As a longtime student of traditional Chinese art and at the same time a graphic designer, bringing both worlds together harmoniously is one of the things that greatly interest and challenge me at the same time.
禮 (li)
Confucian ritual propriety, reverence is one of the 4 Cardinal Virtues according to MengZi. In other words evolution should always be done with respect to its origins. Being not only a practitioner/student of the art but also a graphic designer and one of the organizers, this exhibition gave me an excellent opportunity to create something meaningful that honors the past.
古今雅集 (lit. “Ancient Meets Modern“) exhibition poster
臺北書畫院 (Taipei Calligraphy and Art Gallery) entrance
The artwork mounted on a traditional silk hanging scroll
With four ideas on the table we proceeded with #4
At the core of the composition lies the concept of 中道 (the Middle Path), the term borrowed from Buddhism and refers to a spiritual practice that steers clear of both extreme asceticism and sensual indulgence. The term is also often used in traditional calligraphy where the artist leaves just the right amount of details in the artwork and stays away from unnecessary flourishes.
The invisible line that runs through the whole composition starting from the very top at the name of the exhibition and culminates at the tip of the teacher’s brush and combines 天 (Heaven) and 地 (Earth) in perfect harmony.
As part of the exhibition a lecture was organized for students to share their reflections on calligraphy based on what they learned within that year.
The following artwork was created to serve as a backdrop for each speaker.
Through 33 artworks by 14 different calligraphers around the globe featuring seal, clerical, cursive, running and standard scripts this exhibition provides a rare opportunity to appreciate the style of our calligraphy school with its lineage starting from Li Rui Qing 李瑞清 and transmitted through generations to Yuan Jung Ping 袁中平.
自三代以來，留下眾多文字的瑰寶，今日學人，從遍臨各體模範中，展現出當今的面貌，稱之為「古今雅集」。本次展覽內容皆為自清道人至袁中平傳承下來的法脈，由「曦軒書道班」來自海內外同學：安楊、汪聖露、李麓楓、林偉群、吳麗芳、袁安瑞、陳人愷、陳美秀、陳麗如、張培幼、葉雲禎、楊春雷、楊介宗、劉鴻志(依姓名筆劃排序)展出。作品包括篆、隸、真、行、草各體，汲古求新中並可一窺本門之書學法脈及展現中華傳統書道之美。
Gallery entrance
Mr Yuan Jung Ping and Sarah Chen at the exhibition opening (photo by Yeh Yun Chen)
At the gallery
臺北書畫院 (Taipei Calligraphy and Art Gallery)
This year the exposition featured 2 of my artworks.
#1
The excerpt from Sun Guoting’s “Narrative on Calligraphy” - 孫過庭「書譜」687AD
彼不知也，曷足怪乎？ 故莊子曰：「朝菌不知晦朔，蟪蛄不知春秋。」老子云：「下士聞道，大咲之；不咲之則不足以為道也。」 豈可執冰而咎夏蟲哉？
Why should we bother to condemn or criticize those who do not comprehend (calligraphy art)? The short-lived cicada does not know what occurs between spring and fall, just as the morning moss does not know what occurs between the beginning and the end of a month. Or, as Laozi famously said, "When the lowest scholars learn of the Dao, they laugh tremendously at it. If it weren't ridiculed in this way, it wouldn't be appropriate to call it the Dao.” How can one hold a piece of ice to an insect that lives only one summer and blame the insect of not comprehending what ice actually is?
#2
A couplet writing inspired by He ShaoJi‘s Lushan Temple Stele reproduction - 何紹基 「麓山寺碑」
(上）一音警無邊之衆
(下）一法開無量之門
(Right) One sound can evoke a boundless crowd
(Left) The Way can open infinite doors