Ineffably delicate, with the drama of black and white cursive lettering set off by the beauty of an exquisitely shaded pink Chinese rose, or a sprig of cherry blossoms, the calligraphy frames on view at ‘The Perfume of Ink’ exhibition evoke the essence of a highly aesthetic culture.
Yet the calligraphy, literally scripted in Hangkul and Hanja by eminent Korean artists, goes deeper than mere aesthetics. It is also a traditional mix of philosophy and everyday life, the ‘divinity of nature’ so beloved of Korean artists, as well as a melding of art with many aspects of life.
In a ‘compleat’ sense, therefore, the calligraphy frames, both Korean and Indian, are much more than the Korean definition of calligraphy as “the way or method of writing”, the Chinese and Indian one of “good writing”, or the poetic Greek definition suggesting “a lacework of white lines”. Perhaps the best interpretation would be the classical one, which sees each calligraphic composition as a ‘coming together of body and soul’. It is a blend of harmony, aesthetics and intellect.
Even for those unfamiliar with the Korean Hangkul or the Chinese Hanja scripts in the calligraphy on view, the marrying of harmony and aesthetics comes through. All the Korean artists have done their work in ink on handmade Hanji paper. Seo Jea Gung’s ‘Letters from Home’, Ham Kyung-Ram’s ‘Village Life’ and Jung Dae- Byung’s ‘Diamond Sutra’ resonate with descriptive elegance and style. Jeon Myung-ok’s ‘Angels in the Mind’ is an elegant yet forceful representation of the eternal conflict between good and evil in human nature. Lee Jong-Gyun’s ‘See through the eye of the mind’ is an ethereal composition of painting and script, while Byun Young- Moon’s ‘Soaring’ depicts the delicacy of a bird on a wing…
Among the Indian artists’ work are Irshad Hussain Faroqui’s calligraphy in wood carving, joining together in a harmony of curves the symbols of Hinduism, Islam and Christianity. Poosapath Parameshwar Raju’s ‘Krishna and Arjuna in the battle of Kurukshetra’ is a spiritual-visual delight, while Qamar Dagar’s frame is done in ink on acrylic paper. She uses Hindi-Urdu calligraphy in her composition.
According to Juaee who teaches Korean calligraphy and painting to Indian students at the Inko Centre in Chennai, calligraphy came to Korea some 2,000 years ago from China and was practised by the highly educated and the high-born. It was only after World War II that the Korean script of Hankul came to be used. Today, everyday themes and messages such as ‘Happy Birthday’, ‘Good luck’ as well as birds, flowers and Nature are very popular. “Only brush strokes are used in our calligraphy” says Juaee. “No drawing is done and we use brushes of various thicknesses made of horse-tail hair. We also use pencils, sponges etc. The ink is prepared by hand.”
‘The Perfume of Ink’ exhibition is on at INKO Centre, Adyar Club Gate Road, till November 15.
