Wang Dongling’s Calligraphic Experiments: The Path from Tradition Renewal to Its Deconstruction
Keywords:
Wang Dongling, Chinese calligraphy, contemporary art, performance art, Zhongguo xiandai shufa yanju zhongxin, caozhuan, caoli, dacao, luanshu, pomo, jimoAbstract
Among modern Chinese calligraphers, Wang Dongling (born in 1945) stands out for his wide popularity in the West. His solo exhibitions are regularly held in the largest museums of the world. Wang Dongling belongs to the generation of pioneers of “modern Chinese calligraphy” (xiandai shufa) and is the author of original experiments with calligraphic plastics. He has published dozens of theoretical studies, and the Internet is filled with videos of his performances. Wang Dongling considers it his mission to promote the art of Chinese calligraphy all over the world. Experimenting with calligraphic forms throughout his half-century of creative activity, Wang Dongling is moving further away from the traditional direction. Counting on modern exhibition spaces, he maximizes the format of calligraphic works and writes with very large brushes. Wang Dongling uses not only traditional paper, but also photographic paper, plexiglass, bamboo trunks, and uses acrylic paints in addition to ink. He combines the calligraphy of basic handwriting with photographs of nude models and sitters. The master considers his main achievement to be the invention of luanshu cursive handwriting, in which adjacent columns of hieroglyphs are found on top of each other, some signs are written on top of the previous ones, so that graphemes retain recognition, but the hieroglyphs themselves are not readable. Wang Dongling regularly organizes calligraphic performances, accompanied by performances by dancers reproducing the movements of his brush. Wang Dongling’s work provides an opportunity to explore the boundaries of the transformation of Chinese calligraphy, beyond which calligraphy ceases to be what it is.
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