The Compositional Metaphors of Calligraphic Art in Contemporary Chinese Art as the Visual Element

Abstract

As an essential and unique aesthetic element in Chinese art history, script art also has an influence on contemporary practices, which could not be overlooked. Practices making efforts to subvert or deconstruct the tradition of the calligraphy mechanism, or even the whole language system, have been given great attention in the international art field. However, there is a lack of analysis of the metaphorical structure behind the script. This paper aims to investigate the usage of Chinese characters in contemporary pieces of visual art from two artists and the cultural metaphors behind these literal components.This paper divides the use of Chinese characters as visual elements in contemporary Chinese art into two kinds - the practice of picturizing words and the deconstruction of textual mechanisms - and explores the metaphorical nature behind these two artistic means, using artists Xu Bing and Gu Wenda as representatives. The practice of picturing characters conveys the artists retracing of cultural origins and worship of nature in his Landscript and Living Words projects; the structuring of the mechanisms of characters, including Gu Wendas series of misspellings and Xu Bings The Book of Heaven, implies a rebellion or critique of the system of discourse and power.