Chinese history paints its way into the Stanley Museum with a fresh, new exhibit honoring the different forms of one of the oldest living art mediums, the calligraphy brush.
“Brushwork describes the aesthetics, styles, and the artistic tradition that has to do with Chinese ink painting and calligraphy because the visual effects [of the brush are] so central to this art form,” Assistant Professor Amy Huang said.
Her class, Brushwork in Chinese Art, had been chosen to showcase their works based on the actual art references through the Visual Lab of the Stanley Museum. It is a gallery where any instructors in the university were invited to go to propose a group of objects to put on display connecting to their teachings.
The room was bathed in sharp white light, with each piece hung up one by one safely inside tall glass display cases. To the immediate left were scrolls almost five feet tall, delicate characters written in the middle of them, while the center of the room was a medley of black and white landscapes.
Huang wanted to showcase the range of ink art in the Stanley’s collection, which is from 17th century painting, to calligraphy, to 18th century Japanese paintings, all the way to works from the 20th century. All of the artworks were donated or created by people connected to the university.
She was also excited to present not only those works but also the works of her students.
“They did research and wrote interpretive texts in a way that attracted viewers. Some, instead of writing those texts, they created artworks in response to the works in the exhibition or inspired by them,” said Huang.
One of the students, Emma Steele, had created a zine that included ink and watercolor paintings of flowers, shrubbery, and insects. She drew from a focus on handscrolls, which were a way to tell stories in pre-modern China by providing an immersive experience. Her inspiration came from the Chinese painter Qi Baishi, who was notable for his whimsical and loose brushwork.
“I have created a zine before, and I loved the idea of using Chinese cultures and art techniques to an art form that I’m already familiar with,” Steele said. “It will be interesting to see what my peers and individuals attending the event think of my work.”
Some of the artists inspiring the exhibit were calligrapher and professor of neurology Ramon Lim and professor Hu Hung-shu.
His works “Soaring” and “Separated” are up in the middle of the Visual Lab, “Separated” made up of thin brush strokes of varying contrasts to create tree-like shapes while “Soaring” was more of a blotted playground, the ink coursing across the canvas as it pleased.
Graduate student Alyson Hurley did a research project on Hu Hung-shu, saying that out of the two pieces, she enjoyed “Separated” more. Commenting on how the piece encompassed Hu’s experimentation techniques, she pointed out that there were no noticeable traits of typical painting tools present.
“It really showcases how he used gravity to allow the pigments to flow freely, creating a natural image that uses little human manipulation,” Hurley said.
She also said this project helped her connect all of the things she had learned in class, and how she liked having ample access to a variety of art content at the University of Iowa.
“It proves that you do not need to go to some big museum like the MET to come in contact with art that is important to the study of art and art history,” she said.