←↑

In the early 1990s, China's modern calligraphy circle began to revive following a low period. Installation and performance works by artists like Wang Nanming and Zhang Qiang finally appeared in the modern calligraphy circle, although they came years later than the '85 New Art Wave. Meanwhile, after experimental explorations in the earlier years, abstract works based on unrecognizable characters or calligraphic elements began to mature with bold individual artistic languages and became the mainstream of modern calligraphy creation. Representative artists are Zhang Dawo, Wei Ligang, and Bu Lieping among others. Artists who persist in the artistic transformation of recognizable characters have also made significant progress with their works becoming more and more delicate and decorative. Gu Gan, Shao Yan and Yan Binghui are representative artists among them. In addition, the emergence of women artists like Cai Mengxia has broken long-running male dominance of the modern calligraphy circle, contributing fresh energy and new points of view.
Since 1997, owing to the promotion of many enthusiastic people, modern calligraphy entered a new stage of plural, all-dimensional and steady development when a national group has begun to take shape and the way of thinking about modern calligraphy creation and research became clearer. Two symbolic events were the establishment of China Society of Modern Calligraphic Arts in November 1998 and the Bashu Parade exhibition/symposium in June 1999.

However, these achievements alone do not represent the overall situation of modern calligraphy creation today. Since modern calligraphy originated from the indigenous Chinese characters, many artists of modern calligraphy today are unable to escape the entanglement of a traditional calligraphy complex, even when more than 10 years have passed. On the one hand, quite a few modern calligraphers keep creating in the affected manner of pedantic traditional literati.On the other hand, modern calligraphy has for long been hovering outside the context of contemporary international culture, unable to enter the philological context of modern art.
The contemporary international cultural pattern is characterized by its pluralism, which is based on understanding, communication and magnanimity. But the true pluralism indicates to understand and accept various elite cultures and emerging things, rather than to tolerate those mediocre and conservative phenomena. After more than 10 years of struggle, the innovative spirit of modern calligraphy as a type of modern art must not be allowed to die out but should be examined and supported to the fullest extent. Without profound self-reflection and criticism, there would be no creation and progress in real meaning. It is not difficult for us to discover that what many

artists of modern calligraphy pursue is not the fresh and dynamic indigenous Chinese characteristics but a nostalgia of the past, which is disconnected with the reality of Chinese society. A stale and cowardly artistic concept, a superficial understanding of contemporary culture, a lack of cultural pertinence and innovative spirit will lead to the lack of indigenous Chinese characteristics and modern art spirit in a real sense. The ''indigenous Chinese characteristics" based on the indulgence in the old cultural atmosphere is in fact ''pseudo-indigenous'' or ''pseudo-modern.'' Under such guidance, the creation of modern calligraphy would be led to a mediocre and apathetic state. The similarity of some wash-ink works on display at the Bashu Parade retrospective proved this exactly. Modern calligraphy should concern the contemporary Chinese society and culture. The indigenous Chinese characteristics it demonstrates should also be based on the current situation of contemporary Chinese culture, questioning and criticizing the culture that has already existed and looking into the future, the world and its modernization.

←↑

As the material and spiritual gap gradually disappears, the world today has entered a new era when global resources are shared and cultural borders turn vague. The disputes over the East and the West will continue to exist for a relatively long time but methods and ways of thinking will be fundamentally changed. On the one hand, while maintaining its original characteristics, no culture can resist the appeal and concussion of other cultures and has to participate in the international cultural interactions. On the other hand, when accepting the cultures from outside, we need to open our minds and shoulder the historic mission by carrying forward our indigenous culture, which is a part of the contemporary international culture, instead of letting it be gulped by the world cultural torrents. The participation of some foreign artists in the Chengdu retrospective exhibition demonstrated that it is likely for modern calligraphy to communicate with and complement other cultures in the world. Unfortunately, some Chinese artists not only pay little attention to the present cultural situation in contemporary China, but also know little about the trends in the contemporary global culture because of narrow thinking and perspective. While some people are repeating tradition in a different way, more people, intentionally or unintentionally, are repeating the abstract expressionist painting of the West or Japanese calligraphy that uses few characters, being satisfied with the decorative effects of the work or remedying the characters in one way or another. The neglect and repulsion of contemporary international trends have led to the fact that modern calligraphy creation, as a whole, is laid-back in its concept and can hardly make a dialogue with contemporary world modern art.

←↑

Just like other kinds of modern art, modern calligraphy is essentially an ideological issue and a conceptual revolution. Based on the culture of Chinese characters but going beyond the recognizability of Chinese characters, it is of distinctive Chinese characteristics and global significance. It is likely to become a convenient channel for Chinese modern art to meet with global modern art by breaking through the language obstacles. A most promising and feasible aspect in the future development of Chinese modern art, modern calligraphy will find its most prospective way in developing towards conceptual and abstract art. The orientation is characterized by the concern to contemporary international cultural pattern and the in-depth exploration of new possibilities in the creative media and methods. This will be the direction Chinese modern calligraphers must struggle toward over a relatively long time. Of course, the development of modern calligraphy will also depend on the progress in academic research as well as critique and promotion both in depth and scale. In short, the support and endeavor of more perceptive people are needed. We pin our hope on the future!

July 27, 1999

(Yang Yingshi, an art critic, curator and translator, is now an editor with China Daily, an English- language newspaper in Beijing.)

←↑