LOS ANGELES, March 20 (Xinhua) -- The Huntington Library, Art Collections, and Botanical Gardens Wednesday named Beijing-born visual artist Tang Qingnian as the Cheng Family Foundation Artist-in-Residence for 2019.
Established in 2014, the annual residency serves to promote greater understanding of Chinese culture through music, performance, poetry, and art.
For Tang, as it was for previous artists-in-residence, pipa virtuoso Wu Man, and violinist Cho-Liang Lin, composer Huang Ruo, and playwright Stan Lai, as well as the Huntington's Chinese Garden, the Garden of Flowing Fragrance (Liu Fang Yuan), will serve as the focal point and source of inspiration for the program.
During his year-long residency, Tang will explore the contemporary arts of ink and create an original video artwork, a moving ink painting inspired by the four seasons in Liu Fang Yuan. He will use his own creative combination of ink painting, animation, calligraphy, photography, video, and other media.
The residency will also include public programs and school outreach workshops, such as an exhibition Tang gave recently at the Huntington to demonstrate the fine art of calligraphy.
Tang presented an ink-and-brush calligraphy demonstration in which he executed a 154-character Tang-dynasty poem on the "Song of Eight Drinking Immortals," composed in the 8th century by the famed poet Du Fu (712-770), using deft, elegant, and nearly balletic movements and brushstrokes.
For many, the artistry of Chinese calligraphy expresses the essence of one's true character. As an artist, Teng agrees, finding inspiration in self-expression.
He said it not necessary to recognize what he writes because calligraphy is viewed in a subjective way by how it is written. It can be seen "as abstract painting" or simply appreciated for the musicality of its rhythm and flow.
Teng will screen his final work as artist-in-residence in spring 2020, during The Huntington's year-long Centennial Celebration.
The Huntington Library, Art Collections and Botanical Gardens, colloquially known as The Huntington, is a collections-based educational and research institution established by Henry E. Huntington, an American railroad magnate and collector of art and rare books.
