#3vinegartasters

A close up of a vat of vinegar from an illustration I completed three years ago. The Three Vinegar Tasters. Know the story? If not, I'd be happy to tell you about it. -- #samuelhumphreys #3vinegartasters #orientalsurrealism #illustration #blackandwhite #art #moleskine #sketchbook #melbourneart #melbourne #melbourneartists #buddha #confucius #laotsu #buddhism #confucianism #taoism #woodblock #print #woodcut #japanese #chinese #linework #fineline #koi #koifish

The Three Vinegar Tasters is an allegorical image that represents Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism; the three major philosophical traditions of the East. The Three Vinegar tasters are Confucius, Buddha and Lao Tzu, and each one’s reaction is representative of their respective religion’s attitude on life. Confucius sees the vinegar as sour and in need of correction, just as society should be maintained through strict rules. Buddha recoils at the taste, and sees it as being too extreme for the body and an example of the suffering of life. Lao Tzu, on the other hand, recognises that vinegar is what it is, and our perception of it is biased by our judgement of what it “should be”. -- #samuelhumphreys #3vinegartasters #orientalsurrealism #illustration #blackandwhite #art #moleskine #sketchbook #melbourneart #melbourne #melbourneartists #buddha #confucius #laotsu #buddhism #confucianism #taoism #woodblock #print #woodcut #japanese #chinese #linework #fineline #koi #koifish