86. Landscape of the Soul(15)(HS1st Yr)
1. Explain the Chinese and the European views of art.
A:- The Chinese paintings are based on the imaginative, inner or spiritual approach whereas the European ones reproduce an actual view of an external or real object. The paintings of Wu Daozi and Metsys illustrate the difference. The Chinese art captures the essence of the inner life whereas the European artist might want you to look at the piece of art through his lens.
2. What is 'outsider art' and 'raw art'?
A:- 'Outsider art' refers to those art who have no right to be artists as they have received no formal training yet show talent and artistic insight. 'Art brut' or 'raw art' are the works of art in their raw state as regards cultural and artistic influences.
French writer Jean Dubuffet challenged the concept of 'art brut' in the 1940s. Before that, people were disinterested in arts of untutored creative thinkers.
3. Who was the"untutored genius who created a paradise" and how was he so?
A:- The "untutored genius" who created "paradise" was Nek Chand, an 80 year old creator-director who made the world famous rock garden at Chandigarh. He was an 'outsider art' in which he sculpted with stone and recycled materials. He used anything and everything from a tin to a sink to a broken down car to form an artistic piece. One of his famous creations are "Women by the Waterfall."
4. "The landscape is an inner one, a spiritual and conceptual space." Discuss.
A:- This phrase explains the Chinese art from where a Chinese painter wants you to enter his mind rather than borrow his eyes. This is a physical as well as a mental participation. It is a landscape created by the artist to travel up and down and back again through the viewer's eyes. The landscape is not 'real' and can be reached from any point.
5. What is Yang and Yin?
A:- The mountain is Yang and it stretches vertically towards Heaven. It is stable, warm and dry in the Sun. While the water is Yin. Yin is horizontal and resting on the earth, fluid, moist and cool. The interaction of Yin is the receiver. It is the feminine aspect of universal energy. Yang is active and masculine and is the fundamental belief of Daoism.
6. What is figurative painting?
A:- A figurative painting refers to the metaphoric representation of a piece of art through the eyes of the creator's imagination.
7. What is conceptual space?
A:- It refers to relation with the abstract than the factual representation. This is the incalculable dimension of the understanding of concepts.
8. What is Shansui?
A:- Shansui means'mountain-water'. It expresses the Daoist view. It refers to a style of Chinese painting that involves natural landscapes- the landscape which is an inner one, a spiritual and conceptual space. It represents the two complementary poles (yin and yang) and reflects the Daoist view of the universe.
The mountain is Yang and it stretches vertically towards Heaven. It is stable, warm and dry in the Sun. While the water is Yin.
9. Narrate the story of the Emperor and the Chinese artist?
A:- A painter Wu Daozi who lived in the 8th century was asked to paint a landscape by the Tang Emperor Xuanzong to decorate a palace wall. The artist hid his work behind a screen so that only the Emperor would see it. For a long time, the Emperor admired the wonderful scene.
One day, the painter showed him a cave at the foot of the mountain and said that a spirit dwelt there. The painter clapped his hands and the entrance to the cave opened. He then entered the cave and the entrance closed behind him. Since then nothing is known of the artist or the painting vanished off the wall.
10. What was the role of stories of Wu Daozi in China's classical education?
A:- Stories of classical education are imbibed in Chinese education system. They help to guide the students. These classical stories are not just tales but kept the importance of art of China and Asia alive too. The books of Confucius and Zhuangzi are full of such stories.
11. Why did the artist agree to get his daughter married to the blacksmith?
A:- In the beginning, the artist was against the blacksmith Quinten Metsys marrying his daughter. However, one day Metsys sneaked into the painter's studio and painted a fly on his latest panel. The fly was so realistic that the master tried to swat it away. The artist was impressed and then let Metsys marry his daughter.
12. What is the language spoken in Fanders?
A:- French is spoken in Flanders which has been part of Belgium which is in Europe.
13. Who is a blacksmith?
A:- Blacksmith is a person whose job is to make and repair things made of iron.
14. What is a Daoism?
A:- Daosim is a philosophy, religion and a way of life in the 6th century BC. It arose in eastern China and spread to other East Asian countries too.
15. Who wrote 'Landscape of the Soul?'
A:- Nathalie Trouveroy wrote 'Landscape of the Soul.'