Artwork Page for Calligraphy

Details / Information for Calligraphy

Calligraphy

古佛坐無言

1987

Ma Desheng 馬德升

(Chinese, active in France, b. 1952)
Culture
France, Paris
Medium
Hanging scroll; ink on rice paper
Measurements
calligraphy: 138.5 x 64 cm (54 1/2 x 25 3/16 in.); Overall: 201 x 71.3 cm (79 1/8 x 28 1/16 in.); Overall with knobs: 201 x 81 cm (79 1/8 x 31 7/8 in.)
Credit Line
Dudley P. Allen Fund 2022.254
Copyright
Copyright
This artwork is known to be under copyright.
Location
Not on view
Print
?

Did You Know?

Ma transforms the first character 古 “ancient” into a square building surmounted with what looks like a Christian cross.

Description

Ma Desheng was the cofounder and spokesman of the Stars (Xingxing 星星), a constellation of avant-garde artists active between 1979 and 1983. He is interested in using art for personal versus collective or propagandistic purposes. Ma moved from Beijing to Paris in 1986 and was knighted in October 2021 by the French Minister of Culture for his contributions to the arts.

Ma wrote “the ancient Buddha sits and has no words” after dreaming of climbing the sacred Mount Tai and seeing the silent Buddha. His artistic and political experiences had also taught him that wordlessness represents a kind of strength and wisdom.

Calligraphy

1987

Ma Desheng

(Chinese, active in France, b. 1952)
France, Paris

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