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 Chinese literati • ‘Three perfections’ • Contemporary Chinese art • Graffiti • Kwanyin Clan

Copyright © 2019 Adriana Iezzi. This is an open-access work distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction is permitted, provided that the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. The license allows for commercial use. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

Permalink http://doi.org/10.30687/AnnOr/2385-3042/2019/01/013


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