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The West has always
looked to the East for inspiration, and vice versa. Whoever
you are, wherever you are, whatever form of art you create,
if you don't understand the basic essence of your culture
and possess a clear direction you are lost. It is especially
true that we must direct our energy to seeking enlightenment
in the world in which we find ourselves.
There is a great deal of difference between “take” and “imitation”in
this intellectual crossroads of searching for new ideas.
Any imaginative artist would know how and what to take and
reject from others, absorb it, then combine it with his own
experience, thus bringing a new vision to his audience.
To imitate is to lack direction, self and professional awareness,
and imagination. Therefore an artist who creates, leads while
those who imitate, follow.
Chinese philosophers and artists see the universe as the mystery
of existence, and use it to help themselves to develop the
art of living in this world. We look to Nature and its activities
as the main source of inspiration and energy, and only when
the artist has become attuned to the soul of Nature can he
create images of it naturally and confidently. When we depict
reality, firstly we try to perceive it, and then express its
essence. In fact, during the Tang dynasty (618-907C.E.),one
of the great masters Zhang Yan Yuan (张彦远)said, “Real paintings
come from beyond form. Remove the forms and instill energy
instead, it is the heart of paintings.” And this philosophy
was consolidated as an artistic truth by many of the great
masters of the Song dynasty (960-1279C.E.) who opposed the
convention that pictures are governed by narratives. Stillness
was the essential characteristic of a paintingstillness
in the sense that the painting was meant to bring a feeling
of tranquillity to those who looked at it. These artists were
very much against the tradition of “academic”or “pretty”painting
in which pictures were intended to be understood by, and to
appeal to, everyone alike, and to make no demands on the viewer
whatsoever. Such lifeless and impersonal qualities would eventually
reduce paintings to mere kitsch What about the artists in
the West? They tend to analyze Nature into shapes and forms,
then rearrange or deconstruct them on to paper and canvas.
Art is the individual language or the personal statement of
the artist, who makes no attempt to manifest his creation
to his audience. It is up to the individual member of the
public to use his own experience to judge and understand it.
From the Renaissance on, individualism was the ruling principle
in Western society.
Whenever creative artists from the West looked at our arts
and culture, very often new movements were born. We can see
this development when we look from Impressionism, to Fauvism,
and American AbstractExpressionism. Now the major question
is why can our artists not look to our own Eastern cultural
sources, or even to the West, and create new movements, which
could shake the whole art world?
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