Illustration: Peter C. Espina/GT

 

"Calligraphists are supposed to be engaged in calligraphy. Why do these artists project such a performance art?"

A calligraphy enthusiast, surnamed Song, voices his disdain at a performance art show during the opening ceremony of a two-year calligraphy exhibition on Saturday in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province. The show featured four workers dressed in hazmat suits spraying sanitizing solution on boxes covered with copies of calligraphy works by celebrities. The boxes were then trashed by the workers. Among the works was an eight-character scroll identical to one by Japanese adult video idol, Sola Aoi, that fetched 600,000 yuan ($98,030) at an auction in May. Some calligraphy purists participating in the exhibition claim the rise of so-called celebrity calligraphists is to blame for the art form's current slump in China. (Source: Chinese Business View)