless compared to not doing it, and the urge to embark on this artistic journey is undeniable. I thought about many ways to make my social media profile and posts unique and noticeable. I figured out that to capture the essence of each piece in a unique way, I could to carry a pocket-sized notebook with me, where I could jot down the date, place, title, and perhaps a short opinion. Then, I would photograph the artwork with my notebook in the foreground and the work itself in the background, creating a unique cover for my social media posts. Since I prefer not to use my own name online outside a professional setting like LinkedIn, I embarked on a quest to find the perfect pseudonym to use during this journey. I thought up cringe names like ArtVoyant, GalleryRoamer, and BrushTrail, but no. Just no, lol. After days (and nights) of thinking, I finally stumbled upon “artsii.” It was a playful, catchy name that held a connection to ASCII art, which resonated with my background as a developer. But I felt that something was missing. That’s when I tried “artzii” with a Z. Being fascinated by all things Asia (specifically China), I delved into the Chinese meaning of “zii.” According to ChatGPT, the pseudonym “Zii” draws inspiration from the Chinese character “字” (zì), which encompasses the concepts of characters, words, artistic calligraphy, personal names, and handwritten messages. “字” (zì) can be used to represent a message or a note written by hand, conveying information or thoughts. This connection perfectly reflected my creative and unique idea of taking notes! Artzì is the perfect pseudonym that aligned with my notebook idea and encapsulates my creative journey into the world of art. Again; nice to ‘meet’ you!Without further ado, my very first post: Allow me to introduce you to ‘At the Studio’ by Hippolyt Soběslav Pinkas, an artwork I encountered during my (first) visit to the National Gallery Prague — Trade Fair Palace (on the fourth floor, in the collection of 19th Century Art and Classical Modernism, to be exact). Which, by the way, is one of the greatest concrete buildings I’ve ever seen, and proved itself a perfect hideout on one of those relentlessly hot (37c!) Prague summer days.ArtzìAt the Studio by Hippolyt Soběslav Pinkas at the National Gallery Prague — Trade Fair PalaceAt the Studio by Hippolyt Soběslav Pinkas at the National Gallery Prague — Trade Fair Palace Let me share with you a description from the NGP website: According to the date inscribed on the canvas, this painting captures a glimpse of the artist’s studio on 30th March 1854, shortly after his arrival in Paris. During that time, depicting the artist in their studio was a popular motif among painters. Artists like Courbet and Marc Trapadoux portrayed themselves in their studios holding bundles of engravings, and similar themes can be found in the works of other artists as well. In ‘At the Studio,’ Pinkas focuses on a modestly furnished room adorned with everyday objects and the customary tools of a painter. Interestingly, the figure of the painter wearing a cap was painted over the finished picture, evident from the layered application of paints. The artist is depicted with their back turned to the viewer, perhaps expressing Pinkas’s desire to convey the sense of anonymity and loneliness experienced by a painter who had recently arrived in the bustling city of Paris. View a high-res picture of the work here. The reason I chose to share this particular piece from the gallery is because I deeply resonated with it. As a hard-working creative freelancer (or artist, you may say) in a foreign city, I often find myself immersed in my own ‘studio’. I could sense the captivating feelings of anonymity and loneliness conveyed in the artwork, which resonated with my own experiences. Upon discovering that the painting originally had no figure in it, I was intrigued. It reminds me of my own experiences filming myself from the same perspective, while working, creating a timelapse with the intention of sharing it on social media someday. However, my shyness has held me back from sharing it. I couldn’t help but wonder if Pinkas ever faced a similar hesitation and at some point overcame his shyness. Ironically, this work was the very first I laid my eyes on in this gallery. Since I felt such a strong and comforting connection to it, I faced a dilemma: should I choose this work, the very first work I’d look at amongst hundreds of other great works awaiting me, for my first post, or should I explore the rest of the gallery and return to it later if I didn’t find something better? Due to time constraints and the realization that this work answered the question that had been bugging me since I got the puzzle — what is art? — I knew it had to be my first post. It was art to me because it resonated in multiple and undeniable ways with me. It was art, because it was art to me. And so I thought, even if I would find a better piece, this will still be worthy of sharing, to say the least. Without further thought, I found a nearby bench, unpacked the Leuchttrum notebook I bought for this journey, and I jotted down the date, the title of the work, and the artist’s name. With my notebook in hand, I approached the painting and shot it. Honestly, my first experience with traditional art surpassed all expectations. I feel fortunate to have discovered a deeper understanding of what art truly means so early on in this journey. Finally, please allow me to underline: I’d like this format I created to blow up, and I could use your help. If you liked this post I would greatly appreciate it if you could in any way engage with it. Like, share, ReTweet, clap, subscribe, follow, heck, you can even mint this article on mirror.xyz! Don’t be shy to dive into the comment section on Twitter or Instagram to provide some constructive criticism, compliments, or just to get aquatinted! I look very much forward to connecting! I appreciate you making it this far and hope you’ve enjoyed this first entry. Till next time!SubscribeP.s. I did not find another similarly resonating piece, non of the other (great) works came close, not for me at least. P.p.s. I arrived at the gallery late and thus found myself in a bit of a rush. I suppose it would take you a minimum of three to four hours to see all works without stopping for too long at any of them.National Gallery Prague – Trade Fair Palace Dukelských Hrdinů 47, 170 00 Praha 7-Holešovice, Czechia Metro C – Vltavská Tram 6, 17 – Veletržní palác Tram 1, 2, 6, 8, 12, 17, 25, 26 – Strossmayerovo náměstí Tuesday–Sunday 10 am–6 pm / The first Wednesday of every month 10 am–8 pm 1-DAY PASS: 250Kc

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