Landscape of the Soul
‘Landscape of the soul’ by Nathalie Trouveroy compares the Chinese view of art to
the European view with examples. Viewing any piece of creative art is actually a
landscape of one’s soul. The classical Chinese painters do not intend to produce an
exact copy of the landscape. They want their viewers to see the spirit behind their
work. It is conceptual that is painted. But the European artists try to create a perfect
imitation.
There is a wonderful story about the painter Wu Daozi who lived in the eighth
century. His last painting was a landscape and the Tang Emperor Xuanzong
commissioned it to decorate a palace wall. The Emperor admired the scene of
forests, waterfalls, clouds etc. The painter requested the Emperor to look in the
cave in the painting in which there lived a spirit. The painter clapped. The cave
opened. He entered it to show its inside to the Emperor. But the door closed behind
him. Before the Emperor realised what had happened, the painting vanished from
the wall. Nothing was seen later of the painter.
Such stories played an important part in China’s classical education. The books of
Confucius and Zhuangzi are full of them. They reveal the spirit of the art. There is
another story also about a painter. He did not draw the eye of a dragon that he had
painted. Why?
The story about Quinten Metsys explains European appreciations of perfect
imitation in art. Quinten Metsys was a blacksmith who loved a painter’s daughter.
The painter was reluctant to accept a blacksmith as his son-in-law. One day Metsys
stole in to the artists studio and painted a fly on his latest panel. It was such a
perfect imitation that the artist took it for real. He agreed to give away his daughter
to Metsys who later became a great artist.
In the Chinese story the Emperor commissions a painting and appreciates its outer
appearance. But the artist shows the true meaning of his work. A classical Chinese
landscape does not reproduce an actual view as a western figurative painting would
do. The European painter wants you to borrow his eyes and look at the painting
through him. The Chinese painting is not so. You can enter it from any point.
This is even truer in the case of the horizontal scroll. It adds a dimension of time
which is unknown in any form of painting. It also requires the active participation
of the viewer which is both physical and mental. The Chinese painter wants you to
enter to his mind. The landscape is spiritual and conceptual.
The concept is expressed as Shanshui meaning ‘mountain water’ which represents
“landscape”. These two images represent two complementary poles reflecting the
Daoist view of the universe. The mountain is Yang—reaching vertically towards
Heaven and is stable, warm and dry in the sun, while the water is Yin. It is
horizontal and is resting on the Earth. It is fluid, moist and cool. The interaction of
Yin feminine aspects of universal energy and Yang, masculine aspect, is
fundamental notion of Daoism. The third essential element, the middle void is
overlooked where their interaction takes place.
This can be compared with the Yogic practice of Pranayama. It is: breathe in, and
breathe out. The suspension of breath is the void where meditation occurs. The
middle voids essential. “Nothing can happen without it.” Hence the importance of
the white unpainted space in Chinese landscape.
This is also where Man finds a fundamental role. In between Heaven and Earth, he
becomes the conduit (ˈkɒn.dʒuː.ɪt/- a way of connecting two places) of
communication between both poles of the universe. His presence is essential. He is
the eye of the landscape”.
French painter Jean Dubuffet originated the concept of out-sider art. It is described
as outsider art because it is produced by people who had no formal training, yet
show their talent and artistic insight.
Contribution around the 1940s in India, an untutored genius was creating
‘paradise’. He made himself a garden sculpted with stone and recycled waste
material. Now it is called the ‘Rock Garden at Chandigarh of Nek Chand. Eighty
year old creator-director is India’s biggest contribution to ‘outsider art’. The 50th
issue (Spring 2005) of ‘Raw Vision Magazine’ of England features Nek Chand and
his Rock Garden sculptor ‘women try the waterfall’ on its anniversary issue’s
cover.
The notion of ‘art brut’ or ‘raw art’ is the works which are or were in their raw
state without any cultural or artistic influences. Anything from a tin to a broken
cup could be material for a work of art. The Swiss Commission for UNESCO will
honour Nek Chand through an exposition of his works. The five-month interactive
show titled “Realm of Nek Chand” beginning October will be held at leading
museums in Switzerland, Belgium, France and Italy.
Commission- to formally choose someone to do a special piece of work, or to
formally ask for a special piece of work from someone:
She's commissioned an artist to paint her portrait.
2. to give someone the official authority to be an officer in the armed forces:
3. a group of people who have been formally chosen to discover information about
a problem or examine the reasons why the problem exists
Allure-powerfully and mysteriously attractive or fascinating; seductive.
Delicate realism- Very fine reality-It refers to the alluring quality of the art which
makes it seem real. It is an interest in or concern for the actual or real as opposed to
abstract. ... figurative painting:
A figurative painting –reproduce an actual view-refers to the metaphoric
representation of a piece of art, through the eyes of the creator's imagination.
Delicate realism: It refers to the alluring quality of the art which makes it seem
real. It is an interest in or concern for the actual or real as opposed to abstract.
Illusionistic likeness: It refers to an adjective of the technique of using pictorial
methods in order to deceive the eye. The reference is to an illusion created by the
semblance of something.