Ceramic Culture and Painting

Ceramic culture is closely related to painting and calligraphy. Sharing common natures, these forms of art are the most typical forms of the Chinese national art.

Ceramic art and painting are identical in their artistic nature and characteristics, and means of representation. Painting requires "spirit resonance of vitality", "expressing spirit by representing forms", "spirit consonance and fidelity to the object", "bone method in using brush", "bringing the painted dragon to life by putting in the pupils of its eyes", that is, it attaches importance to the search for perfect representation of objects and fine artistic conception, conformity of fine and free touches, naturalness, implicitness, "subtleness between likeness and unlikeness, as extreme likeness is fawning on the audiences while its opposite is cheating them", drawing nutrients from and reflecting real life. All these rules of painting should be followed in ceramic art of both tradition- and scholasticism-oriented schools as well.

The painted works are in this condition, and even those sculptural ceramic works are closely related to painting.

The famous ceramic artist Liu Yuanchang is quite experienced in expressing the relationship between painting and ceramic sculpture. In "My Experiences in Learning Sculpting Figures in Ancient Costumes", he writes, "traditional Chinese figure painting, especially that in fine touches and strong colors, has strict requirements in artistic conception, modeling, movement of the figures, and folds of the clothes. It also requires fidelity to the object and exaggeration, reality and decoration. Traditional ceramic figures are profoundly influenced by traditional Chinese painting, therefore practicing figure painting is important in producing ceramic figure sculpture. We should say that the former lays a foundation for the latter on one hand, and they influence and borrow nutrients from each other on the other hand... 'Gong Zai' from Shiwan vividly conveys his spirit, and is ancient and simple, firm and vigorous. Being merciful and dignified, the Guan Yin from Dehua wears a robe of fluid and rich folds. The ceramic sculptures from Jingdezhen are rich in color, delicate or simple. All these above-mentioned works benefit from traditional Chinese painting...  'With duck egg-shaped round face, delicate hair ornaments, simple and fluid robe folds, the 'Prince Wencheng' by me is gentle and graceful, which takes advantage of the figure painting. And 'Zhu Geliang' has broad forehead, natural carriage, inestimable wisdom and tactful planning, and simple robe folds, the skill of which is borrowed from traditional Chinese painting-'touches of pin head and mouse tail'".

As we know, lines are totally important in calligraphy, painting and ceramic sculpture. The famous ceramic artist Mr. Zhou Guozhen describes of the technique of coiling up clay ribs (33) in a vivid and profound manner. In "The Uprising of Ideas of Locality-On the Ceramic Technique of Coiling up Clay Ribs", he writes, "when producing sculptures of animals (34) with the ancient technique of coiling up clay ribs, I deeply feel that this technique can be used as a means of sculpting, and its three-dimensional lines are a better way of expression than the two-dimensional ones. Therefore I am not willing to flat the ribs, instead I try to tap their potentials of better expression-to borrow lines in traditional Chinese paintings and in other forms of art. " "The basic language for techniques of coiling up clay ribs is shaping through lines that cannot be too orderly. On the contrary, it requires contrast between lines-thickness and thinness, long and shortness, sparseness and denseness, void and solidity, thickness and lightness, interludes and knots-which makes them rhythmic. Some lines can be reduced into blocks, which brings the contrast between lines and blocks just like that between the white and black in water and ink paintings. Sometimes some dots are added between lines or between lines and blocks to clinch the point or to make up the deficiency, or to make some decorations, or sometimes to strengthen its outer side, which produces the contrast between the three¡ªdots, lines and blocks."

What Mr. Zhou says is concluded from his practice. He has produced many magnificent, simple and natural ceramic works of high aesthetic values.

Ceramic Culture and Music, Dance and Architecture
Ceramic Culture and Calligraphy