Writing the “Orchid Pavilion Preface” One Thousand Times

1990–95

Not on view

Returned to lender

This work of art was on loan to the museum and has since been returned to its lender.

This photographic documentation of Qiu’s best-known, process-driven work exemplifies his early interest in the performative aspect of calligraphy, particularly the pedagogical method of repeatedly copying a model until its brush movements become second nature. The “Orchid Pavilion Preface,” written by the patriarch of calligraphy Wang Xizhi (303–61), has long been revered as the unsurpassed model of cursive writing. Repeatedly writing over his free-hand interpretation of the original, Qiu turns the paper into a saturated black field. By focusing on the process of writing rather than its literary content, Qiu asserts that the ultimate goal of calligraphic practice is “a form of ‘written meditation’.”

Artwork Details

Overview

Provenance

Exhibition History

References

Title: Writing the “Orchid Pavilion Preface” One Thousand Times
Artist: Qiu Zhijie (Chinese, born 1969)
Date: 1990–95
Culture: China
Medium: Five chromogenic prints
Dimensions: each: 19 1/4 × 29 in. (48.9 × 73.7 cm)
Classification: Variable Media
Credit Line: Lent by M+ Sigg Collection, Hong Kong
Curatorial Department: Asian Art