-Analysis of Mi Nao's Calligraphy Art
Text/western language
Mi Nao is a very active new calligrapher in recent years. The 6th and 7th national exhibitions won awards one after another, and the first China Lanting Calligraphy Award won the title with the first overall score, thus winning the nickname of "No.1 rice scholar". What is the charm of Mi Nao's calligraphy, and why is it so favored by all previous judges?
The question of what kind of calligraphy is good seems simple, but it is not easy to really figure it out. Calligraphy aesthetics has many elements: pen, structure, composition, visual composition, style, cultural background and so on. So what is the most important factor? Predecessors have been thinking about this issue and expressing their understanding from different angles. Yang Xiong said, "Book, heart painting." Cai Yong said, "The books are scattered." Liu Xizai said, "Books are like books." . To sum up their meaning, good calligraphy should be the natural expression of the inner world, and the writer must first have a natural and peaceful mind, so that calligraphy can reach a high level. For the art of calligraphy, realm is the most important.
Wang Xizhi was honored as a "book saint" by later generations, and the height reached by Wang Xizhi and Jin people was always lamented by later generations. Why? It's not that the skill of later generations can't reach the level of Wang Xizhi, but that he can't reach his free state of "unbuttoning his clothes" and "naked in the east bed" in his mind. Mr. Shen Peng recently said in an article entitled "Tracing to the Source" that Wang Xizhi's era was the source of the law post. "Later works are streams, which can turn the source into floods and widths, but after all, they are not as pure, clean, fresh and lively as the source." This view is very insightful. Then whoever is closer to the source of calligraphy in later generations will naturally have a high realm.
Mi Nao's calligraphy is subtle, elegant, natural, fluent and casual, like a group of ladies and talented people wandering in the beautiful waters of Mingshan Mountain in the bright sunshine. calling friends is laughing and laughing, and the lines are full of a natural and harmonious charm and interest. Mi Nao's calligraphy is praised by everyone because of this natural state!
On the surface, Mi Nao's calligraphy also started in Mi Fei, which is not only a fashionable choice in today's book world, but also more logical because they belong to the same clan. After careful analysis, Mi Nao did not stop at the superficial level of learning rice with a pen, but absorbed Mi Fei's spirit of free creation, which was also obtained by Mi Fei from Erwang. So, Mi Nao returned to the source from Mi Fei, savored the holy religion and Lanting, and appreciated the charm of A Jin scholar Xiaosan. Therefore, on the surface, Mi Nao's calligraphy seems to be similar to today's "learning rice army", but it is less ostentatious and more subtle after careful taste; Less wildness, more moisture; Less tight knots, more small three meanings.
In high-level art, the difference is only a few millimeters. However, as the saying goes, "One millionth difference is a thousand miles away", which is enough to make Mi Nao's calligraphy rise to a new height. One of the most common mistakes people make is that they always think that this difference is only a technical problem. As long as they work hard on pen and ink, it's no big deal. In fact, the real mistress does not come from techniques and pen and ink skills, but from the ideological realm of returning to nature and the spiritual character of undressing. This is closely related to a person's temperament, temperament, artistic accomplishment, aesthetic pursuit and so on.
Mi Nao is not a savage. He is honest, willing to do what he says, and is not interested in anything shown in the early days. He has always been modest and low-key, but his inner world is rich. Especially in art, he is full of aura and understanding, which can be said to be ice snow cleverness. For example, he couldn't write old-style poems before, but later he attended a training class jointly organized by Henan Book Association. After studying for a few days, he could write a good poem with beautiful artistic conception and qualified meter. In the final of the first China Lanting Calligraphy Award, the poems he wrote on the spot aroused Mr. Shen Peng's interest, and he quoted some examples in his speech for appreciation.
Look at his self-report of learning books: "Classical calligraphy is extensive and profound, but most people don't understand customs, dare not pursue metaphysical things such as charm and artistic style, and only circle in brushwork skills." At present, many famous calligraphers like to brag and mystify, so Mi Nao's self-description may be too straightforward and shabby. However, I think Mi Nao really looked at calligraphy with the most simple and normal heart. In fact, like him, starting with the most basic brushwork, grasping the truth and laying a solid foundation, you can unconsciously enter the high realm of "verve and artistic style". This reminds me of Yang's inscription on "elegance" in Poems: "Wandering in leisure, one horizontal and one vertical." The so-called "magic skill" calligraphy art is so common. Learning books and learning Zen are linked. In the beginning, mountains were mountains and water was water. After getting started, seeing mountains is not mountains, and seeing water is not water; When you reach a certain level of cultivation, you will see that mountains are mountains and water is water. We should also have this normal attitude towards calligraphy.
The value of normal heart has become a rare high realm in life and art. At the beginning, Wang Xizhi treated the son-in-law of Taifu's family in Xi with normal heart, so he left a story of madong's childlike heart. Song's paintings made him look at the call of the Lord with a normal heart, which led to the special line of "undressing" This freedom of body and mind is not in the state of being tired of things, but in the arms of the first book, which represents the true spirit of China's art. Only with this spirit can we reach the state of "stretching our arms and writing again" and truly make calligraphy a "heart painting" that truly expresses our inner world.
It may be exaggerated to say that Mi Nao led the aesthetic trend of calligraphy, but Mi Nao's success did attract a group of followers, many of whom were successfully selected as national exhibitors with imitations. The book world and the tide wind have a long history. In fact, those superficial imitators have only learned the skin. Pursuing the wind and tide for fame and fortune itself violates the free creative spirit of treating calligraphy with a normal heart.
How can we reach the level of "undressing" in Mi Nao?
Please read Mi Nao's understanding of this issue: "Calligraphy, as the essence of traditional culture, cannot be separated from the support of profound classical culture, from the accumulation of personal accomplishment, from the precipitation of life experience and from the help of Jiangshan. By this standard, my generation is far from the door and can't keep up with self-cultivation, which directly leads to the fact that the minimum brushwork can't really be guaranteed, thus slipping further and writing more and more vulgar. I think this is the most critical and important topic facing our generation of young writers at present. " This can also be said to be Mi Nao's advice to imitators!
Perhaps it is because in recent years, more and more people write about him, so Mi Nao changed his way and started a new stove. I try to write Wei Ti's regular script. Mi Nao is really an extremely clever man. He hasn't studied regular script for a long time, but his achievements are amazing. Selected as regular script in the 8th National Exhibition. In fact, there are deeper reasons for him to learn from Kai Wei. He started from the post-school, with both the charm of the two kings and Zhao Dongzhi's familiarity. He was afraid that if he went all the way, he would inevitably slide to the vulgar road, so he deliberately took the inscription of the Northern Wei Dynasty as a model to seek to increase the simple charm of Gu Zhuo in the book. To this end, he not only learned the model, but also made great efforts in calligraphy styles such as Cao Zhang and Hanshu. From Mi Nao's diverse and eclectic calligraphy works, I deeply feel that young people in contemporary calligraphy circles are becoming more and more self-taught under the influence of new aesthetic thinking, in order to get rid of the sectarian pattern of century-old inscriptions. They are good at different styles and schools with artistic tolerance and uninhibited normality, and what is useful to me is also among them, thus creating their own unique style. This may be a new way to inherit the genre tradition.
Of course, it is necessary to report widely, but I think Mi Nao should also defend himself. These are two sides of the same question. Art cannot remain unchanged forever, and it is not necessarily a good thing to become too fast. It is not easy to change, and it is not easy to keep. The key is to grasp the degree. The establishment, perfection and in-depth exploration of a style is often a rather long process, which can not even be completed in one generation. As a calligraphy artist, I can make a little contribution to the establishment of a style of historical value in the book world, and I am also famous in history. Don't be afraid of being accused of "all books have the same style" In fact, deliberately changing the tone in order to avoid something is also a manifestation of "following the trend". I hope that Mi Nao will continue to deepen his own style on the basis of extensive reading, and let nature take its course. In short, I still have an unchanging heart, and a heart that pursues great beauty and freedom.