The painting, Rights Infringement, is done by famous Chinese artist, Wan Qingli. The painting is finished in 2006 and was initially displayed at the University of Hong Kong Museum and Art Gallery. The painting is made from ink and color on paper; and has a dimension of 54 x 14 in. Currently, this art piece is displayed in an exhibit at the Seattle Art Museum together with his other works. This particular painting exemplifies the influence of modern concepts of the traditional Chinese art style. And, the painting Rights Infringement is one of his famous works due to its witty play on the subject, and its underlying issue caused by modern changes.
Observing the painting, it showcases one of the important elements of brush painting. It incorporates the usage of calligraphy into the painting. The art subject manages to synchronize with Chinese characters in order to achieve harmonious composition. These characters are inscriptions of poetry and exercises the artist’s skill for calligraphy. In a way, Chinese artists like Wan Qingli, combines the painting with calligraphy. This synthesis enables artists like him to further explain the subject matter and use words to add anchorage to the concept for the painting. Another important aspect of Chinese painting is the use of special seal as part of the painting (Silbergeld). For this particular painting, the special seal in red ink. It must also be noted that the seal is placed thoughtfully with great consideration for the dimension, length and space of the paper. The inscription, aside for its content is placed in with breath of space from the central subject of the painting. The area in the middle is used to focus the attention on the drawings of an animal, mouse and a computer mouse. They are placed in such a way that it seems they are looking directly at each other. Space has been an important way for brush paintings to present the subject in a stylized perspective. Aside from that, Chinese painting has been minimalist in terms of adding color to every composition. In this painting, it can be noted that the artist focused mostly on black ink and with a few highlights of red ink. It is interesting on how the artist manages to use gradation and saturation of black ink to add texture. And to outline the figure of the animal, a darker shade of black ink is used to differentiate it from the diluted black ink used to fill the body of the animal. Brush strokes are utilized effectively especially with the varying width of each stroke. The general style for the brush stroke usage exemplifies a stylistic approach in suggesting the form of the object and the animal. Each line is cleanly presented in such a way that no supporting strokes are added to the outline to achieve a realistic resemblance.
The intent of the painting lies not on the physical drawings of in the painting rather on the relationship of e title and the inscriptions. In addition, the brush drawing is a comical juxtaposition of two objects with the same name. The inscription reads as “Every now and then one hears of so-called famous filing lawsuits against infringements on their image rights. Now that electronic mice are everywhere, do the mice ladies and gentlemen have any plans?” (Art and Archives) The underlying concept behind the painting is due to the modern complexity of copyright issues over the Internet. Like the actual characteristics of mice, they are ubiquitous and hard to be controlled and monitored. With the advent of technology, it is hard to monitor copyright activities in the Internet as anyone can freely copy and download images, films, music and even books. And the artist imposes a question on dealing with this dilemma. The two objects also pose as symbols for the tradition and modernity. It seems possible that we are at a point where this two elements intersect; and that traditional skills may suffer from the challenges presented in adapting these technologies. However, the painting exemplifies an example of the union and the synergy of the tradition and modernity. The tradition of brush paintings incorporates a modern theme about technology, is away from the traditional subjects of Chinese landscape paintings; and those of flora and faunas (Hearn and Smith). It restates the purpose of Chinese art to tackle issues prevailing in the society. And so, the move of Wan Qingli to incorporate themes like this to Chinese painting is a bold move; and could be the next step for Chinese brush paintings.
It is helpful that translation of the inscription is available for Wan Qingli’s art piece, Rights Infringement. The painting is an example of the superior technique of Chinese art in terms of stylizing the subject. Aside from that, it shows the beauty in poetry to be incorporated into a painting. It shows the respect for the traditional skill in brush painting. However, it also allows the viewers to see a modern take on Chinese brush painting while adhering to the same principles behind this craft. The possibility of approaching a modern topic, and using traditional methods is the over-all theme behind this work.
References
Art and Archives. Rights Infringement. 2014. Web. 16 Jun. 2014.
Hearn, Maxwell K, and Judith G Smith. Chinese Art. 1st ed. New York: Dept. of Asian Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2001. Print.
Silbergeld, Jerome. Chinese Painting Style. 1st ed. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1982. Print.
