SUMI-E AND THE PRACTICE OF FORMS

 by Phillip Starr

Ink wash painting is an East Asian type of brush painting of Chinese origin that uses black ink—the same as used in East Asian calligraphy, in various concentrations. For centuries, this most prestigious form of Chinese art was practiced by highly educated scholar gentlemen. Names used in the cultures concerned include: in Chinese shuǐ mò huà (水墨畫), in Japanese sumi-e (墨絵) or suibokuga (水墨画?), in Korean sumukhwa (수묵화), and in Vietnamese tranh thủy mặc.

A minimal number of brush strokes are used to create a picture of almost anything. It may appear simple enough to do but as is the case with many Asian arts, it requires years of study and practice. Although the image seems to be complete enough, you must realize that there's a whole lot of EMPTY SPACE! It is YOUR IMAGINATION that “creates” the picture and figuratively “fills in the blank spaces.” So what appeared to be blank space...isn't.

I think our forms are very much like that. We (especially as Westerners) tend to focus on the more obvious, overt movements and techniques. But if you do your form a little slower you'll realize that just like the sumi-e painting, much of it appears to be “empty.” These areas are generally found in between the more easily observable movements/techniques. It's where those conspicuous movements come from.