-
Artworks
Wang Mansheng Chinese American, b. 1962
Plum Blossoms Fall 梅花落, 2018ink on THE NEW YORK TIMES 水墨纸本24 x 11 in
61 x 27.9 cmIn one of his moments of insight, Wang Mansheng was struck by the line, “As the sound of the xiao fades, plum blossoms fall.” The verse suggests that the blossoms...In one of his moments of insight, Wang Mansheng was struck by the line, “As the sound of the xiao fades, plum blossoms fall.” The verse suggests that the blossoms descend as the music recedes. Wang pondered whether the petals respond to the melody itself, the vibration of its tones, or the faint breeze stirred as the flutist’s boat drifts past. For him, the interplay of music and blossoms becomes a meditation on the fleeting nature of life.
To express this elegy, Wang lets his plum blossoms fall in dry, fading ink at the end of strokes, as if flowers were withering after their bloom. As his brush moves onward, fresh ink flows—signaling the start of another cycle of life. His philosophy of the blossom resonates with the very dynamism of Shufa: each stroke drops, moves, and lifts, leaving behind a permanent trace of a fleeting act, a record of passing thought and living energy. This tension between transience and permanence is echoed in his use of newspaper in place of traditional paper—a medium that itself preserves the immediacy of the moment even as it passes into history.
一次,王满晟忽而悟得一句“箫声渐远,梅花落,”梅花如同感知到乐曲渐息而落,颇具诗情。他进而思考:梅花为何而落?是乐曲触其情,乐声颤其体,还是笛人渡过时的微风将其吹落?他感怀于曲终花落中物哀式的短暂,写下“梅花落”三字。
在笔下,王满晟以焦墨飞白寄情:笔画在尽处萧索流逝,如同落梅于盛放后凋谢。然而满树纷飞又落入下一笔,化作春泥滋养下一花期。他的感悟伤怀与书法运笔之精髓吻合:在落笔、行笔、提笔间,笔画留为书家短暂动态的永久驻痕,让他刹那的沉思和活力在书写中变得隽永。同样作为对短暂事件的记录,报纸在王满晟作品中代替传统书法纸回应着瞬息与永恒的辩证存在。
Join our mailing list
* denotes required fields
We will process the personal data you have supplied to communicate with you in accordance with our Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe or change your preferences at any time by clicking the link in our emails.