Insights

Insight derived from:

Guhua Pinlu (Old Record of the Classifications of Painters)

Xie He's six points to consider in juding a painting:

1. Spirit Resonance, which means vitality ('Spirit' here seems to denote nervous energy which is to be transmitted from the artist through the brush into his work)
2. Bone Method, which means using the brush (this seems to be an allusion to an ancient tem dealing with anthroposcopy, the reading of character from the bone structure in the head and body)
3. Correspondence to the object, which means depicting the forms.
4. Suitability to type, which has to do with laying on of colour.
5. Division and planning, that is, placing and arranging.
6. Transmission by copying, that is, the copying of models.

As these principles could be applied to both painting and calligraphy, two of the oldest and most prestigious practiced skills throughout the ages it had me thinking:

These are the core values for a great traditional Chinese work of art. Developing that idea through>> Could these core values be modelled onto Product Design to create a great product for China?