Conclusion-Revised

The only definitive advice I’ve ever gotten was “practice, practice, practice.” Until I can write without recalling the word in my mind or having to think of how I should do it, I remain a student of the craft.

Calligraphy is a tedious, repetitive craft that uses wet, unforgiving materials. While the premise is basic, the rules simple, juggling aesthetic and kinetic factors in the moment between strokes is not. Control of timing separates the master from the novice. The rhythmic structure of each style relates directly with form. The gesture of the archaic style is different from a contemporary style. A stroke is stark bare, a hand gesture for all to see. There are no easy tricks or shortcuts that masks a calligrapher’s inexperience. In this thesis, my calligraphy was carefully selected; for every successful case there were pages and pages of failures and mediocre results. Whereas the historical examples were successful, every stroke, every word and every sentence rendered beautifully on the first try. A true master is a painter and a poet. Calligraphy after all is a communications art and utility greatly influenced its development. In Feudal times, literary talent and a beautiful hand could transform a man’s life and elevate his social status. Every notable poet and painter was also an excellent calligrapher. A masterpiece makes space, traverses time and distance by suggestion on multiple levels: the tangible, the ephemeral, the poetic and the literal. Style choices speaks for the occasion of the writing. Each piece is unique, affected by the author’s physical and mental condition at the moment of creation. Prose shape imaginative space, brush strokes and color blocks construct graphic space, the hand, the brush and the paper interact inscribing a physical space. All these combined, collapses time, motion and space.

Calligraphy is a matrix of stroke types assembled in a predetermined order. The brush moves in three coordinates: x, y and z-axes. Calligraphy is also a harmonious combination of serial patterns and personal touches. Contradiction is calligraphy’s definitive characteristic, simultaneously rigid and fluid. ‘Change’ is a transfer of states and brush technique shifts from one gesture to another. There are rhythmic variations within a calligraphic line. Two types of movement: the broad sweep and the pause exists simultaneously, causing friction between momentum and inertia. The distance between pauses represents time and the various stroke widths indicate speed. This reciprocity of opposite conditions is best defined as ‘shi,’ a term used in numerous strategic manuals. ‘Shi’ represents a dynamic logic, where a position is defined by the most advantageous outcome.

In this present age, brush writing is obsolete. Most people prefer using a pen or a keyboard. In China however, a skill set that includes calligraphy immediately boast one’s public image. Mao Zedong saved brush writing over other traditional arts during the Cultural Revolution. A single word by an established artist is a pricey commodity and historical relics are worth many times more. Calligraphy equals value. When hard work and good fortune intersect, magic happens, but these are rare occurrences. Thus, a few written words turn men into sages, and transform obscure places into extraordinary finds. Brush calligraphy is also popular in Japan and Korea. As a culturally distinctive craft, brush art is also attracting new audience in the West. A renewed interest in calligraphy by a Western audience outside of the intellectual circle keeps the tradition alive.

To me, Chinese is still a foreign language. But calligraphy feels like an old friend. I’m not sure what exactly keeps me practicing, maybe it’s the pursuit of my “Lan Ting” moment, or the community of people associated with the craft, or maybe, it is simply that I find comfort in working without the pressure of ever finishing.