For quite some time, there has been a phenomenon of "greeding for bigness and seeking long-term advantages" in the field of calligraphy and painting, which is particularly reflected in the fact that the size of the works of calligraphers and painters is getting larger and larger. With just one stroke of the pen, the size of the works can easily be four feet or six feet. Some calligraphers and painters seem to find it unsatisfying to use three feet or eight feet of paper, and even have sizes of two feet, eight feet or even larger. As a result, batches of "giant works" that are too large and unsuitable are born, dazzling everyone's eyes!
Why the works of calligraphers and painters get bigger the more they are painted (written), I can only think of the following reasons:
First of all, it is due to the market rules of calligraphy and painting "price based on feet". In order to cater to the market, many calligraphers and painters only follow the "square foot" and do not work hard on the pen, ink, connotation, and style. Instead, they focus on what is good in the market. In order to gain benefits and attract attention, they just make a lot of money and pursue it blindly. The wind wants to be strong, so sketches are capitalized, and small paintings are big. Three to five meters is not unusual, but ten to one hundred meters is common. It is no wonder that there is a strange painting like "a shepherd boy flies a kite, but a man is short and a string is long"! As a result, the pockets of calligraphers and painters are bulging, but their ideological connotations and pen and ink styles are becoming more and more hollow and shallow?
Secondly, the various exhibitions and competitions that are currently surging are also a problem. important inducement. In order to adapt to the needs of exhibitions and competitions, calligraphers and painters excessively pursue the so-called "artistic tension" and "visual impact" and blindly emphasize the "exhibition effect". As the state increases its investment in public cultural facilities, the hardware facilities of many art venues and other exhibition venues are getting better and better. It is not at all difficult to describe them with words such as "majestic", "magnificent" and "tall". Too much. In order to attract attention and win the first place, the works of calligraphers and painters "cut their feet to fit the shoes", "advance with the times" and expand. Perhaps to show off his ability to control huge works, or perhaps to show off his skills to others, as if otherwise he would not attract the audience, otherwise he would not arouse the attention and favor of the judges, so batches of paintings were created for the exhibition. Huge works fill the field of artistic creation and repeatedly stimulate the visual nerves of the audience. In the past few years, many "meticulous paintings" have appeared in art exhibitions. The result is that they are all the same, focusing on largeness and detail, which makes the viewer confused?
In the past, calligraphy and painting were study arts. Music, chess, calligraphy, and painting are among the "Four Talents" that literati must practice. They are often regarded as trivial skills that "poetry, poetry, and poetry are not something that literati can do." Really educated people often regard them as "extra things" outside their official careers. Limited by material conditions and creative habits, truly masterpieces are rare. Looking at the history of Chinese calligraphy and painting, many classic works are small in size. The Wan Fan in the Song Dynasty was only one square foot and was a typical sketch, but now it is a priceless national treasure; although Huang Gongwang's "Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains" in the Yuan Dynasty It is a small hand scroll, but it influenced the development of the entire Chinese landscape painting. Let’s talk about calligraphy works. The works known as the top ten running scripts in the world are not very large in size. For example, Wang Xizhi’s "Lanting Preface" is only sixteen pages long, and there is also the calligraphy copybook "Three" which is recognized as representing the highest level of Chinese calligraphy art. "Xi Tie" - Wang Xizhi's "Quick Snow and Clear Tie", Wang Xianzhi's "Mid-Autumn Tie", and Wang Yu's "Bo Yuan Tie" are all small works with only a few crosses, but they have become immortal Dharma invitations passed down to later generations and have influenced Generation after generation.
So, "huge" does not mean "great", and "giant" may not necessarily become a "grand". The appeal of a work does not lie in its size, but in the cultural atmosphere and humanistic connotation it contains. In fact, the ingenuity, agility, delicacy and perfection displayed by calligraphers and painters in their small works will allow viewers to experience another level of painting and artistic enjoyment. Therefore, there are countless things in a small space, and small works that use small things to see the big and the subtle can also touch people's hearts and be famous for future generations. Moreover, some themes are only suitable for short sketches. Blindly "seeking bigness" and artificially "exaggerating" are not only sloppy and unreasonable, but also lack flavor and cannot be endured.