Dance of the Brush, Mark-Making Journal, Image & Text Sem 2 2020

“Creation begins the moment the tip of the brush touches the paper. The brush takes on its own life amd dances on the paper. They have to move even after you stop moving them.”

- Calligrapher Koji Kakinuma, 2017

Dance of the Brush

Marking the brush’s dance steps

by Zhi Charles Teoh (899991) for Images & Text Semester 2 2020

Having scribbled some words and painted some faint lines at the back, I flicked some water, tilted it, and let it flow.

The moment you resort to bribery, you’re only enabling the greed of your adversary. Eventually, they swell up and overwhelm what you can give, and you find yourself in a whirlpool from which you can never escape.

Downward Spiral of Bribery 赂秦之漩涡

Scribble scribble dances the brush.

Figured I needed some uniformity, so I used the back of my seal, dipped it into ink and stamped a few times on the paper.

Recite the Heart Sutra, reach into your mind’s void, and see what it’s like in a mortal’s constitution.

Void of the Heart Sutra 无眼界乃至无意识界

Scribbled on some background with some diluted ink, and then affixed the royal seal unto this great work. Several times. And the stamp has no mark on it because the confounded scribe decided to stamp with the back of the seal.

Even vandalising a paper, a phone booth or a public building is itself a form of art.

The Ways of Vandalism 紊亦有道

Now, I wet the paper by flicking water onto it. Now it feels like I have just spilled water onto an otherwise great masterpiece.

Most of these works on white paper actually came from my A3 sketch book that I always use whenever I feel like doodling with calligraphy. This is just one of the pages, except I painted a large 空 on the background and applied some glue to it.

Enlightened, the brush dances on the stage, its moves cluttering the mind of the calligrapher. But when he too is enlightened, he find it all a mere dream.

Dance to the Skylight 思想紊乱，回头是空

Back then I used to practise writing on actual calligraphy papers. This one was placed underneath all the other works to prevent all the mess from dirtying the table. This was how it looked like when I was wrapping up.

But I decided it wasn’t messy enough. MORE WATER!

Here, have some cough medicine.

NOW it’s messy enough.

Before his last battle, he wrote a haiku dedicated to his lover back home.

He carried it into the battle, and when he fell, blood spilled onto the haiku, and it too was laid to rest.

The Fallen Haiku 疆场一首诗

Another tablecloth ready for more mess.

Calligraphers can’t stop once they have started their work. No matter how dirty they have to get. Behind every perfect piece lies many drafts that have been soiled with ink.

Behind Every Calligrapher 书道家的背后

Admittedly I got lazy, so this will have to do.

Most of these works on white paper actually came from my A3 sketch book that I always use whenever I feel like doodling with calligraphy. This is just one of the pages, except I am now decorating it with some glue.

And here are some bonito flakes..... I mean, some practice papers that I have conveniently torn and crumpled.

Behind every successful bestseller, you’ll find no less than ten waste paper baskets’ worth of torn and crumpled papers.

Now I just sprinkle them on like parsley. And then flicked more ink onto it!

Shavings in the Waste Paper Basket 台下的十年功

References All Nippon Airways: SHODO - Koji Kakinuma/Interview - IS JAPAN COOL? DOU https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ml4Jj_sYcDo (accessed 25 August 2020) Heart Sutra (心经) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heart_Sutra (accessed 25 August 2020) Su Xun: On the Six States (苏洵：六国论) https://www.academia.edu/30699025/Three_English_Renderings_of_Su_Xun_s_On_the_Six_States_%E8%8B%8F%E6%B4%B5_%E5 %85%AD%E5%9B%BD%E8%AE%BA_including_Peter_Jingcheng_Xus_version (accessed 25 August 2020)