Bamboo, Pu Hua

Exhibition Label: "Nature/Natural," Jul-2014, Kris Ercums During his life, Pu Hua was celebrated for his renderings of bamboo in the Shanghai artworld. Bamboo, one of the so-called “four gentlemen”-orchid, bamboo, chrysanthemum, and plum blossom-is admired for its ability to withstand heavy winds without breaking, standing firm in the ground as its stalks and leaves twist and bend agilely. In times of political ferment and government corruption, such as late 19th century China, bamboo also symbolized virtue. Furthermore, the leaves and joints of bamboo were an ideal format for expressing a painter’s brush technique. Since brushwork was thought to reveal one’s moral character, bamboo paintings were believed to operate as self-portaits, revealing the inner moral fiber of an artist. Archive Label 2003: Pu Hua was best known for calligraphic paintings of ink landscapes and bamboo. He was active in literati circles in the international city of Shanghai, and, like many of his colleagues, he was a calligrapher, musician, and connoisseur as well as a painter. Although bamboo is known for its ability to withstand heavy winds, here a strong, upright stalk has broken, its leaves still fresh and green. The confusion of pale brushstrokes and heavy black dots around it form a stark contrast to the orderly depiction of the stately upright stalk and the graceful young bamboo it supports. Although Pu Hua's works were popular in Japan, one wonders a Japanese audience understood the political statement in a work like this. Archive Label date unknown: Bamboo was the most beloved of the Four Gentlemen, plants whose qualities represented the virtues associated with the ancient sages. Bamboo was admired for its ability to endure because it can withstand heavy winds without breaking, standing firm in the ground as its stalks and leaves twist and bend in the gale. In times of political ferment and government corruption it became a symbol of classical virtue and of hope for the future. As a form, bamboo can be expressively rendered with brush and ink in techniques that are closely related to those used for calligraphy and with the same artistic concerns for pure form. Since a scholar's brushwork was thought to reveal his character, a bamboo painting can also be seen as a type of abstract self-portrait. Thus a bamboo painting can be read on several levels at once: representational (of the nature if not the physical form of the plant), symbolic, personal, and abstract-expressive. P'u Hua lived in Shanghai and was active in literati circles there. Like many other scholars he was a calligrapher, artist, musician and connoisseur. Most of his paintings are calligraphic in style and he is known to have been particularly fond of painting bamboo.