Introduction
“Aesthetic principles” revolve around forms such as symmetry, contrast, and repetition that allow people to sense the presence of “beauty.” An outstanding work of art must thus embody a certain number of relevant aesthetic principles, but just as importantly, these principles can actually serve as a fundamental and highly practical tool for artistic appreciation.
This exhibition looks at Chinese calligraphy through the lens of aesthetic principles, guiding museum visitors to observe how calligraphers made use of these principles as they decided where to place each dot, line, and radical (a word for the components that make up a written Chinese character), and how they used the space between characters and lines of texts to create visual relationships. Exploring these elements will allow us to understand how beauty arises in individual character structures as well as in the overall layout of a complete work of calligraphy.
Aesthetic principles can help art lovers to transcend the boundaries of language, culture, and knowledge, letting us develop an “I believe it when I see it” attitude. What this means is that understanding aesthetic principles allows us to appreciate artworks with an independent spirit, with no need to rely on others’ opinions. And ultimately, it lets us achieve the goal of infusing our lives with art.