Calligraphy In Chinese Contemporary Art

Secret Signs, an extensive group exhibition catalog, looks at the role of Chinese calligraphy in relation to contemporary Chinese art over the past three decades as a way of asking fundamental questions of art and art making in China today. In 1956 Mao ordered the radical simplification of the ancient complex calligraphic writing system used by the court by standardizing the characters and their sounds, reducing their form and number, creating a sudden lack of referential symbols and images. Is the sidelining of Chinese calligraphy paradigmatic of modern Chinese culture? How does China deal with its cultural heritage in light of the rapid changes brought about by globalization? These poignant issues are explored through the 38 artists spanning the early 1980s to the present including Ai Wei Wei, Chen Guangwu, Chen Zaiyan and Dai Guangyu along with artist interviews, essays by cultural historians and curators and installation views from the exhibition.

Over the past three decades it has emerged as a more visually exciting modern genre, which now offers fascinating insights into the people of modern China.".

How contemporary Chinese art is creating “a philosophy of life, a philosophy of politics, and a natural philosophy,” as artist Qiu Zhijie says it must, is explored in this collection of essays by philosophers and art historians from America and China.

This unusual and interesting book is a fascinating account of the world of Chinese writing. It examines Chinese space and the political and social use of writing as propaganda, a publicity booster and as a ladder for social climbing.

Published to accompany an exhibit at the gallery, in New York City, from April to June 1998. Offers examples of the modern resurgence of the traditional writing form as practiced by 21 artists. The many black-and-white illustrations and 11 color plates are supported with an introduction to the genr

China's entry into the modern era was shaped by unprecedented internal turmoil and external pressures, which brought a forceful end to two millennia of imperial rule and cultural insularity. The essays in this volume offer a variety of perspectives on the impact of the West on indigenous literature, architecture, painting, and calligraphy during this period (ca. 1860-1980). This book is published in conjunction with the exhibition "Nineteenth- and Twentieth-Century Chinese Paintings from the Robert H. Ellsworth Collection in The Metropolitan Museum of Art", held at the museum from 30th January-19th August 2001.

"Featuring 70 works in various media--paintings, calligraphy, photographs, woodblock prints, video, and sculpture--that were created during the past three decades, Ink Art: Past as Present in Contemporary China will demonstrate how China's ancient pattern of seeking cultural renewal through the reinterpretation of past models remains a viable creative path. Although all of the artists have transformed their sources through new modes of expression, visitors will recognize thematic, aesthetic, or technical attributes in their creations that have meaningful links to China's artistic past. The exhibition will be organized thematically into four parts and will include such highlights as Xu Bing's dramatic Book from the Sky (ca. 1988), an installation that will fill an entire gallery; Family Tree (2000), a set of vivid photographs documenting a performance by Zhang Huan in which his facial features--and his identity--are obscured gradually by physiognomic texts that are inscribed directly onto his face; and Map of China (2006) by Ai Weiwei, which is constructed entirely of wood salvaged from demolished Qing dynasty temples." --