Speaking of calligraphy, we can chivalrously understand it as a type of artistic work written with a brush and using Chinese characters as the medium.
But when it comes to contemporary calligraphy art, it is actually a very vague concept. Does it actually refer to traditional style calligraphy works written by modern people? Or is it a Chinese character work with a modern aesthetic style, or a pure abstract line work evolved from calligraphy?
If it is a traditional-style calligraphy work written by contemporary people, we need to have a certain foundation in traditional calligraphy to judge it. Fortunately, calligraphy has been around for thousands of years, but there are a few benchmark works that cannot be surpassed.
For example, regular script should be based on the regular script of the Tang Dynasty. Regular script is the latest to mature among calligraphy fonts, but it is also the most mature. It reached its peak in the Tang Dynasty. The basic writing techniques of regular script, such as lifting, pressing, pausing and folding, were also fixed in the Tang Dynasty and became the regular script of later generations. Writing standards. The stele is inscribed with the "Jiucheng Palace Liquan Inscription Stele". Zhao Han's "Graphite Engraving" of the Ming Dynasty called this stele "the first official calligraphy". It was written by Ouyang Xun of the Tang Dynasty. European style is also one of the most popular calligraphy fonts in the contemporary era. one.
As for the best running script in the world, it is of course Wang Xizhi's "Lanting Preface". In official script, Cao Quan's stele is the first in Han Dynasty. As for seal script, because of its long history, it dates back to the pre-Qin Dynasty. Who wrote it? It's hard to say which one is the best. However, since the seal script was compiled by Li Si, and most of the handwriting left today is also written by Li Si, let's consider Li Si as the first person to write seal script.
After understanding these benchmark works of calligraphy from past dynasties, and then writing down some common words that comment on brushwork, structure (structure), and movement of Qi, you will basically become a calligraphy critic. In this regard, you can look at the calligraphy reviews of the past dynasties.
In addition, Chinese calligraphy has a very unique thing, which is that it can reflect the spiritual outlook of the person who writes it, that is, under different artistic conceptions, the styles of the works are different. Even Wang Xizhi himself felt that he would never be able to write something like the Lanting Preface again. Therefore, when you can figure out the author's mental state from a piece of calligraphy, your appreciation level will undoubtedly increase a lot.
What I mentioned above are all traditional style calligraphy works written by modern people. But with the inheritance and spread of calligraphy art, many innovations and attempts inevitably appeared. However, I am ashamed to say that the only school of calligraphy that has been called a modern calligraphy school is the "ink elephant" art that emerged in Japan from the 1950s to the 1960s. Its representative figures include Inoue Kazuo, Teshima Uokyo and others. Works like Yu Che and Bao Niu are enough to occupy a place in the history of modern art.
Inoue Yutetsu
Teshima Ukyo holding a cow
These works are obviously influenced by Western modern abstract art, but at the same time retain the Eastern calligraphy Chinese characters are used as constraints, emphasizing the power and continuity of writing. Therefore, at the 1956 European Touring Exhibition of Japanese Calligraphy, it attracted the curious attention of the Western art world. However, the "ink pen" itself emphasizes the need to maintain a certain strength and rhythm in one-time swiping, and also requires the splendor and originality of the spatial abstract composition. In this regard, it has to draw heavily on Western abstract masterpieces, so it lacks in spatial structure. Originality is simply the power and movement represented by the brushstrokes. When Western abstract artists drew enough inspiration from it and used it with ease, works like "ink images" gradually lost their meaning and disappeared.
However, although the modern calligraphy school has withdrawn from the stage of history, decades later, in the birthplace of calligraphy, we can still see the exploration and efforts of a new generation of calligraphy artists. The representative figure is Mr. Qiu Zhenzhong, a modern pioneer calligrapher.
Qiu Zhenzhong’s Text Series for Examination
Qiu Zhenzhong’s Status
His works directly face the challenges of contemporary abstract art. His rigorous training in spatial imagination enables him to create The abstract works based on calligraphy achieved real originality not only in the texture and expressiveness of lines, but also in the spatial structure.
So, if we want to appreciate modern calligraphy in the true sense, we must jump out of the boundaries and standards of traditional calligraphy and use new concepts such as spatial structure relationships, movement patterns, etc. from the perspective of modern art. Criticize each calligraphy work, thereby injecting new connotation into them. In the contemporary era when the practical aspect of calligraphy has disappeared, if the art of calligraphy is to be inherited and developed, the only way is to step out of tradition, integrate with modern art, and enter another level of judgment system, thereby gaining significance in the history of art and culture.