Nek Chand, through his creation, the Rock Garden at Chandigarh, represents what is called outside art or outsider art’. This art is described as art of those who have ‘no right’ to be artists. This is because they have received no formal training, yet they show talent and artistic insight. It is similar to the…
Shanshui literally means ‘mountain and water’, which used together represents ‘landscape’. These represent two complementary poles, reflecting the Daoist view of the universe. The ‘mountain’ is Yang which reaches vertically towards Heaven. It is stable, warm and dry in the sun. The ‘water’ is Yin, which is horizontal and rests on the earth. It is…
A western figurative painting is meant to reproduce an actual view of the scene whereas a classical Chinese landscape is based on an imaginative, inner or spiritual approach. The Chinese art aims at achieving the essence of inner life and spirit while the European form of art is trying to achieve a perfect illusionistic liking….
Wu Daozi was a famous painter of China of eighth century. His painting, ‘landscape’, was commissioned by the Tang Emperor Xuanzong to decorate the palace wall. Wu Daozi requested the Emperor to look at the cave in the painting in which lived a spirit. The painter clapped his hands. The cave opened and the painter…
We may classify art i.e., paintings and sculpture broadly as ‘mainstream’ offering ‘outsider art’. Whereas the former are the products of trained artists, the latter are the works of those who have received no formal training, yet show talent and artistic insight. It is the art of the untrained visionary.
Yang and Yin are the two complementary poles of the universe. Man is the conduit of communication between Heaven and Earth. His presence is essential. He is in Francois Cheng’s wonderful expression, ‘the eye of the landscape’.
The word ‘way’ according to the author has two meanings: (i) Path or the method and (ii) the mysterious works of the universe. The painter tells the king the path to the cave or the method to reach the cave. By entering the cave and disappearing from the world he explains the mysterious works of…
The Emperor may commission a painter and appreciate his painting’s beauty, but only the artist reveals to him the true meaning of his work. Secondly, the Emperor may rule over the region he has conquered, but only the artist knows the way within.
When the painter Wu Daozi clapped his hands the door of the cave opened. He entered the cave but its door closed after him. The painting vanished and nothing was heard of the painter thereafter.