Eclecticism in Chinese Modern Calligraphy, Analysis on Foo Yong Kong’s Painting

Abstract

Foo Yong Kong is a unique artist, in his artistic practice, he mixes the art of calligraphy with the abstract art of expressionism. Chinese calligraphy is a form of Chinese traditional art. Abstract expressionism is one of the idioms of modern art. In modern art discourse, calligraphy is not categorized as fine art. As part of the identity of the Chinese nation for centuries, the existence of Chinese calligraphy art has been experiencing various developments. One phenomenal development is about how calligraphy redefine itself within modern art discourse which has led to a renewal of Chinese modern calligraphy. This study aims to analyze Foo Yong Kong's paintings in the perspective of Chinese modern calligraphy discourse with a focus on aesthetic tendencies in his works. The results show the tendency of eclecticism in Foo Yong Kong's artwork that combines aesthetic elements in calligraphy such as black brush stroke resulting from the effects of using special brushes (mao bi) and solid ink (mo), ink stone (yantai) and paper (xian zhi), with the practice of action painting using acrylic paint with contrasting colours.

Keywords: Chinese Calligraphy, Abstract Expressionism, Eclecticism, Foo Yong Kong, Modern Chinese Calligraphy

DOI: 10.7176/ADS/81-05

Publication date:April 30^th 2020