Khoo Seow Hwa on Arts

[Freshwind]

- A calligrapher must make calligraphy part and parcel of his life and imbue it with music.

- The creation of art originates from the moral character and culture of the artist, and not merely his skill.


- Music is the incarnation of benevolence and virtues; calligraphy is the shadow of learning and temperament.

- Calligraphy is not merely writing characters; music is not merely playing musical instruments and singing. Both involve the harmony of the soul and the expression of feelings.

- Learning is an art. So is teaching.

- One has to teach by actual examples. It is futile to teach anyone to swim while staying ashore.

- The traditional spirit cannot be discarded, be it for an individual or a nation.
- The engagement in art is a life-long career.

- A university without a Fine Arts department is imperfect.

- Art not only supplement science. It sublimates science.

- To make practical use of science, we analyze, research into and innovate upon it. But to enrich and prolong life and to express our feelings rationally, we must understand, pursue, appreciate and enjoy art.

- Good art does not, as a rule, thrive on good life.

- Art must be within the reach of the ordinary people and not merely something to be communicated among the artists themselves.

- Art must be subjective. Objective art will degenerate into commodities.

- To enrich others is to enrich yourself.

- Traditional art, such as calligraphy, can be remoulded, but not replaced.

- Flowering without fruiting is labour lost.

- Art education needs two types of people: one is ‘the appreciative’, the other is 'the determined'. The former are the country's leaders who understand and appreciate art; the latter are those who are devoted to art.

- To engage oneself in art, one has to be sincere and true in one's words and actions. The incompetent and imposter must be shut out.

- A singer depends on theatrics, talent, temperament and favourable chances; a calligrapher depends on skill, learning, moral character, culture and living condition.

- A real artist is often judged posthumously.

- Popularization is not only for the multitude, but also for those on the top.

- Humour is a catalyst to the creation of art.

- The stretching wings need wind to fly.

- A real artist needs gift, industry and the ability to bear loneliness.

- Middle age is the prime of creation for an artist. It is also the period when some artists find themselves on the ebb. A nation has to support, cherish and recognize middle-aged artists.

- An artist has to be a lover of all forms of art.

- Imitation is only the prelude to artistic creation. The outright dependence on imitation is most undesirable.

- Calligraphy cultivates temperament while music beautifies life.

- Art is no long art devoid of nature.

- Inspiration derives from diligence.

- The balance of life lies in the harmonization of tranquility and movement.

- A few minutes' work of a calligrapher is the crystallization of his tens of years of practice.

- He who toes does not stand firm; he who strides does not walk far.

- One will never go far walking with a stool.

- Calligraphy is a serious art, not an art for performance.

- Slavish imitation will never become art.

- To climb up the ladder wearing high-heeled shoes is a difficult job.

- To appreciate a piece of calligraphy is just like appreciating and understanding a person.

- Calligraphy is an art; cycling is a skill. A skill can be learned and mastered, but an art hardly can.

- If a teacher corrects and alters his student’s painting, improves on it, even inscribes on it, he is doing harm to his student.

- Calligraphy is a visual art. It depends on the eyes, not the hands, which are only tools.

- The difference between naivety and childishness is very fine indeed.
- Humorous clowning is a beauty.

- Music and calligraphy are essential parts of aesthetic education. They exercise the mind and greatly influence the intellectual and moral education of a person.

- Parents place too much emphasis on their children' surviving intelligence and sense of competition, which is bound to keep them away from aesthetics, feelings and art.

- Before teaching children music, we have to find out whether they are able to beat time to the music accurately.

- Calligraphy is music you can see; music is calligraphy you can hear.

- Rhythm is the pulse of music and calligraphy.

- Rhythm is a physical movement; melody is a spiritual sentiment.

- Melody is the soul of music, while structure and composition are the soul of calligraphy.

- Timbre is equivalent to the hues of ink in calligraphy.

- Chord, harmony and accompaniment are equivalent to the inscription and seal on calligraphy.

- Schubert composed a few hundred pieces of music during his frustrated life of 31. What is adversity to an artist?

- To upgrade the quality of art, one has to read and travel a lot.

- Art is life.

- Do not detract others, but state the fact.

- While creating art, an artist must not alienate himself from the masses, nor must he drift with the tide.

- In the pursuit of art, natural endowment and constant study are indispensable. Natural endowment is not mere cleverness; constant study is not mere industry.

- "Abundance" does not mean "substantiality".

- The structure of the individual character and the composition of a piece of calligraphy are just like the retailer and the wholesaler. The former makes profit, but the latter's profit is greater.

- Making fake paintings and other fakes is a crime. Selling fake paintings is a disgrace. A country has the obligation to set up an arbitration court to stamp out such unethical act.

- One may contemplate innovation only when one's foundation in traditional culture is solid, possesses high cultivation, profound experience of life, upright thinking and character, and a broad horizon of art.