Out of character
Subtitle: decoding Chinese calligraphy
By: edited by Michael Knight and Joseph Z. Chang ; with contributions from Jonathan Chaves ... [et al.] ; foreword by Jerry Yang
Contributors: Asian Art Museum of San Francisco; Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York, N.Y.)
Publisher: Asian Art Museum
Published: 2012
Place of publication: San Francisco
Language: eng
Number of pages: 351
ISBN-13: 9780939117635; 9780939117642
Subjects: Chinese Calligraphy; Exhibitions
Description: "What defines a masterwork of calligraphy? Out of Character, a collaborative effort from leading Chinese and U.S. scholars, tries to answer this question by focusing on fifteen calligraphic masterpieces. Supporting these masterworks are an additional twenty-five works of the highest quality. Calligraphy has been admired as the ultimate art form by China's educated elite for more than 2,000 years. Over that time a complex set of rules and conventions has evolved that impacts every aspect of the calligrapher's practice. Within the constraints of their artistic tradition, creativity and self-expression have remained of primary importance to the Chinese calligrapher. With mind and hand in accord, Chinese calligraphers express the strength of their character in the characters they write. Out of Character provides the context and the critical tools viewers need to understand why this art form has been so admired in the Chinese tradition"--
Notes: The exhibition Out of Character: Decoding Chinese Calligraphy was presented at the Asian Art Museum in San Francisco from October 5, 2012 through January 13, 2013. The exhibition, organized by the Asian Art Museum, will also be presented at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York from April 13 through August 3, 2014. Presentation at the Asian Art Museum is made possible by The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation.

Includes bibliographical references and index.