In a Station of the Metro

Liang Yang

born 1960

In a Station of the Metro, 1997

Where object was made: China

Material/technique: ink; paper

Dimensions:
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 68.5 x 137.5 cm
Image Dimensions Height/Width (Height x Width): 26 15/16 x 54 1/8 in
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 68.5 x 137.5 cm
Sheet/Paper Dimensions (Height x Width): 26 15/16 x 54 1/8 in
Mount Dimensions (Height x Width x Depth): irregular 72.5 x 141 cm
Mount Dimensions (Height x Width x Depth): 28 9/16 x 55 1/2 in

Credit line: Museum purchase: R. Charles and Mary Margaret Clevenger Fund

Accession number: 2001.0043

Not on display

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Label texts

Exhibition Label: “From the Way of Writing to the Weight of Writing," Jun-2007, Ai-lian Liu "Apparition Wet Petals" The text of the calligraphy is a selective adaptation of Ezra Pound’s (1885-1972) two-line poem, In a Station of the Metro: "The apparition of these faces in the crowd; Petals on a wet, black bough." In addition to being one of the major figures of the Modernist movement in early- to mid-20th century American poetry, Ezra Pound is also known to be an enthusiast of classical Asian literature and philosophy-he translated into English The Book of Songs, Confucian Analects, and other Confucian classics. Pound described In a Station of the Metro as “hokku (an earlier form of haiku)-like,” taking after the sensory-rich but extremely concise form of Japanese haiku poetry. Having studied in Paris for six years, Liang Yang is probably quite familiar with the imagery of the Paris Metro that Pond’s poem aims to evoke. Liang’s calligraphic interpretation not only further abbreviated the original text, but his expressive style also conveys the sight, the sound and the feelings beyond words.