Queensland Art Gallery Presscuttings Book 8 : Pressclippings, 1977-1981

U~[~W~~~ill With DES PARTRIDGE Commendable rarity In customary trlvl·al fare RARELY does the cultural level of commercial television rise much higher than the navel. Tho de111and1 or the medium, that it m111t be all thin11 to all men, hardly ever permit• a chanac from the 11eady diet of same show,, cops and robbers, trauma– tic families, a sprialdin1 of sport, .• nd occasional variety. Sensation and provocation seem television ess:mtials, even extend– Ina to the news pro1rams called current affain. But occasionally, there is a slimmer that commercial telcvi- 1ion recoaniaCI that not everybody in the audience 1w a mental a10 . of 11, and can conccntrato for moro than 60 aeconda. mysteries about Chincso tradicion– al art. and the significance of nature's themes which seem 10 dominate the art. Do you know, for example, why Chinese painters seem to huve a preference for painting on scrolls'? The simple reason is that Chinese do not consider paintings as a de~'Orator's asset, but someth• ing that should be contemplated in the munncr of music or litcruture. Paintings they believe hould be uunrollcd", reflected upon und then rolled up nnd stored. to be brought out again in the future. Channel Nine ha • acknow• ledaed thil, by proarammin1 • · bcautlrul Au • tralian-mado documentary at 9.30 toni1ht u a companion picco to the SSO million Chincso painting exhlbl• tion that opens today at tho · Quconaland Art Gallery. "ENJOYING a Paillliq" - J61h Cntury ~ art. There is nothing school•roomish about lhe commentary, provided in a pleasing way by the familiar voice or veteran actor Fred Parslow. back from three weeks in China tut November. Tbe hour-Iona film, "Tito Na• turo of China", lhould boa m111t for anybody itltatdin& to Yiait tbo uhillitlon - whic:ll will bo on view a& the pllcr, lllllil July 19. Jn it'a hour, the film aivea an undentanding of China and its approach to its unique an. Tbe program c:crtainly la as worthwhile as the more 111USivo "Human Face of Cblna" which took o,cr Cbumol O for a miahty Ii& boura Jut year. The film does not concern itself aolely with traditional painting, but couches on other craft areas 1uch as silk weaving and the carving of the seals that arc essential to each Chinese painting. Surely worthy of a spot on "That's Incredible" arc the skills or the Chincso craftsmen using eplit bamboo brushes for exotic fan paintings, or the embroid~rers using threads a 24th the chickncss or a·human hair to complete their amazing art. Tltll effective latrodtacdon to tbe alllbltioa wu comrn..-1 by tlio lnl«llallonal Cultural Corporation, wbicb onppd Mel• bouDe freelance doc:amentary -,uy, Rod Kinnar ProduC)o . tlonl; to ao to China tG mab the ftlm. Pbotosraphy by ICinnear •and Iii• • mall unit is constantly atuaning. and th eprogram crie1 c,ut to be - in color. When the crew wore in China - working mainly weal and ·IOlltb-wcst of Shanghai - it was clDIO to mid-winter, and the landscapes prOYidcd splendid sub– jects to reflect the Chinese,·depth or feeling towards .nature. Again, this rare film is a must to heighten enjoyment of an equally rare art event for Brisbane. ~•• television e11pericnce aoa back to tho beginninp of eommerclal telcvi • lon in A111tralia in 1956, and it 1how1 in the quality of the film ho brou1ht Tho film explain• many of the Anybody who misses this pro– aram may aec it at the Chinese exhibition. ffirnTIIB ffi[IDJ ~~IBITffi~[lli]]~ID– La te flowering of a great tradition THE EAOERLY•awalted ex- The Chinese have been re- hlbltlon ot Chinese paint - f.i\ ~u ~l~:~~l~h~r~o,?i~.\~:~nie~~~t~~c~ lngs, spanning from the L'\11lJ . apa1't from nature but part of it. 14th to 20th centuries . Is Ing have been the same as for Therefore, this reverence ror now on view at the Queens- writing: silk and paper (both not only a majestic mountain land Art Gallery. Chlnese lnvenlloru;l, Chinese Ink 1anclsc11pe but also ror a. little bird 1 which' diluted gives many subtle or a dragonfly, because they. 100, gradations!, and brush. are seen as manifestations or the The periods ot Ming and Q ing, embraced by such well-chosen examples, represent the lnherl• tance and late !lowering or many centuries of a great and unbrok• en tradition. The revered mssters ol the Song and Yuan Dynasties served aa models tor many painters t110.t followed. And even In the palnUngs or freshly innovating individualists ' a.nd ecceritrlca. 011e can sUII see the fund~ntal Chinese philos– ophy J)el'Vllde their attlt•,:.;~ to nature, and to art. It ls a. philosophy "'hi, h only In our century hu foun reson• ance in the western mlrr I. When approaching a Jhlnese painting, what.ever I.he period, •~le or subject, there are a. number of things that 1a.ve to be understood as bulc o their appreciation. Since time Immemorial, mat.er• lals and tools ror Chlnei;e paint• Painting and calllgraphy a1·e eternal life force. considered sister arts and it ls A Chinese Ja11dsca11e palnlln~ trom writing with brush and Ink Is not a copy from nature, but that the Chinese painter acquires an Ideal creation. ex-pressing the his skill. spirit or nal,ure. It ls symbolic It ls expressive brush writing landscape. a.nd rhythh1lc vitality which arc Mountains and water. the sym- Uie qualltles valued above 11II In hol.s or Yang-Yin, ore never both calllgr-Pr,hy and painting. absent. Poet •;, another slst.cr nrt, Is There Is 110 man -created per• r •:,uodleu In many Chinese pal111 - spectlve. bm infinite cosmic !ngs. and even U1e westerner space. When man ls shown In Ignorant ol the language or the landscape, he Is a t.lny word& can enjoy the pure fl~ure wandering Jn the w!lder- Jr,nguage of the brush. ncss. or In deep conr.emplntlon Long ago Chinese painting wns or nnture's grundeur. or c~1,,·cs- . divided into four categories: sing his feelings in mnslc making. Landscape, Man and man-mnde The space o( the hanging scroll objects, Bird& and Flowers, Plants Is read upwards and downwards~ and Insects. In that order. following the rhythm or rocks anrl Since the 8th century (when no vegetl\tlon, rendered i11 spirited ,.uch thing existed In western a1·t brushwork. for a. Jong Ume to come) Lllnd- When grndually unfolding a scape palntlns had ihe highest hntidscroll, one makes a pllgrlm- esteem. nge in time. Chinese art npprcclaLlon nlwa;·s hns shown In 1101 making n permanent display ol scrolls. b11L keeping them tn precious con– tainers nnd only bringing the111 out on spcclrtl occasion,;, sh1uin~ their conlemplallon with friends. nnd ne1•er exposing them to 1iro– fano eyes. Ostcmatlon occurred only In le ·· refined circles. in l•le times. Pnlnlln~ In China has a long tradition or amateur palmcrs In the true sense ol the term. The llnest masters were unateurs nnd most ol them were Jlleratl. cultured men, who were also poets and muslolans. They were scholars, monks, statesmen and even emperors. - DR GERTRUDE LANGER