The Landscape of the Soul

The Landscape of the Soul

Q.1. Contrast the Chinese view of art with the European view with examples. 

Answer: The Chinese paintings are based on imaginative, inner or spiritual approach whereas the European paintings reproduce an actual view of an external or real object. The paintings of Wu Daozi and mater painters of Europe illustarte the difference. 

Q.2. Explain the concept of shanshui. 

Ans. The word ‘Shanshui’ which means "mountain-water" refers to a style of Chinese painting that involves natural landscapes, the landscape which is an inner one, a spiritual and conceptual space. It represents the two complementary poles (yin and young") reflecting the Daoist view of the universe. 

Q.3. What do you understand by the terms ‘outsider art’ and ‘art brut' or 'raw art'? 

Answer: "Outsiders art' refers to those art who have no right to be artists as they have received no formal training yet show talent and artistic insight. 'Art brut' or 'raw art' are the works of art in their raw state regards cultural and artistic influences. 

Q.4. Who was the "untutored genius who created a paradise" and what is the nature of his contribution art? 

Answer. The 'untutored genius who created paradise” was Nek Chand, an 80-year old creator-director who made the world famous Rock Garden at Chandigarh. His was an 'outsider art’ in which he sculpted with stone and recycled materials. He used anything and everything from a tin to a sink to a broken down car to form an artistic piece. One of his famous creations is “Women by the Waterfall”. 

Q.5. 'The Emperor may rule over the territory he has conquered, but only the artist knows the way within." Discuss. 

Answer: This sentence explains the fact that even though an Emperor might rule an entire kingdom and has power over his conquered territory, only an artist could go beyond any material appearance. He knows both the path and the method of the mysterious work of the universe. True meaning of his work can be seen only by means known to him, irrespective of how powerful an emperor is. 

Q.6. "The landscape is an inner one, a spiritual and conceptual space”. Discuss. 

Answer. This phrase explains ‘The Chinese Art’ from where a Chinese painter wants you to enter his mind rather than borrow his eyes. This is a physical as well as a mental participation. It is a landscape created by the artist to travel up and down, and back again through the viewer's eyes. The landscape is not ‘real’ and can be reached from any point. 

LONG ANSWER TYPE QUESTION 

Q. Write a summary of the lesson ‘The Landscape of the Soul’. 

Ans. In this chapter, the writer contrasts two forms of art – Chinese art and European art by using two different stories. In China during the eighth century, the Tang emperor Xuanzong commissioned a painter Wu Daozi to decorate a wall in the palace. The painter told the Emperor that he would take him inside the cave in the painting. The painter entered the cave and the painting on the wall was gone and so was the painter. Similarly, there is another story about another popular Chinese painter who did not draw a dragon’s eye fearing it would become real and fly out of his painting. Next, we have the third one about a master blacksmith, Quinten Metsys, who falls in love with the daughter of a painter and marries her. 

These stories revealed as to how art form is believed to be followed in two different regions in the world. In Europe, an artist wants the viewer to see a real viewpoint by borrowing his eyes. Whereas, in China, the artist doesn’t paint a real one but uses his inner and spiritual voice to create an abstract piece. Finally, the second part of ‘Getting Inside ‘Outsider Art’ by Brinda Suri talks about the concept of ‘art brut’. "Outsiders art' refers to those art who have no right to be artists as they have received no formal training yet show talent and artistic insight. 'Art brut' or 'raw art' are the works of art in their raw state regards cultural and artistic influences.