Chan (Better known in English by the Japanese term "Zen")

Artists

Description

This large, vertically oriented, rectangular album leaf is inscribed with a single character reading "Chan". The character, which is better known in the West by the Japanese pronunciation "Zen," refers to a meditative sect of Buddhism that claimed--and still claims--numerous adherents in both China and Japan. The text was composed and inscribed on this album leaf by Fung Ming Chip (standard Mandarin transcription: Feng Mingqiu). The upper two thirds of this album leaf is blank except for the seal impressed at the very top; the lower one third includes several broad brushstrokes in black ink, the network of brushstrokes resembling two stacked Z's. Written upside down, as if reflected from above, the single character is written in cursive, or running, script (xingshu) in a manner that the artist characterizes as "reflection script." The artist created this calligraphic work by brushing the broad, black strokes and then, using a brush loaded with water, by inscribing the character within the upper portion of the net of brushstrokes, creating a work in which the character appears pale gray against the black strokes. The artist has stated that he intended to create a calligraphic work that resembles a pictorial, nighttime scene in which the moon--in this instance, the character chan--is reflected in a lake (i.e., the network of black brushstrokes at the bottom). This calligraphic work is not dated; however, the artist stated to the curator that he created it in 2009. This calligraphic work is not signed, but it includes one seal of the artist, which identifies it as a work of Fung Ming Chip. The seal, which the artist himself carved, can be described as follows: Square, red, intaglio seal reading "Xiang" [Note: The seal reading "Xiang" can be translated as "Phenomenon"]

Dimensions

calligraphy proper: 34.4 x 12.7 cm (13 9/16 x 5 in.) mounting: 70.1 x 50 cm (27 5/8 x 19 11/16 in.)

Provenance

Fung Ming Chip, Hong Kong (2009-2010), sold; to Susan L. Beningson, New York, 2010, gift; to Harvard Art Museums, 2010. NOTE: This work was created by Fung Ming Chip in Hong Kong in 2009.