'Ya' and 'Su': The style and taste of a work of art
Dear friends,
Ya literally means "elegant," "noble," or "refined," whereas Su is "vulgar," "ostentatious" or "artificial." These two terms refer mainly to the style and taste of a work of art.
If a work is shallow in thought, if it is sterotyped, if it is brash, if it lacks harmony, it is Su. No matter how skillfully executed the writing or painting may be, if the work shows a Su flavor, it is deemed to lack artistic value, and certainly would not be collected by a museum.
In China, the classical education included Confucian teachings, the book of Rites, poetry and calligraphy. It was a system with a standardized curriculum throughout China and was the only path to take for people with talent and ability who wanted to move up in society.
With a standardized education -- covering ethics and philosophy, based on standardized text books -- it is not surprising that there would be a consensus on the part of those educated as to what constituted good taste. Thus, the scholars came to dominate Chinese art.
It has been recognized that the major pitfall an artist should guard against is Su. In order to attain the quality of Ya, it is first necessary to get rid of Su. The old masters spoke forthrightly on this.
In his treatise A Complete Study on Landscape, Han Chuo of the Sung period (c.11th century) advised:
"The shortcomings to guard against in the art of painting are many. Among them, Su is the most serious one...According to the old masters, there are three defects in using the brush: (1) Ban, (2) K'o, (3) Chieh. Ban means that the wrist is too weak to control the brush; therefore, the object painted shows a flatness and stiffness, not a three-dimensional roundness. K'o refers to the harsh appearance of the brushwork; the rhythm is choppy, and the lines and marks are chaotic, irregular and angular. Chieh describes the result of an awkward movement of the brush, sluggish, tight, so cramped that it can hardly flow.
An artist who wishes his work to be refined, or Ya, must keep himself from falling into these mistakes so as to avoid sloppiness or Su. Flatness will result in dullness; harshness is not harmonious; and sluggishness looks clumsy. Therefore, Ban, K'o, and Chieh are elements of Su to be shunned in brushwork, and should be corrected.
To pay attention only to technique, neglecting thoughts and ideas of artistic expression can only make an artist a technician; therefore, his art will be limited merely to skill, and the product is bound to be vulgar and too sugary. To dazzle with bright red and strong green in composition may be striking, but it will lack harmony, and is likely to be Su. If one forms a habit of imitating others, he soon loses his own identity.
During World War II, while I was teaching at the Kiang-Si Art Institute, I was inspired by a broom and dust-pan. I immediately made a composition (see picture). The handle of the broom was painted with center brush; its brush portion was painted with a split brush; the texture of the bamboo slats in the dustpan was also done by dry brush.
After the War, I sent this painting to my teacher Ch'i Pai- Shih for his criticism. Ch'i liked it very much and added his comment on this work. It runs: "Pai-Shih did a similar theme for the College of Fine Arts of Peking last year. In comparison with this piece, mine is inferior from this Ya quality which is achieved by only a few strokes. My pupil Dai-Seng (my pen name) must believe in these words, 90 years of age Pai-Shih."
Natural ugly can be artistically beautiful. The scope of the selection of subject matter is really unlimited. The Ya flavor lies in the quality of the brushwork, not in the subject matter.
-- Kwo Da-Wei