UPDATED Chinese Calligraphy Meets Haute Couture

Thanks to all who participated in this little word game. Actually, you guys are right on the mark! The characters read:

Take out the hairpin,
See the reflection of the stream.
Lie in bed with books around,
Wake up to comb hair, half drunk.
– Xu Bing

These lines are adapted from a Tang-dynasty poem by Yu Xuanji 魚玄機 (842-72) titled, “Curing Yourself of Lovesickness” 遣懷.

Contemporary art and high fashion have long been partners-in-crime. Browsing the September 2011 issue of Vogue, I was delighted to come upon contemporary artist Xu Bing 徐冰 in one of the editorials! Xu is pictured here with a modeled Calvin Klein Collection shift, which, in my opinion, is a perfect pairing of a master of line and form in fashion (Klein) with a master of line and form in calligraphy (Xu). In fact, we are hoping to have Xu participate in our upcoming Chinese calligraphy exhibition (so, fingers crossed!).

Vogue Magazine (September 2011)

The writing here is unique. Xu developed a writing system that manipulates the English alphabet letters into the structure and appearance of Chinese characters. The writing system debuted in 1994-5 with his artwork Introduction to Square Word Calligraphy. With this system, the artist is investigating the extent to which the text (in any language) can be communicated as a symbol.

Deciphering Xu’s writing system is actually a fun game. So, I have a challenge for you: can you read the English that appears in this photo? You will need to view this photo in a mirror, unless you are skilled in reading backwards English. And I promise, these are English words. To give you a clue: the words in red read: “Xu Bing.”

I will return in a month to give you the answer. Happy decoding!

11 Responses to “UPDATED Chinese Calligraphy Meets Haute Couture”

  1. Silvio  on September 4th, 2011 at 1:26 pm

    Take out the hairpin
    See the reflection of the stream
    Lie in bed with books around
    Wake up to comb hair half drunk
    Xu Bing

  2. Andreas  on September 7th, 2011 at 10:25 am

    Take out the hairpin see the (r)e(f)lection
    Of the stream
    Lie in bed with books (ar)ound wake
    Up to comb hair half drunk
    Xu Bing

  3. Juan Reyes  on September 13th, 2011 at 11:30 am

    The theme of watermarking the corners of Asian art is relevant theme that still occurs with modern artist today. I feel the watermark is very important in the style and makes Asian artist unique compared to other artist in the world. As a photographer I am attracted to the esthetics, but also to its content.

  4. Laura  on September 14th, 2011 at 6:59 pm

    I love it! English made to look Chinese characters. I haven’t figured out what it says. Very creative and I look forward to seeing more of Xu’s work.

  5. andimp85  on September 15th, 2011 at 10:45 am

    I like the combination of the Caucasian/American and the Asian worlds. The words look like it’s from Asia but it is in fact English words just written in a different way. The woman has short, very black hair, which is a very common natural color for people of Asian ethnicity but not normally for a Caucasian woman. Her makeup is done in a way to make her eyes appear more slanted or arched which is again a more common beautiful characteristic of a person with an Asian ethnicity. The combination of these two cultures/ethnicities and the look of just black and white is perfect. Sometimes people see the world as only black and white like this picture but at first glance you think you know what is there in the picture. But you have to look closely to see the true meaning of the words and the picture. That not everything you see is what it seems.

    Take out the hairpin
    See the reflection of the stream
    Lie in bed with books around
    Wake up to comb hair half drunk
    Xu Bing

    I am not sure what the words mean but I think that the line “See the reflection of the stream” is referring to how to read the words in the picture. By holding the words up to a reflection you can understand what the words say.

  6. ngcsumb  on September 15th, 2011 at 11:11 am

    I think it is great that contemporary art and fashion have teamed together for this Vogue advertisement. Both contribute an art form that vastly differs from the other. I like the very basic color scheme, it allows Xu’s Chinese characters to really pop against the white background. Kudos!

  7. kiki  on September 15th, 2011 at 11:15 am

    I agree with Juan Reyes, the water mark is very unique to Asian art and to an extent is what makes Asian arts stand out from other cultures art. In response to Laura: I don’t understand what you’re trying to say. English isn’t being made to look like Chinese characters, Xu wrote a poem in actual calligraphy.

  8. mattiekrall  on September 15th, 2011 at 11:26 am

    This photograph is amazing! I love the high fashion influenced heavily by culture. It shows a sense of culture without looking outdated, it has a very fresh look. The writing of English letters made to look like Chinese characters is so interesting, I’ve yet to figure out what it says. I also think the combination of the characters creates a distinct and different art piece.

  9. Yesenia  on September 19th, 2011 at 1:33 pm

    I found this to be really intersting. I couldn’t really figure out what the writing said. I enjoyed how he put art and fashion together.

  10. Dany  on September 19th, 2011 at 4:50 pm

    @Juan Reyes Can you explain what you mean by “watermarking”? I only understand it as watermarking photos–I’m not sure if this is the same thing…

  11. subodh saraf  on August 3rd, 2012 at 12:34 am

    calligraphy all the way very attractive and creative form af art…..our devnagri lipi is our form of and very interesting work done in india ok nice to see the chinise calligraphy over here….


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