The four healing arts and the nine levels of alchemy. Participants will paint with ink infused with dna from human hair, a form of ink alchemy that embodies the rich symbolism of ancient china, and addresses contemporary conditions and considerations. In ink alchemy 19992001, wenda gu comments on chinese identity. Gu wenda is one of the leading contemporary chinese artists of his generation.
In alchemy, gu collaborates with the shanghai cao sugong ink factory to convert powder made from chinese human hairtraditionally a remedy for anxietyinto ink. Including selections from the legendary hermes trimegistus to robert boyle and isaac newton, the book illustrates basic. Giving new life to the old, i have highfired books in kilns with no clay intervention to create fossilized book remnants. I wrote it but also, ive done amas on reddit on the askhistorians subreddit. Sep 1, 2017 this board is dedicated to chinese contemporary artist, wenda gu born 1955. That book is as shortcheap and concice as it gets disclosure.
Retranslation and rewriting tang poetry 1993ongoing united nations 1993ongoing gus phrase ink dvd cartoon 2004 forest of stone steles. Gu wenda experimental ink he xiang ning mei shu guan oct dang dai yi shu zhong xin on. He studied traditional chinese landscape painting under master lu yanshao at the china academy of arts, and taught there after his graduation in 1981. The alchemy reader is a collection of primary source readings on alchemy and hermeticism, which offers readers an informed introduction and background to a complex field through the works of important ancient, medieval and early modern alchemical authors. Gu, who has a background in classical ink painting, has explored the radical possibilities of the medium through series of environmental installations and largescale semiabstract works. Negative and positive characters 198485, tranquility comes from meditation 1985, and.
Through his installation of scrolllike hair walls, gu explores the increasingly complex relationship between the sense of self and the sense of place in a global community. From 1999 to 2001, gu worked on ink alchemy, a project originating from the famous. The exhibition continues at the gallery until april 2002. In the taiqing tradition, compounding an elixir is the central part of a larger process consisting of several stages, each of which is marked by the performance of rites and ceremonies. The main gallery is now showing gus signature series, alchemy 2000, in tandem with the new largescale ink paintings genetic ink and green tea paper. The zenumists have lost their half, so check on the half belonging to the alcadno. The forbidden book of alchemy was split in half, with each group, zenumist and alcadno, taking half. Books of alchemy 83 books meet your next favorite book. A selection of writings from the caine prize for african writing 2004 caine prize for african writing series by chikwava, brian. Intersections and translations, wenda gus first australian solo show, was launched on 4 october 2001 at the national gallery of australia. Gu lives in brooklyn heights with his wife, interior designer kathryn scott, though he also maintains studios in shanghai and xian in china. Embracing the western new wave and avantgarde movements, wenda felt they could lead to the creation of a specifically chinese. Known by some as the hair artist and remembered by others as the artist whose monumental installation was violently destroyed by a russian artist at the infamous interpol exhibition stockholm, 1996, he is part of the diaspora that has sent many chinese artists to the west over the past twenty years. Cooper describes the history and development of taoist.
Exploring the importance of written and spoken language in chinese art, from the perspective of xu bing and wenda gu. For over seventeen years i have transformed used books into sculptures through a wide range of artistic approaches. Small altarlike installations of gus recent ink alchemy 1999200, tea. The power of what is written or not the seattle times. Spam or selfpromotional the list is spam or selfpromotional. In the early 1980s he explored radical extensions of the traditional technique in a series of large semiabstract works and environmental installations. A story of golf, friendship, and a battle for the worlds most valuable coin.
Art from middle kingdom to biological millennium the. We personally assess every books quality and offer rare, outofprint treasures. Top gallery shows during art basel hong kong artnet news. Gu wenda is a contemporary chinese artist celebrated for merging traditional ink painting and experimental installations. Can you tell us about your ongoing work, forest of stone steles. Brahms bookworks, alchemy, grimoire, book of shadows. A translation of the jindan sibai zi, attributed to zhang boduan the author of the awakening to reality, with commentary by peng haogu 16th century. Elam, nick foreword and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Gu wenda born 1955, shanghai is a contemporary artist from china who lives and. Born in china and currently based in new york, gu compels consciousness of cultural misunderstandings and. Small altarlike installations of gus recent ink alchemy 199900. See more ideas about alchemy, occult and esoteric art. A comprehensive catalog, the first book devoted to the work of wenda gu, will be. Wenda gu is one of the most celebrated of a new generation of avantgarde artists who emerged from china in the very late 1980s.
Gu wenda studied ink painting under the great modern master lu yanshao. Find an indepth biography, exhibitions, original artworks for sale, the latest news, and sold auction prices. Incorrect book the list contains an incorrect book please specify the title of the book. Substituting chinese hair powder for the traditional ingredients found in ink, he puts this powder through the ink making process and creates chinese hair ink. See more ideas about william tucker, sculpture and art. From middle kingdon to biological millennium julyseptember, 2004 internationally renowned artist wenda gu will travel to the ica at meca to create an original installation focusing on the relationship between china and the west, past and present. Born in shanghai, gu wenda graduated from the shanghai school of arts and received his m. History of science and mysticism, but actual history.
Wenda gu is one of chinas most influential and daring contemporary artists that revitalizes and reinterprets ancient chinese practices and symbols entangling them with currently present meaning and style. Much of his works are themed around traditional chinese calligraphy and poetry. Thriftbooks sells millions of used books at the lowest everyday prices. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Wenda gu is one of the leading contemporary chinese artists of his generation. An introduction to taoist alchemy, from waidan to neidan.
Inappropriate the list including its title or description facilitates illegal activity, or contains hate speech or ad hominem attacks on a fellow goodreads member or author. Wenda gu is a leading chinese contemporary artist with studios in new york and shanghai whose work has been widely shown in international exhibitions and biennales. Hanart tz gallery, gu wenda, may 12june 7 the ever subversive chinese artist gu wenda takes center stage at hanart tz gallery and its fair booth during art basel in hong kong. Wenda gus work is timely in its ambitious attempt to address in artistic. Much of contemporary artist gu wendas work is based on transformations of body parts, disembodied and reembodied in artistic form for example, human hair gathered from all around the world, woven into words and characters united nations series, 1993 onward, or powdered, boiled, and molded into biological ink sticks ink alchemy. Popular alchemy books meet your next favorite book. Working with the nature of the books that i find, im interested in delving into the internal landscapes of books to create new narratives. Magatias alcadno association, and ask him about it. After beginning his career in china in the 1980s, gu moved to the united states in 1987. Online shopping from a great selection at books store. Drawn from both private and public collections by independent scholararchivist roob, it is a compendium of images and objects depicting western esoteric science going all the way back to pythagoras.
Gu enlists the long tradition in china of valuing the emotive quality of calligraphy and applies the abstract communicative power of language to the utopian project of bringing together the peoples of the world. Both the book and show have a strict no post occultrevival new age stuff. Roughly divided into conceptual sections, the book exposes readers to the imagery and symbolism of transmutation, sacred geometry, and astrology direct from original documents. Gu is known for using traditional ink painting, poetry, calligraphy and seal characters in new or fictional manner, as well as the use of human body. In the wake of the opening of the metropolitan museum of arts ink art.
From hanart tz gallery, gu wenda, ink alchemy 19992001, mixed media. Download for offline reading, highlight, bookmark or take notes while you read the tao of immortality. Gu wenda is best known for his extraordinary installations comprising. The word alchemy was derived from the arabic word or kimiya and may ultimately derive from the ancient egyptian word kemi, meaning black. Alchemy book in osprey offers courses and seminars. He currently works and lives in both new york, usa and shanghai, china. Alchemy and chemistry in islam refers to the study of both traditional alchemy and early practical chemistry the early chemical investigation of nature in general by scholars in the medieval islamic world. And you will still be able to ponder meanings about culture, heritage, transference and transformation suggested by wenda gus ink alchemy installation, which includes ink blocks made of. While both were trained in traditional ways, each creates work that transcends direct linguistic communication. Alchemy and chemistry in the medieval islamic world.
Each book is masterfully created with heavy, ornate, and hand crafted metal work, that recaptures the look and feel of ancient world tomes. During art stage singapore, gajah gallery is working with gu wenda to present one of the artists newest large scale installations, the yanhuang landscape 2012 a work that evokes the chinese landscape tradition using hairmade black ink on green paper uniting themes from gu s earlier works. Gu wenda discusses his works mythos of last dynasty series. Temple of heaven, wenda gu builds a home for the self in a global era out of hair and language. Since 1987 he has lived in the united states and is among the most wellknown and extensively. Gu is known for using traditional ink painting, poetry, calligraphy and seal characters in new or fictional manner, as well as the use of human body materials, such as hair or placenta, as. In the work of xu bing and wenda gu, we find the most obvious references to language, yet here traditional chinese calligraphy is completely reimagined and reinvented. Gu wenda born 1955, shanghai is a contemporary artist from china who lives and works in new york city. The four healing arts and the nine levels of alchemy ebook written by mantak chia, william u.
1375 660 978 349 838 373 1369 963 995 61 567 1394 87 1171 985 38 256 1354 1313 932 578 568 1105 970 391 471 1444 144 1265 479 877 883 837 937 606 527 649 132 580 350 1194 1268 708 1021 738