Saturday, June 20, 2015

Master Yun Replies: Why Are The Leaves Gold?


I am pleased that the thing that struck you first was the gold lines. And that you said it distracted the flowers.

On the contrary, I think the flower should not be distracting.

Well I think that photography can better reflect the beauty of the flowers. It is not worthwhile for an artist to toil and sweat to create something that photography can easily create.

If an artist is worthy, he should create something that camera finds it difficult to create.

So the flower should not distract viewers from seeing what only the artist and not the camera can create. 

In the real world, leaves has no gold lining. Yes and no. Yes, sunshine that activates photosynthesis in the leaves is gold. But no, the gold does not show on leaves like this.

But that's is also true for the black ink. Nothing in nature shows the black ink lines like all or most of our Chinese paintings do.

So you see. Art is never a direct reflection of the nature. Art is a filter formed by us - our senses, perceptions, emotions, cognition, memories, beliefs and culture.

The black ink is not found in nature. It is found in us. It is the collective memory of the Chinese people. We call it with a simple term, culture. Culture, the collective memory, connects the Chinese.

But art is not just about Chinese. It is about human. So...is there anything that is a collective memory of all human beings?

Here. I use gold.

Gold is special to human beings.

Human beings in different continents, never connected with each other, all valued gold as a precious metal. Strangely.

When currencies were using the gold standard, instead of US dollars, or by governments' fancy and will, we enjoyed greater sensibility and stability with money.

Oh yes, gold represents money. And money is wonderful.

No human being is complete. We have too much of something and too little of others. Some have lots of chickens and eggs, and need  a bit of vegetable. Some have loads of vegetables and need some meat, may or may not be chicken. And thus people with different needs come together to complete each other. But the completion of others and self is never easy.

So, so...what is the fairest and easiest and most convenient mediator and measurement? Money.

When a person has too much chicken and need some vegetable. He might find a person who has too much vegetable but don't need any chicken. They cannot complete each other. They both need to find another person with too much of something they lack in and too in need of something they have in surplus. The search can be difficult.
Simple alternative? Money. 

The one with too much chicken just sell away the chicken to anyone who needs it with money and purchase something he needs.
Money is an invention of human beings that is most remarkable in helping us complete self and others. It helps us communicate with each other to create a win-win situation most easily.

It is the most common, effective, beneficial  agent. It is also our collective memory.

So it is a human culture. 

Art is suppose to reflect human culture.

Let photography reflect nature. Let art reflect culture.

-- Master Yun Long Zi, 6 June 2015

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