This paper discusses the position and value of calligraphy art in contemporary social culture.

1985 65438+1October 15 -29, the first exhibition of modern calligraphy in China was held in China Art Museum, and the China Modern Calligraphy and Painting Society was established, marking the official birth of modern calligraphy in China. The significance of this exhibition is not limited to the value of the work itself, but more importantly, the influence of its theme direction on calligraphy and the liberation of people's artistic concepts. After China's reform and opening-up, the mid-1980s was a specific period with extremely active thoughts. The collision between foreign artistic ideas and domestic traditional ideas has made the China art world surging. The appearance of modern calligraphy in China not only dispels the traditional concept of calligraphy, but also indicates the formation of pluralistic art era and the irresistible trend of art globalization. 2005 is the 20th anniversary of the modern calligraphy movement in China. Looking back over the past 20 years, modern calligraphy has undoubtedly become the strongest school in China's contemporary calligraphy circle and even in China's modern national art creation. If western modern artists regard Duchamp as the spiritual leader of modern art in the early 20th century, then I think Duchamp brings us more enlightenment of freedom of thought and soul and spiritual freedom than the value of the work itself. The promotion of modern calligraphy to China's modern art is not only the liberation of artistic creation concept, but also many of its works are of high historical and artistic value, which can mark the artistic concept symbol of this era. "Modern calligraphy is modern art .. because it originates from the originality of this culture, it can also be aimed at the problems of today's world and society. Modern calligraphy may be a road to China's artistic modernization. " (Quoted from Zhu Qingsheng's From Wuxi to Peking University-My Modern Calligraphy Experiment). In recent 20 years, modern calligraphy, as a pioneering and forward-looking modern art form, has gradually become diversified, mature and rich in creative techniques and artistic styles. When people who are concerned about the future direction of calligraphy re-examine the development of modern calligraphy in China with a more calm, objective, tolerant and forward-looking vision, they are all admired by the courage and perseverance of those modern calligraphy practitioners and moved by the artistic charm and strong development momentum of modern calligraphy works.

The correctness of naming modern calligraphy once caused controversy in academic circles. Modern calligraphy, modernist calligraphy and modernist calligraphy, which name is more scientific and appropriate? Generally speaking, "modernity" is a concept of time, "modernism" refers to a school, and "modernism" refers to an ideological tendency. For the interpretation of "modern calligraphy", Fu Jingsheng has a passage in the article "Aesthetic Analysis of Modern Calligraphy in Gu Gan": the word "modern" in the concept of "modern calligraphy" is both a time concept and a cultural concept. As a concept of time, "modern calligraphy" has the property that its form extends with time and changes constantly in innovation; As a cultural concept, it deconstructs and reconstructs the visual form of calligraphy on the basis of calligraphy language and with the help of heterogeneous cultural forces. The image style of "modern calligraphy" should first be the product of irrational intuitive grasp of calligraphy after rational analysis and research ... Secondly, modern calligraphy must be the product of spiritual catharsis. It should be said that Fu Jingsheng's explanation gives modern calligraphy a relatively appropriate position, and we also know that it is impossible to give an artistic phenomenon a correct and clear concept, just as we can't make "What is art?" "What is calligraphy?" The answer to this proposition is clear and absolute. Today, when we discuss the occurrence, development and future trend of modern calligraphy, most people think too much about whether the concept of "modern calligraphy" is clear and whether it is complete and mature in theory. In fact, we are too strict with modern calligraphy. China's calligraphy has always been proud of its long history and far-reaching influence, but when we study the history and theory of calligraphy today, we will still deeply feel that its theoretical system is not perfect. At the beginning of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the literary and art circles once debated whether calligraphy was "art". Mr Zheng Zhenduo, then Vice Minister of Culture, firmly denied that calligraphy was "art". Later, this problem was reported to President Mao Zedong. As a national leader with high attainments in calligraphy, Mao Zedong thought twice and put forward that calligraphy should be "artistic", which laid the foundation for the status and development trend of calligraphy in the following decades. Imagine if Mao Zedong defined calligraphy as "non-art", what would be the fate of calligraphy today! So is the occurrence and development of modern calligraphy. China's calligraphy has developed for more than a thousand years, and only then did he put on the hat of "art" and approach the palace of "art", from which we can understand the difficult development of modern calligraphy in China in the past twenty years. When a baby is born, if you always ask his parents, "Why did you have this baby?" "What is the meaning of the baby's birth?" "Is the child's name reasonable?" Wait a minute, then you are a psycho. Contemporary art theorists need not be obsessed with the question of whether the concept of "modern calligraphy" is correct. This is a theoretical constraint on creation and a dogmatic understanding of the academic concept of "theory first".

Looking at the development trend of China calligraphy in recent 20 years, it is characterized by the confrontation between tradition and modernity. In the traditional calligraphy system, young calligraphers closely follow the calligraphy style of the judges of the national exhibition, and the result of this social atmosphere is that calligraphy works are varied. Calligraphy is still following the plan of the predecessors, and the appearance is a monotonous pattern that everyone can think of when they close their eyes. At most, it is only fashionable in the form of appearance mounting, in order to meet the aesthetic requirements of modern people. While copying, a large number of calligraphers always admire the high artistic value of the calligraphy posts of the two kings. However, how many people can break the tradition and be unconventional! How many people can borrow the past and achieve the present! However, in the modern calligraphy system, various styles are rich and colorful. It has been concluded that modern book circles can be divided into the following schools: classicism, neoclassicism, stream-of-consciousness expressionism, academic school, Xinmin school, new literati calligraphy school, non-Chinese character school, structuralism school, pop school and post-modernism school. Of course, the correctness of this division remains to be discussed, but it is not difficult to see that modern calligraphy is far beyond traditional calligraphy only in terms of innovative consciousness. The emergence of this situation shows that many calligraphy creators are confused and eager for artistic innovation in the era of diversified ideas and artistic forms. The originality of modern calligraphy maintains spiritual consistency with all modern arts, which is an active exploration of the future development of China's art modernization. Because traditional calligraphy has developed to this day, it has actually become a pure art form through functional digestion, which is also an evolution of China's calligraphy art in lyrical freehand brushwork. In addition, although modern calligraphy has been relatively accepted and recognized by more and more people today, there are still a large number of professionals who always think that when it comes to modern calligraphy, it is a bunch of people who don't understand calligraphy, and that the creators of modern calligraphy have poor skills and shallow knowledge, which is a waste of calligraphy. What is "technology"? What is "basic skills"? Even in the camp of traditional calligraphy, how many people know this! "Get the charm of' two kings' and have the demeanor of a northern monument", so I call you a master! Look at his works, or the same old tune! Compared with the "calligraphers" who speculate on fame and fortune in the traditional calligraphy camp, the practitioners of modern calligraphy are much more noble in spirit! The combination of art and human nature, as well as the expression of human temperament, should be more fully expressed in modern calligraphy creation.

In the development of modern calligraphy in recent 20 years, there have been various thoughts and experimental activities, such as Chen Zhenlian's "academic calligraphy" creation mode in Hangzhou, experimental calligraphy in Guangxi, and the formulation of calligraphism and Mohism. No matter how influential these activities are in calligraphy, their creative ideas and courage are worth advocating and encouraging. Imagine that under the situation that traditional calligraphy dominates the world, so many artists dare to challenge tradition and authority and try to explore a new situation of calligraphy art in modern society. This spirit is the spirit that artists should have. In the first decade of modern calligraphy, it was difficult to exhibit, and the only position of artistic public opinion was Modern Calligraphy magazine. Although the situation of reform and opening up is extremely conducive to the development of modern art. However, modern calligraphy has always been regarded as unorthodox by the leadership of calligraphy circles and has always been in a marginalized position. China Book Association plays a leading and guiding role in the prosperity of artistic creation. However, modern calligraphy has never been accepted. China Calligraphy Association has various professional committees. In recent years, seal cutting committee, publishing committee and lettering committee have been established, but there is no modern calligraphy committee. Regarding modern calligraphy, the attitude of China Calligraphy Association is not to accept or advocate modern calligraphy, but to let it die. In today's art market in China, the prices of oil paintings, prints and other works of art are still determined according to the artistic level of the works, while the prices of paintings (China paintings and calligraphy), especially calligraphy works, are directly proportional to the author's status and authority, which may also be an important reason why modern calligraphy is excluded. These phenomena reflect the serious lack of tolerance spirit in contemporary calligraphy as an important factor for the benign development of art, as well as the lack of tolerance spirit in calligraphy and even the whole contemporary art world. The most popular theory of the origin of art is "game theory". Art is a game in some ways. Children are so happy to play games, but adults are so cruel to play games, because adults' art games are all profit-driven. In the art world, the authorities are obsessed, and the young people are arrogant. Many people slander each other for their interests, and friends turn against each other. These have been far away from art, making art, a term that originally sounded so elegant, dirty. An artist should have good self-cultivation and an open mind. If a person can't understand and tolerate the differences between others and himself, it must show that he is poor in knowledge and he will never become a real artist.

Compared with Japanese and Korean, China's modern calligraphy appeared later and developed in a shorter time. This is due to the limitation of some narrow national traditional ideas in China. However, despite the doubts and pressures from all sides, modern calligraphy still goes on with tenacious perseverance. At the same time, the popular calligraphy style "New Monument School" represented by Wang Yong and Chen Ping in the north and the "Academic School" represented by Chen Zhenlian in the south should all be a form of modern calligraphy. Their attitudes towards the use of calligraphy resources and the visual pursuit of their works are the same, but they are different in ways and styles. Mr. Wang Yong was once in favor of modern calligraphy, but he did not put more energy into the development of modern calligraphy. He only borrowed some ideas from modern calligraphy in the sense of calligraphy creation. Therefore, Wang Yong's calligraphy was once called "neoclassicism", and the "popular calligraphy style" group he led was also on the edge of tradition and modernity. Therefore, Wang Yong's calligraphy has been influenced by both tradition and modernity. It should be pointed out that from the perspective of creative techniques, creative ideas and comprehensive cultivation of calligraphy and painting, Wang Yong is well-deserved to become a generation of calligraphy masters. Mr. Chen Zhenlian opposed modern calligraphy from the beginning. He initiated the "academic" calligraphy exhibition, and published an article explaining the concept of "academic" calligraphy creation, and put forward three benchmarks of "academic" calligraphy creation: 1, technical taste-means, and 2. Formal basis-effect, and 3. Theme requirements-ideas. At the same time, he issued a document accusing the "modernist" calligraphy of being "a modern art form, but not necessarily a calligraphy form." What he refers to is actually just one of the phenomena in the field of modern calligraphy experiments, such as the ink and wash experiments of Gu Wenda and Wang Nanming, but these cannot represent the diversified state of modern calligraphy as a whole, because modern calligraphy is a cultural phenomenon under a new trend of thought, and its artistic concept cannot avoid the influence of modern artistic concepts all over the world. Chen Zhenlian has made great achievements in calligraphy theory and calligraphy education, but it is undeniable that the "academic" calligraphy creation mode he advocated is actually modern calligraphy. Mr. Chen Zhenlian was once caught in an embarrassing situation that he neither admitted that he was modern calligraphy, but also tried his best to get rid of the conservative name of traditional calligraphy. The name "academic school" in people's eyes today will be directly associated with the "academic school" in the history of western art, which refers to an artistic style that has been strictly trained by traditional college techniques, follows the classical model, and advocates inheritance rather than innovation. Chen Zhenlian's "academic school" is a traditional brushwork, but their creative ideas draw lessons from modern calligraphy, only using different names and slogans. Of course, this is the definition of academic concept, and it cannot be denied that Chen Zhenlian personally has high attainments in calligraphy theory and creation. When I was studying with my tutor in Tsinghua Academy of Fine Arts, I asked Professor Du, who has a high level of calligraphy attainments, some questions about the domestic calligraphy circle. Professor Du spoke highly of Mr. Wang's calligraphy.

From 65438 to 0995, Professor Wang Dongling of China Academy of Art participated in the Hangzhou International Calligraphy Biennale as the main organizer. This exhibition is the largest modern calligraphy exhibition in history, with more than 200 artists from more than 30 countries and regions participating. The success of the exhibition shows that people's understanding and pursuit of calligraphy are diversified, and a single calligraphy performance can no longer meet this diversified aesthetic demand. Although China's ancient calligraphy had made brilliant achievements, today it has no cultural soil for survival. Nowadays, people's aesthetic concepts in the world are different from those of the ancients, and the idea of "restoring ancient ways" put forward by Zhao Mengfu in the Yuan Dynasty has become meaningless in contemporary times. Calligraphy is not a return to and adherence to tradition, but a new form to rebuild the spirit and aesthetic needs of this era. 10 years later, Wang Dongling once again wrote in Contemporary Art (No.3, 2005) that "as the development of traditional calligraphy, modern calligraphy will definitely break the rigid rules formed by traditional calligraphy in the 2 1 century. After the traditional calligraphy lost its own cultural living environment, how to deal with the contemporary artistic context has become an urgent problem. " "Modern calligraphy must be developed in high-level art groups and art colleges. For example, traditional calligraphy seems to be a soldier for the whole people, while modern calligraphy is a special force. People with average artistic quality can make do with traditional calligraphy, and they can also be published as calligraphers. But it is definitely impossible to engage in modern calligraphy, because it is impossible for them to complete a complete modern calligraphy work, that is to say, traditional calligraphy can be played gracefully by anyone, just like karaoke. This is impossible in modern calligraphy and requires greater courage and wisdom. " Modern calligraphy is the inevitable result of the aesthetic needs of the times and the development of art, which is more suitable for the diversified psychological aesthetic needs of modern people than traditional calligraphy.

In the middle and late 1990s, "postmodern calligraphy" appeared in China. China literary and art circles agree that postmodernism is not only a concept of time, but also a value concept and cultural spirit. It deduces the social and cultural changes that are opposite to tradition, and it is a spiritual evolution. The appearance of post-modern art abroad contains all kinds of complicated factors. We should comprehensively and realistically analyze the western post-modern culture and what reference it has for our artistic creation. Postmodernism and modernism have the same spirit in anti-tradition, anti-elite and anti-authority. Because modernism is a rebellion against tradition. After breaking through the tradition, modernism has become a new authority and standard. Later modernists rebelled against the older generation with the slogan of postmodernism. Therefore, postmodernism is another copy of modernism, and "postmodern calligraphy" is undoubtedly only a vein of modern calligraphy.

In the article "The Development Track of Modern Calligraphy in China", Wenbei pointed out that modern calligraphy started from 1885, and from 1885 to 1985, which is the foundation stone period; From 1985 to 1995, this decade is the start-up period. It can be called "one hundred years' foundation, ten years' development", and after 1995, it is a period of "hundred schools of thought, prosperity and development". In the history of modern calligraphy development, Wen Bei appeared as a brave explorer, an active organizer and a leader, and was one of the most influential artists in the development of modern calligraphy in recent 20 years. He believes that there is no insurmountable obstacle between modern calligraphy and traditional calligraphy. They are in the same strain, not antagonistic to each other. Modern calligraphy is a new manifestation of the natural growth of traditional calligraphy in the contemporary cultural context, and it is a spiritual fusion of traditional calligraphy and today's artistic context. This is a new creation. Regarding the development prospect of modern calligraphy, Wenbei pointed out: "Even a group of calligraphers who stick to the tradition know that modern calligraphy will definitely represent this era and pass it on to future generations. In contemporary classical calligraphy, the ending of traditional calligraphy will be the same as that of Tang poetry written by Ming and Qing people in the history of literature. Tang poetry is the representative of Tang literature, and the representative of Ming and Qing literature is Zhang Hui's novels, plays and Sanqu. It can never be said that regular poetry is the representative of Ming and Qing literature, although there are still many poets in Ming and Qing dynasties. Judging from the history of world art development, Fauvism, Abstraction, Cubism, Dadaism and Modernism have all emerged. What road to take in the future. Foreign artists have begun to think of China's paintings and calligraphy. 19 16, the Swiss artist paul klee learned the idea that words can be imitated from China's calligraphy and Chinese painting, and experimented in a unique way, creating a batch of calligraphy and painting, which can be said to be the earliest modern calligraphy in the west. All these can prove that China's modern calligraphy is not only the representative of China art in this period, but also the representative of world art. 2 1 century world art is China's modern calligraphy. "

To sum up, modern calligraphy has not only influenced the development of China art in the past twenty years, but also extended to the future, which will provide greater inspiration for the choice of the future development direction of China art and inject fresh vitality into the artist's creative thinking.