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Dancing Brush: an Exploration of Taoist Aesthetics

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Dancing Brush An Exploration of Taoist Aesthetics Yi-Lan Yeh Doctor of Philosophy in Media Arts The University of New South Wales 2008 Everything has an inherent meaning, it is not necessary to verbalize it. Tao Yuan-ming, Jin Dynasty ABSTRACT Dancing Brush video installation is dedicated to legendary Taiwanese dancer Tsai Jui-Yue (1921-2005) in the memory of her suffering, creativity and faith in life. This work reveals the true meaning of Chinese scroll paintings as an infinity of time and space. It draws on the notion of mobility as expounded in the I Ching or Book of Changes. Dancing Brush creates a modern cityscape where the principal of Taoism, ancient Chinese landscape painting, and calligraphy meet new media aesthetics. The focus of this thesis is to reassess media arts practice and aesthetics via the traditions of Chinese Taoist aesthetics. The research was conducted in three dimensions: “non-linear aesthetics” in Chinese arts as the new media art form, “unity of emptiness and fullness” as the animation principle, and “subtraction aesthetics” as the principle of creativity. I propose Dancing Brush video installation as a presentation of “aesthetics of wandering contemplation”. The work suggests a feature of Chinese moving image aesthetics as a ‘spatial montage’ form of media arts. I applied the Taoist “decreative-creative process” as the creative method in which the “decreative” process leads to the “creative”. The “decreative-creative process” is based on the Taoist teachings of zi-ran (spontaneity) and wu-wei (non-action). I interpret it as “subtraction aesthetics: less is more”. The process is to eliminate interferences with restricted narrative format and visual effects, then to receive the immediate presentation of things as pure materials. Through the subtracting process, it gains not less but more. Kong Bai (emptiness or formless) in Chinese art is the result of subtraction aesthetics. It reveals the creative principle derived from the Taoist idea of “usefulness of useless”. The ‘subtracting process’ in creating animation is to bring ‘unknown’ to life. The ‘image beyond image’ is the product of “unity of emptiness and full” where Chinese artistic realm yi-jing is created. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank the following: Yogi Yu-Chun Chan for her generous contribution of choreography and performance. Colin Offord for his inspiring friendship, guidance, music composing and production assistance. My supervisor Phillip George, for his support and guidance over these last four years. Terry Cox from Windwood Studios for his sound recording and mixing; Georgia Tapper, Kuba Dorabialski Technical Assistant Time Based Art; Michael McIntyre KUDOS Gallery; finally I am indebted to my family for their support and love. CONTENTS LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS 1 LIST OF FIGURES 3 INTRODUCTION 8 CHAPTER ONE Dancing Brush Video Installation 28 1.1 The Creative Concepts 28 1.2 The Movies 33 1.3 The Music 42 1.4 Visualized Music: Motion Graphics and Animation 49 1.5 Chinese Scroll Painting and New Media Language 65 Interpretation of the Han Xi-zai’s Night Revels 68 The Double Screen as Space/Time Metaphor 72 Chance Meeting as Montage Principle 76 1.6 Subtraction Aesthetics and Creative Method 83 Intuition Contemplation 84 Method of No-Method: The Spontaneity of Mind 87 CHAPTER TWO Chinese Culture of Time and Space 94 2.1 The Universe: Yu-Zhou 95 2.2 Manifestation of Tao 98 Change: Production of Reproduction 98 Returning 102 Emptiness/Nothingness 105 Being and Nonbeing Grow Out of One Another 106 2.3 Yin and Yang: Unity of Opposite 112 Chi : Breath 114 The Source of Beauty: Tai-ji 117 2.4 Non-linear Aesthetics in Chinese Arts 125 Synthesis of Opposites 125 View Things as Thing View Themselves 129 Interfusion of Subject and Object 131 The Idea of Distance 133 Perspective of All Perspectives 138 Sculpturing Time: Montage in Chinese Poetry/Painting 141 Aesthetics of Wandering Contemplation 147 CHAPTER THREE Formation of Imagery 151 3.1 Xiang : image/symbol/ phenomena 151 Idea and Image 160 3.2 Calligraphy as Performing Art 164 3.3 Kong-Bai 173 Colour of Colourless 174 Form of Formless 178 3.4 Mountain and Water: Unity of Emptiness and Fullness 187 3.5 Jing : Image beyond Image 198 CONCLUSION 210 APPENDIX I A Short History of Tsai Jui-Yueh (1921-2005) 213 APPENDIX II An Interview with Australia Musician/Composer 216 Colin Offord APPENDIX III Chronological Table in China 227 BIBLIOGRAPHY 229 ABBREVIATIONS Changes I Ching (yi-jing) ·W or Book of Changes, Class of Changes Xici ‘Xici Zhuan’ eÞ, ‘appended phrase’ in Commentary on I Ching Xici I ‘Xici Zhuan’ section one eÞ| Xici II ‘Xici Zhuan’ section two eÞª| TTC 1-83 Tao Te Ching (dao-de-jing) ;<W Chapter 1-83 Chuang Tzu Book of Chuang Tzu ~Û CT 1 Chuang Tzu Chapter 1: Free and Easy Wandering éäá CT 2 Chuang Tzu Chapter 2: Discussion on Making All Things Equal ú¨Ë CT 3 Chuang Tzu Chapter 3: The Secret of Caring for Life õØ CT 4 Chuang Tzu Chapter 4: In the World of Men ì CT 5 Chuang Tzu Chapter 5: The Sign of Virtue Complete <ÇI CT 6 Chuang Tzu Chapter 6: The Great and Venerable Teacher 6Ü CT 7 Chuang Tzu Chapter 7: Fit for Emperors of Kings @¥ CT 8 Chuang Tzu Chapter 8: Webbed Toes ñu CT 9 Chuang Tzu Chapter 9: Horse’s Hoofs ö CT 10 Chuang Tzu Chapter 10: Rifling Trunks oN CT 11 Chuang Tzu Chapter 11: Let it be, Leave It Alone Èè CT 12 Chuang Tzu Chapter 12: Heaven and Earth ? CT 13 Chuang Tzu Chapter 13: The Way of Heaven ; CT 14 Chuang Tzu Chapter 14: The Turning of Heaven â CT 15 Chuang Tzu Chapter 15: Constrained Will b¸ CT 16 Chuang Tzu Chapter 16: Mending the Inborn Nature `° CT 17 Chuang Tzu Chapter 17: Autumn Floods CT 18 Chuang Tzu Chapter 18: Supreme Happiness Ò CT 19 Chuang Tzu Chapter 19: Mastering Life ã CT 20 Chuang Tzu Chapter 20: The Mountain Tree v CT 21 Chuang Tzu Chapter 21: Tien Tzu-Fang (tian zi-fang) ¡ÛF CT 22 Chuang Tzu Chapter 22: Knowledge Wandered North Ð2á CT 23 Chuang Tzu Chapter 23: Keng-Sang Chu (geng-sang chu) L5 CT 24 Chuang Tzu Chapter 24: Hsu Wu-Kuei (xu wu-gui) ±&M CT 25 Chuang Tzu Chapter 25: Tse-Yang (ze-yang) î 1 CT 26 Chuang Tzu Chapter 26: External Things ¤¨ CT 27 Chuang Tzu Chapter 27: Imputed Words ų CT 28 Chuang Tzu Chapter 28: Giving Away A Throne Ú¥ CT 29 Chuang Tzu Chapter 29: Robber Chih 0ù CT 30 Chuang Tzu Chapter 30: Discouring on Swords Ê CT 31 Chuang Tzu Chapter 31: The Old Fishman H CT 32 Chuang Tzu Chapter 32: Lieh Yu-kou (lie yu-kou) kÂc CT 33 Chuang Tzu Chapter 33: The World ª 2 FIGURES Figure 1-1: Method of viewing handscroll 31 Figure 1-2: Kudos Gallery Display 32 Figure 1-3: TIME (TV on stage) 36 Figure 1-4: TRANSIENCE 37 Figure 1-5: LOTUS 37 Figure 1-6: CHANCE 38 Figure 1-7: INK 38 Figure 1-8: BLUE 41 Figure 1-9: ROSE 41 Figure 1-10: MOUNTAIN & WATER 41 Figure 1-11: In BLUE the web of bare branches works as a metaphor for the jail of Tsai Jui-Yue. 52 Figure 1-12: In ROSE, red is a symbolic language of passion. 53 Figure 1-13: LOTUS is series of distinct pictures but without a narrative plot. 54 Figure 1-14: Circular motions of INK act rhythmically evoking a sense of music. 55 Figure 1-15: In TRANSIENCE, the reflections reveal a musical quality of real life. 56 Figure 1-16: Raindrops and people walking create the visual rhythms of CHANCE. 56 Figure 1-17: Len Lye’s Free Radicals are painted directly onto film. Circa 1958. 61 Figure 1-18: The fabric brush animation in BLUE. 62 Figure 1-19 : Norman McLaren, Pas De Deux, 1967. 63 Figure 1-20 : Film strips from Stan Brakhage’s Existence is Song. 63 (the last of four sections of The Dante Quartet), 1987. 3 Figure 1-21: John Whitney, Permutations, 16mm/8 min, 1967. 63 Figure 1-22: A selection of images from John Whitney’s triple-projection computer film, 16mm/17 min,1967. 63 Figure 1-23: A sequence from Erica Russell’s Triangle,1994. 64 Figure 1-24: Han Xi-zai’s Night Revels, 287x3355mm. 75 Figure 1-25: Clips from Rybczynski’s film Tango, 35mm/color/8’10”, 1980. 79 Figure 1-26: By editing time and place CHANCE meetings are created. 80 Figure 1-27: Lao Li’s Night Revels by Wang Qing-song, 2003 81 Figure 1-28: China Mansion, by Wang Qing-song, 2003 82 Figure 2-1: The two basic modes (the yin and yang) generate the four basic images (xiang), the four basic images generate the eight trigrams. 100 Figure 2-2: Eight hexagrams: all things and matters induct eight figures. The eight hexagrams compose them. 100 Figure 2-3: Tai-ji Tu 119 Figure 2-4: Ju Ming’s Tai-ji Series sculpture, Bronze, 1998. 123 Figure 2-5: Ju Ming’s Tai-ji Series sculpture, Bronze, 1998. 123 Figure 2-6: Ju Ming’s Tai-ji Series sculpture - Single Whip, Bronze, 1986. 123 Figure 2-7: Ju Ming’s Tai-ji: Arch series sculpture, Bronze, 2001. 123 Figure 2-8: The fabric animation in BLUE resembles Ju Ming’s tai-ji sculptures. 123 Figure 2-9: The ‘brush strokes’ in INK are animated by nature (wind & water) and presented as tai-ji movements.
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