Go With The Flow: East Asian Calligraphers Collaborate
Written By Katrin Marquez
Photos courtesy of Gyonggu Shin
In China, calligraphy was used in divination ceremonies as early as the 14th century BCE. By the third century CE, Chinese calligraphy was introduced to Korea, later reaching Japan. Since then, artistic, linguistic and political influences altered the practice significantly. Such influences have allowed each of the three countries to develop unique styles while calligraphy became a respected art form.
Calligraphy has greatly impacted the cultures of Korea, Japan and China. The Calligraphy Exhibition of East Asian Culture Cities held from September 3 to the 23 sought to celebrate for this reason. Based on the themes of city, relationships and tea, the exhibition brought together calligraphers from the three countries to both showcase their individual art and to collaborate.
The exhibition opened with the artists working together on a long roll of paper. Each was assigned a section in which to create their own art, but which would be next to the work of other artists. Though lacking cohesion, the resulting piece is beautiful. The various styles range from traditional to abstract, which are integrated together in a way that conveys the distinct but interconnected histories of the three countries. For the participating artists, this was a unique chance to engage with peers possessing different aesthetic sensibilities.
“Chinese calligraphy is very different from Korean and Japanese calligraphy,” explained Huang Hong Qiong. A professor of calligraphy theory as well as an artist, Huang explained that participating in the exhibit allowed her to better understand the differences in style between her and the Korean and Japanese artists. She describes her style as “formal,” wanting to convey the “elegance” of the characters while many of her counterparts had more drawing-like pieces. For her, working on the collaborative piece felt like the entire scroll “represented nature” with each artist working on “some aspect” of the larger scene somehow still reflecting how “each artist has his own way.” For Huang, calligraphy is a special art form she hopes will help her students develop.
Just as Huang sees calligraphy as a way to help her students, Gwangju-based artist Jeon Myung Ok says calligraphy allows him to develop himself. For Jeon, calligraphy is a form of meditation that allows him to gradually improve his work, which he says is better when he is not thinking too much about it. Thus, he likes to drink a glass of makgeolli before beginning each piece since it allows him to relinquish just enough control to let the natural rhythms of the characters come out in his work. Mirroring Huang’s comments, Jeon said the exhibition helped highlight clear distinctions between contemporary calligraphy originating from the three countries: China is strictly character based; Japan is primarily concerned with drawing; and Korea is somewhere in the middle. In his own work, he always uses the shape of the characters, like hanja, hangul and Roman letters, as a necessary base, but creates images, especially faces, to convey his belief that calligraphy should reflect humanity.
Jeon has begun to work with Roman characters because he aspires to see calligraphy spread internationally. A similar desire to see calligraphy further popularized prompted Yamamoto Hiroshi to represent Niigata Prefecture in the exhibition. He said that calligraphy “represents East Asia” and thus wanted to get the impressions of the other artists. He found the spirit of collaboration especially helpful in promoting calligraphy internationally. Speaking of Gwangju, he said that unlike Seoul, it has a special “welcoming spirit” while adding it would be an honor to participate in the Gwangju Biennale.
The welcoming spirit Yamamoto identified is vital for Gwangju’s branding as Asia’s Culture City. It promotes the international connections that can be built through art. For a Jeolla native like Jeon, it is especially gratifying to see Gwangju take a lead role in promoting East Asian art forms internationally. As the Asian Culture Complex starts to invite artists to learn about and from Korea, art forms like calligraphy, which have developed through hundreds of years of cultural exchange into distinct concepts while still rooted in a common tradition provide a perfect means to showcase the artistic value of Asian cultures.