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The
retrospective has put forward such a fact that modern calligraphy
has fled traditional calligraphy, under the creation principles
of painting, and has no way of returning. This seems to
be a formal issue for critics, but it is the starting point
for all problems facing modern calligraphy. Early works
of modern calligraphy, such as the works of artists like
Gu Gan and Li Luogong, demonstrated a tendency to simulate
painting by trying to symbolize Chinese characters. People
feel a certain element of freshness in such works because
they look more like paintings. To develop images out of
Chinese characters or to reconstruct characters according
to pictographic intention are trying to achieve the same
purpose: to seek originality and to escape from the set
criteria of calligraphy via the primitive concept based
on which the characters were created and to realize the
creative will through painting images which are different
from calligraphy. In short, the purpose is to seek visual
effects and weaken the recognizability of calligraphy. Traditional
calligraphy as a complete writing system has its inaccessible
classical nature, which is already impossible to be repeated
in a changed cultural context. Calligraphy can be a live
source for new art only when it suspends the consistent
thinking that writing and recognizability of characters
are essential in calligraphy, and rather chooses to develop
towards visual art and seek roads beyond the edges of traditional
calligraphy.
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Unfortunately,
many of the painting-like works in the exhibition turned
out to be unauthentic decorative paintings either because
they intended to be distinguished from painting by preserving
some traces of calligraphy, or because the artists could
not exceed themselves who were unable to break away from
the conventional way of thinking of calligraphy. Calligraphy
and painting have always been two coexisting systems. Recognizability
has been essential for calligraphy, which is based on Chinese
characters as symbols. A calligrapher is successful because
he makes the writing styles highly individual. But from
painting's point of view, the purity of calligraphy in using
water and ink is in a way simple, which has its limitation
in expressiveness as can be seen immediately when it is
applied intact to painting. Even traditional painting, which
also uses paper, water and ink, has much richer and complex
language elements. Most artists of modern calligraphy have
a solid foundation in traditional calligraphy and possess
rich experience in writing, but lack the feeling for painting.
Viewing modern calligraphy as visual art, we find in many
works the arrangement of space neglected, the composition
overly random and the integrity not well under control.
The calligraphers who have the best knowledge in using black
and white, however, apply in their work increasingly dense
colors, which demonstrates clearly their intention to adjust
the integrity of the works by using colors. And, this has
become a fashion in modern calligraphy.
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The
situation of modern calligraphy at present is somewhat embarrassing.
For more than 10 years, although it has broken away from
traditional calligraphy, modern calligraphy has remained
hovering between the concept of calligraphy and the format
of painting, without obtaining the status it reserves in
modern art. The term ''modern calligraphy'' is confusing
for many people in a time when question, concept and background
have been overly stressed in culture and art. Accepting
the reality, what we can do is check if there is something
wrong with our strategy. It is hard to explain the monster
of modern calligraphy according to the standards of calligraphy.
Criticism is somehow like a channel. When it is blocked,
the right to participate in public topics is lost. Because
of the shortage of real criticism and critical concern,
responsories prevail in the modern calligraphy circle.
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The achievement of modern calligraphy is nevertheless conspicuous.
For a fairly long time, in order to protect vested interests,
the mainstream of traditional calligraphy closed the door
on modern calligraphy in official exhibitions and tried
to prevent it from becoming recognized. After more than
10 years of persistent efforts, modern calligraphy has eventually
left the so-called traditional calligraphy in elementary
training classes for children, retirement houses for officials,
and on the desks of pedants. What was demonstrated in this
retrospective exhibition were the various possibilities
for and the experimenting process of traditional calligraphy
to transform into modern calligraphy. Following this, all
the possibilities will bear new fruits.
Out of appreciation for modern calligraphy and prediction
of its bright future, I expressed some of my opinions on
modern calligraphy with the poignancy of an outsider. What
I mean to show is my care for modern calligraphy and my
friends. I insist, in my opinion, that, after the exhibition,
some of the artists will return to traditions, some will
stick to their exploration of modern calligraphy, and the
rest will become painters.
July
10, 1999
Construction Building, Shenzhen University
(Liu Zijian, a modern wash ink painter, is now an associate
professor of the Art School of Shenzhen University.)
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