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In Oscar Mandels's book Chi
Po and the Sorcerer: A Chinese Tale for Children and Philosophers, Bu Fu, a
cantankerous sorcerer who actually turns out to be a complete fake (as well
as a sage), is giving painting lessons to 11-year-old Chi Po. Chi Po, in cidentally, is the boy who is destined (with the help of Bu Fu) to become
the greatest painter in Imperial China. "No, no!" says Bu Fu to Chi Po one
day, "you have merely painted what is! The real secret is to paint what
isn't!" Whereupon a puzzled Chi Po replies," But what is there that isn't ?"
What indeed ? It's a question which when a
painter finds the answer to, can turn him or her into a great artist, rather
than a faithful copier. For instance, any craftsperson who had mastered the
basic of art work and drawing could have reproduced the image of Madame La
Gioconda but the portrait would not have been hanging in the Musee du
Louvre in Paris today. Or been regarded as, arguably, the most famous
painting in the world. Obviously Leonardo da Vinci also managed to
incorporate things in his finished product that weren't ostensibly in front
of him when he painted her. Where were they then ?
One could argue that to merely reproduce all
that can be seen down to its minutest detail of colour, texture, light and
shade would be to just faithfully replicate something like a camera image
does. But even in photography this is not always or necessarily so. Some of
the greatest photographers of all time such as Cartier Bresson or laszlo
Moholy-Nagy were able to produce masterpieces captured out of the most
mundane material. In the process, they often made us see the unseen too ----
things, in fact, which weren't there. Where were they then ?
Actually they are there all
the time but most of us don't have the eyes to see. Every object, event,
condition or human being has a manifest content which is easy to recognise,
as well as a latent one which isn't and it's the latter that truly defines
and completes what is being observed. Unfortunately, sometimes even when
great artists point these out to us in their works we still can't see them. (Notice
the derisive remarks about "modern art" ?). Bu fu wasn't telling his pupil to
make up things that were non-existent, rather he was exhorting him to delve
deeper into his powers of perception when representing reality. The same
also applies to what we perceive in ourselves. |
