Week #10, Joss Papers, Final Works from 1991 II

Untitled (Orange and Black Abstract with Multi-colors), 1991, watercolor on paper, 6 ¼” x 5 ½”

To continue the theme of small watercolors on joss paper, we present you with another jewel from Dusti Bongé's final set of works in 1991. As the parenthetical title indicates, regardless of its size, this small work nonetheless boasts quite an array of colors. 

One noticeable color in this and many of Dusti’s joss paper paintings is the bright swath of orange. You should know that said swath of orange is not applied by Dusti but is already there in all the “gold leaf” joss papers. When joss papers are produced with either their silver or gold square, the “gold’ tone is in fact achieved by placing an orange wash over the silver square. * And for some reason, during the production process, that streak of orange is always extended out past the silver square to one edge of the paper. The result is thus that the silver joss paper simply has a silver square while the gold joss paper actually has a gold square with an orange extension. As such they present a slightly different challenge to work with.

However, the overarching challenge in working on joss paper as compared to blank paper, is the challenge that the already present silver or gold (with attendant orange) poses as you start the work. Instead of facing the proverbial "blank canvas" you are confronted with a highly focal central element that you must either work around, work with, or completely subsume into your composition. This was indeed the challenge that drew Dusti to repeatedly using these delicate sheets of paper for almost a decade.  

In this work, Dusti chose to work around the clearly outlined orange swath and gold square. Her approach is to juxtapose these pre-defined fields of color with an array of gentle, wavy, and watery colors ranging from buff tones to black, purple, red, and green. She only minimally alters the existing colors with a few light marks and one black dot centered on the orange field.

* Yes, silver plus orange equals gold. That said, I would not recommend you start painting your cherished silver heirlooms orange.