Grandeur, abundance, panache
Large-scale and virtuoso calligraphy
After a few lines, the pace eases, the brush and its ink-load are well-matched to the satin's thirst. Faster movements, daring touches, and gradually more and more invention – characters stretched, turned, subtly distorted, or linked to create small sculptures. The three-dimensional quality is further enhanced by letting the brush go dry, a spectrum of greys emerging.
The time of making is visible. We reconstruct Dong's time in our viewing; unrolling and re-rolling the scroll a visceral engagement with his performance is experienced. We also perform. Unlike an artwork that is entirely visible all at once and where we have no choice but to take it all in an eyeful (such as a painting hung on a wall), a handscroll inevitably makes us collaborators who consciously determine views, breaks and the speed and duration of our looking.
  |
| Poem in cursive (dated 1615) (detail) Hand scroll, ink on satin 53.3 x 910 cm. Private collection |