|
|
This is only a preview of the paper
Click here to register and get the full text.
Existing members click here to login
|
|
|
Japanese calligraphy: Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered
I have only been doing calligraphy for two years but I am hooked. The main objective of this piece is to introduce the reader to some elements of calligraphy. ... This is my own, very personal take on Japanese calligraphy. If readers come away looking at calligraphy in a different light then I will have accomplished my modest aim.
Calligraphy has been studied for over 3,000 years. Calligraphy is not merely an exercise in good handwriting, but rather the foremost art form of the Orient. Whilst western calligraphy, with its demand for painstaking replication, tends to suppress or at least trammel individuality, eastern calligraphy aims to breathe fresh life into each word and endow them with spirit.
In the sleeve notes to Miles Davis’s "Some Kind of Blue" Bill Evans made an interesting parallel between jazz and calligraphy:
"There is a Japanese visual art in which the artist is forced to be spontaneous. ... This conviction that direct deed is the most meaningful reflection, I believe, has prompted the evolution of the extremely severe and unique disciplines of the jazz and improvising musician"
What Bill Evans was getting at here pierces to the core of what calligraphy is all about: a challenging, instant art with an ancient pedigree. Calligraphy is an enigmatic art and one fraught with paradoxes; this makes it rather frustrating to understand for the novice. ... Calligraphy is the best way to do this.
I have often underestimated what a labyrinthine world calligraphy is. ... Thirdly, calligraphy, no matter how ornate is surely no more than variations on the theme of the line. ... Indeed what relevance can calligraphy have in our post-modern, digitally enhanced era seething with creative possibilities? ... Firstly, because calligraphy is one of the best points of access into Japanese culture. ...
Everyone engages with calligraphy at their own level. Beyond the rational motives, I engage with calligraphy on three main tiers. ...
Spontaneity:
Superficially, calligraphy seems completely in tune with our throwaway culture. ... Everyone has a Phd in hindsight when it comes to calligraphy. ...
Perfection:
Truly mastering calligraphy, and all its many styles is a lifetime’s ambition and involves great discipline. One calligraphy master was said to have completely frayed the fabric of his robe’s sleeves through repeated chafing on the surface of his writing table. ...
The really fiendish aspect of turning out even up to par calligraphy is the number of criteria you must meet.
Approximate Word count = 2003
Approximate Pages = 8
(250 words per page double spaced)
|
|
|
|
|
|