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Higan
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In order to
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the updates on the Higan 2008 programme |
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Observing a calligrapher
at work is like watching
a show or a ceremony;
the author starts with a
slow rotation of his
hand holding the
valuable ink bar and
rubs it with rhythmic
regularity in the
inkwell made of ancient
dark stone, filled with
clear water from a pure
spring. He carefully
chooses the brush with
the most flexible
bristle, paying no
attention to the greedy
audience watching him,
and with a precise, slow gesture he takes a thin
sheet of rice paper and
with a regular and
sinuous motion he takes
the brush and makes it
dance on the immaculate
surface. |
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Shinobu - means “to hide,
to avoid to show,
to keep jealously, to resist” |
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If we freed ourselves
from the clichés we
could see that in order
to melt the ink a long
time is needed and you
get tired, that the
inkwell is not always
ancient and the most
decorated ones are often
of bad taste, that the
water comes from a tap
and never would we drink
it, that the paper is
rarely from rice, that
if the gesture producing
the writing is too long,
maybe the calligrapher
is putting up a show.
This is only part of a
Western imaginary
feeding on pure exotic
fascination, result of
the necessity of
escapism. I have seen
Japanese, Chinese, and
Korean calligraphy
masters at work, both in
private and during
public demonstrations
but I have never had
this impression.
The calligraphy is
something else,
something deeper; it is
not a show, nor an empty
rite.
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Wa - means “harmony, peace” |
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The Calligraphic
Practice
Some years ago, in
occasion of an
exhibition of our
calligraphy school in
Switzerland, I wrote
that calligraphy is
equal to a seismometer;
it registers the “heart”,
the emotions, and the
moods of those who
practice it. I am still
absolutely sure of this,
but isn’t there
something else? |
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Writing calligraphy
means, mainly, holding a
brush soaked in ink and
writing on a support.
Yes, correctly holding
the brush, after
choosing the size and
hardness of its hair,
dosing the ink, moving
it on the paper which is
most suitable to receive
this kind of ink and the
exact chosen brush,
tracing characters in a
determined writing form
and in a specific style,
composing and combining
them in the space
according to precise
intentions and will.
Nevertheless, nowadays
there is a widespread
attitude that considers
calligraphy as a
practice based almost
exclusively on
spontaneity.
As if the text and its
meaning didn’t count.
Why proceed as if an art
which is thousands of
years old didn’t have a
history, as if in the
past there had never
been calligraphers, as
if technique and
materials didn’t exist,
as if there weren’t
composition rules to be
followed or broken?
Will practicing
calligraphy with the
respect and the study of
its history produce the
effect of limiting the
expressive potentiality
in the contemporary
calligrapher?
I would say it will not,
as it is practically
impossible to foresee
the precise result that
will be obtained.
In some cases a
spontaneous attitude
comes from
misunderstanding a quote
taken from the memories
of some famous
calligrapher. Let’s take
Ryôkan, a Zen monk, a
calligrapher and a poet
from the 18th/19th
century.
Ryokan and
Calligraphy
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It is said that Ryôkan
didn’t consider a
refined ability in
writing to be of vital
importance, and that he
didn’t love the
calligraphers’
calligraphy but he
preferred the lack of
ability as long as the
result contained the
expression of the “heart”.
What meaning would this
declaration have, out of
its context?
Ryôkan’s writing was
considered to be very
free, expressive, and of
great aesthetic beauty.
His works became, in
time, famed and much
sought after, the
intellectuals
appreciated them for the
mastery in technique
they expressed, and
there were collectors
who would pay any price
to have them.
To learn, he copied with
modesty the texts of the
calligraphers he
regarded as the best.
He put so much effort
and attention when
carefully copying that
from his works you could
always recognize the
original authors.
He had great respect for
the material and it
seems that after his
death six sheets of
completely blackened
paper were found; they
were the result of many
characters overlapping
and crossing. Ryôkan
continued to practice
until the last day of
his life, applying
himself with complete
dedication, in an effort
to improve his style and
understand how to better
express the meaning of a
character through a
proportioned composition.
Or did he just express
himself spontaneously?
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Katsu - means “wide, large, rich, wealthy” |
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By:
Bruno Riva
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