East meets West in creative calligraphy

June 19, 2007

A public exhibition at the University of New England celebrates the creative encounter of 25 Australian students with the art of Chinese calligraphy.

After just one semester's study, the students have produced works that have impressed everyone who has seen them – including their calligraphy teacher, Dr Cuncun Wu.

Dr Wu said that the works, as well as displaying the students' newly-acquired skills in the traditional techniques of Chinese calligraphy, showed them bringing their own personal – and, necessarily, "Western" – perspectives to the application of those techniques.

"I'm really impressed by the students' creative work," she said. "And I've learnt a lot about Western perceptions and interpretations of Chinese calligraphy."

Dr Wu, a Chinese scholar and UNE lecturer who is herself an accomplished calligrapher, initiated the University's calligraphy course in 2004. She said the practice of calligraphy "can provide insights into Chinese culture and philosophy". The one-semester course has attracted people who have no knowledge of the Chinese language but are interested in acquiring such insights, as well as students of Chinese.

Uniquely, the course is delivered to distance-education as well as on-campus students. Dr Wu uses the Internet to keep in touch with the distance-education students, requiring them to mail her examples of their work once a fortnight and to attend two residential schools at UNE. She and her colleague Isabel Tasker, the Convener of Chinese at UNE, have created a DVD that enables the students to study the techniques involved in great detail.

The exhibition shows the application of the ancient art to a variety of uses, both decorative and practical. As well as framed works on paper and wall hangings in a wide range of media, it includes three lamps and a light shade decorated with Chinese characters, a quilt cover and pillow cases embellished with Chinese papercuts and calligraphy, and characters painted on to ornamental shells and pebbles. Each of the works is accompanied by the artist's explanation of its meaning and significance, and their insight into the process of its creation.

Frank Murphy, one of the students, has created a Chinese version of one of the best-known lines of Australian poetry: "I love a sunburnt country". He explains that it was "inspired by the contribution of Chinese settlers to the development of outback Australia". Sorrel Watts explains that she decorated the quilt cover and pillow slips as a wedding present for a friend, featuring the "double happiness" character used at Chinese weddings, and lines of poetry and proverbs relevant to the prospering of intimate relationships.

Joan Relke, a well-known sculptor who lives near Armidale, says one reason she took the course was her interest in the combination of painting and calligraphy. One of her works – an interpretation of the line "A ripe fruit naturally falls" – depicts the "fruit" in the purest simplicity. She describes, in her notes, the creative process through which she arrived at that simplicity.

The exhibition continues in Room 102 in UNE's Arts Building (10 am – 4 pm) until Thursday 21 June.

Posted by Jim Scanlan at June 19, 2007 04:02 PM