Calligraphic Painting
“DAY TO DAY”
In an era of appreciation for gestural painting, for big cartoonish images and hard-edged street art, for collage-based mixed media painting and over-painted digital images—how about a little love for a much quieter format like calligraphic painting. In calligraphic painting the marks matter and the lines matter so long as no outlining is attempted.
The origins of calligraphic painting go back to ancient Chinese art, to Japanese traditions of Zen painting, and to Persian painting. The basis of such work is unwavering attention, mastery of brushwork, and an intention that goes beyond just making good art. The Japanese masters had a concept called “Muga”, which translates as “It is not I who do this”. In other words, the artist waits in full attention, and then when the moment comes he or she moves without any second guesses. And in the graceful but potent brush stroke, what is revealed is that the divine has expressed Its wish. The Chinese artists believed that every brush stroke must be conscious, every brush stroke delivered in full awareness. They also believed that one could read a painting and see which brush strokes—if any—were throwaway lines, i.e., placed on the surface without full attention.
Such an art places a distinct demand on the viewer. First, the viewer must have the patience to study the work on display. And that usually is not a task that can be done via a computer screen. Next there must be shared territory of belief in the importance of connection to the Transcendent. Define the transcendent how you want, as long as it refers to a zone of meaning that is numinous and larger than the human and not seen simply as a bio-mechanical aggregate that can be tapped by science.
Third, the experience of engaging with the artwork leads to an amplification of meaningfulness and to an experience of what we can call “beauty”. This experience may differ somewhat from the experience we have with other contemporary art work, where the existence of ironic structures, critical theory, and complex importing of images from other domains, such as popular culture, advertising, and movies leads to something intellectual and contained. I believe that certainly both kinds of art should have credibility. As things stand now, calligraphic art does not have the same importance in the art world, unless the work has historical significance.
In the modern era, Mark Tobey (1890-1976) and Jack Wise (1928-1996) were masters of calligraphic painting. Tobey worked in the Pacific Northwest, and his spiritual influences come from Baha’i and Taoism. Wise lived in British Columbia and was influenced by Taoism and Buddhism. Jack Wise was one of my mentors and what you would call an inspirational figure. His conversation would range over the latest physics, gardening, art history, Buddhist mysticism, and guitar music. He created his own brushes. We had many long conversations. It was a delight to see him wield his brush, like a master violinist, or a master swordsman, or a dance master. Fierce and gentle, always the utterly dedicated artist.
