To "see" or to "perceive"?
Artist Yingru's insights into Chinese Calligraphy.
Online, September 13, 2009 (Newswire.com)
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At a time when Picasso seduced with geometrical shapes and Monet allured with reflections of light and shadow, why did the Chinese just use black and white and simple stokes of the brush to express a complex inner world?
While artists in Europe emphasized "seeing", in China focus was on "perceiving".
Besides the different cultural and philosophical background the main difference here is the mindset.
For the Chinese the art of calligraphy is a way to work on and improve your own attitude towards life. A calligraphy's value does not depend on whether you use a new technique or some new materials, but only on whether you are able to work with and to work on your inner world and whether you are able to inspire the work of art with it. Since its beginning Chinese calligraphy tends towards candid intimacy more than to cursory, frolic viewers.
Hence we write Chinese calligraphy not only to please just the eye. For the artist it is about expressing feelings, for the viewer it is about perceiving these emotions.
Just presenting the old in new forms only reveals the heart's insecurity and poverty.
We should not only try to satisfy the eye but also the inner world. This shows true respect for other people.