Kyuyoh Ishikawa – Taction: The Drama of the Stylus in Oriental Calligraphy

From the translator’s introduction:

You have in your hands an unprecedented account of the history of East Asian calligraphy. Here is a book every bit as accessible and fascinating for noncalligraphers and for individuals unversed in kanji as it is for calligraphers and for kanji-literate readers. The author, Ishikawa Kyuyoh, speaks of “the drama of the stylus” [brush and chisel], and he brings that drama alive by positioning it in compelling context: historical and spiritual, as well as artistic and cultural.

Ishikawa has been a leading light in the calligraphic firmament for more than 40 years. He has continuously highlighted new expressive possibilities through work that is at once avant-garde and firmly rooted in calligraphic tradition.

As interpreted by Ishikawa, calligraphy’s spiritual orientation engenders a powerful creative tension. “The calligrapher’s tension,” he insists, “is part of the spiritual awareness that is inseparable from the act of writing. It is the unrelenting self-scrutiny of the calligrapher who would fulfill a commitment akin to a holy vow.”   źródło opisu: http://www.i-house.or.jp/en/publications/ihousepress/index.html źródło okładki: http://www.i-house.or.jp/en/publications/ihousepress/index.html