Accession Number
2006/1.134

Title
Bamboo and Rock

Artist(s)
Chang Ku-nien, Liu Yantao, Gao Yihong

Object Creation Date
circa 1960-1975

Medium & Support
ink on paper

Dimensions
16 5/16 in x 26 1/2 in (41.5 cm x 67.3 cm)

Credit Line
Gift of Dr. Cheng-Yang and Mrs. Shirley Chang

Label copy
Winter 2015 Gallery Rotation
The creation of works with artist-peers was an established literati (amateur scholar-artist) practice that celebrated respectful mutual relationships. Such cooperative works were often created on private occasions to be shared with and appreciated by a circle of friends. This painting, which is a collaboration between Chang Ku-nien and two artists in Taiwan, records an exchange among likeminded scholars and painters. The inscription poetically describes the painting, noting how the bamboo’s shadows sway beneath the moonlight, and how its lush leaves stretch in a shroud of mist. Bamboo was a common feature in a Chinese scholar’s garden beginning in the Song dynasty (960–1279), as were unusually shaped rocks, which symbolized the scholar’s taste for natural forms and independent thinking. This painting was not necessarily based on a particular scholar’s garden. Instead it expresses the desire of Chang and his friends to associate themselves with the literati tradition and its cultural tastes. Perhaps the three artists were drinking wine and reciting poetry in the moonlight when the work was made.

Subject matter
Creating cooperative works with peer artists has been a fashion closely connected to the literati’s painting concept and practice. As modes of personal expressions, according to literati theory, paintings are created for private occasions and are shared and appreciated among circles of friends. The cooperative work celebrates respectful mutual relationships and reinforce affections among the painters participated.
Chang collaborated with two friends from the Seven Friends Painting Club, Liu Yantao and Gao Yihong. Naturally, in a cooperative work, each artist often takes on a subject best representing his/her talents. Appealing to scholar-artist, the elegance and subtle fragrance of orchids have long been regarded as the emblem of righteous gentlemen, thus a suitable subject for scholars alike.

Physical Description
A rock rises above the earth, and branches of bamboo mimic the gentle curve of its shape. Grasses grow below. Two lines of calligraphic text are written verticalley on the left side of the painting.

Primary Object Classification
Painting

Primary Object Type
hanging scroll

Rights
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Keywords
bamboo (material)
hanging scrolls
ink
literati (painters)
rock (inorganic material)