Annali di Ca’ Foscari. Serie orientale

Journal | Annali di Ca’ Foscari. Serie orientale
Journal issue | 55 | 2019
Research Article | The Kwanyin Clan: Modern Literati Graffiti Writers

The Kwanyin Clan: Modern Literati Graffiti Writers

An Aesthetic and Text Analysis of their Main Artworks

Abstract

After illustrating the varied artistic production of the Kwanyin Clan, one of the most important Chinese graffiti crews, this paper analyses six of their main artworks in detail (styles, techniques, aesthetic conceptions and artworks texts). In these artworks, the Kwanyin Clan tried for the first time to merge Euro-American graffiti practice with the ancient traditional arts practiced and appreciated by the Chinese literati (calligraphy, poetry, painting, seals and ceramics). Comparing the Kwanyin Clan members to ‘modern literati writers’, the present article shows how this crew succeeded in reinventing ancient Chinese art forms using Euro-American graffiti vocabulary, paving the way for a new development of graffiti art in China.


Open access | Peer reviewed

Submitted: March 18, 2019 | Accepted: June 24, 2019 | Published June 27, 2019 | Language: en

Keywords GraffitiChinese literati‘Three perfections’Contemporary Chinese artKwanyin Clan


Read this article