Superb Rice Field Art

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It seems that crop circle season is nearly upon us again, everybody having seen these ‘alien’ creations in one type of picture or another on various media, such frivolous and so-called art nothing more than often complex destruction of perfectly good, crop-yielding plants as the supposedly artistic creators do their work, in what many see as mindless vandalism of valuable crops, perhaps justifiably

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Japanese farmers see things in a totally different way, with the creation of large artworks in crop fields being creative, instead of destructive, composed usually of rice art on the paddy fields. Japanese farmers, each season, plant various types of rice, in varying colors, in imaginative and stunning patterns, producing, as the plants grow to maturity, spectacular pictures which are only visible from above until the September harvesting of the crops.

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It is the generational understanding of the farmers involved, of understanding the properties of the of different rice varieties, their colors and how they tend to grow, that help bring about the creation, with the right types, of rice  in correct formation, of stunning, and massive living pictures that simply put the horrid crop circles to shame, despite the obvious impermanence of the images involved.

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Japanese farmers are naturally well aware of the keen interest from around the globe, in the latest  works conjured up in each new season, sometimes introducing images from other cultures than their own, demonstrating the versatility of the wondrous artworks they can produce.  The Mona Lisa as a field of growing rice would never have occurred to artist Leonardo da Vinci, though it is  a very reasonable likeness

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The ingenuity of humanity, where artistic expression is concerned, knows no bounds, and in this age of environmental awareness, is it not very refreshing that this wonderful rice art is wholly sustainable, people benefiting from the food produced in the creation of it?

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This truly awe-inspiring concept, exceptional art in the unlikeliest of settings, proves once again that man has an amazing imagination, anmd nature is happy to help realize the potential. Incredible artistry and truly environmental art, in one fell swoop. What more could anybody ask?.

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All images used with permission