"Song(松)" draws its primary inspiration from the landscape paintings of the Song and Yuan dynasties, particularly the flourishing era of literati landscape paintings (文人山水画). During this period, many talented scholar-officials chose a life of seclusion amidst the serene mountains and rivers, devoid of any ambition for fame, power, or material wealth.
This lifestyle allowed them to fully immerse themselves in the pursuit of inner peace through art, poetry, and calligraphy. Almost naturally, this led to a profound realization of the importance of infusing their inner thoughts, emotions, and spiritual essence into their landscape paintings. This departure from strict realism in most of Tang Dynasties. The favor of conveying the essence and emotional resonance of the landscapes is a hallmark of literati art and serves as a significant influence on the creation of "Song."
This created a gold era for shan shui paintings, when a lot of best works came out from artists such as Ni Zan, Huang Gong Wang, Shi Tao, Mi Fu, Fan Kuan, etc.. Some works of these artists are shown below. Names of these works are given in Chinese as English translation can be misleading for some of them.
Returning to my own art exploration, I was at crossroads of my art exploration back in 2021. It was a pivotal moment in my creative process as I planned my next generative art series after the release of "Mei" (you can view "Mei" at https://www.fxhash.xyz/generative/3610). At that point, I was in a state of artistic confusion, searching for the path that would define my next venture.
From the very inception of "Zhu" and "Mei," the outlines of my plan had been hazy but ever-present: a series encompassing "Zhu," "Mei," and "Song," each piece exploring and fusing different frontiers of modern and traditional Chinese art. I have been using traditional symbols as an object of experiment, yet I'm doing this experiment using the most modern tools of gen art to find out whether there is a connection between the old and the new.
These three objects were collectively known as "Sui Han San You" or the "Three Friends of Winter," with "Song" representing pine trees, renowned for their tenacity and fortitude in traditional Chinese culture.
However, while the concept for "Song" had taken root, the precise style and direction I should pursue remained elusive. "Zhu" had embodied abstraction, "Mei" leaned into impressionism—two styles that we saw a lot in art history. The next thing has to be something missing from the previous experiments, something that resonated more deeply with my cultural background.
What intrigued me the most was landscape painting. Even in the creation of "Mei," I had introduced elements of landscapes—distant mountains, birds, and more. I found myself drawn to the fusion of traditional landscape art with modern generative techniques. It was a quest to bring alive the landscapes of my culture and rebuild them with the full possibilities of code.
To embark on this artistic exploration, I decided to turn to the rich tradition of Shan Shui painting. These landscape paintings had a unique allure, capturing the very essence of nature and conveying it through the artist's brushstrokes. Shan Shui, or "mountain-water" paintings, had always held a special place in my heart, and I believed they could provide the inspiration I sought for "Song."
It was always the hardest to get started though. For months, I immersed myself in the world of pine trees, drawing inspiration from both real-life observations and the timeless works of Wu Guan Zhong. In his work, trees are distilled from their forms into elegant, sweeping lines and bold, minimalist compositions. His exquisite and slightly surreal depictions of pine trees left an indelible mark on my creative process.
The process of honing these imagery was simultaneously a labor of love and an exercise in precision. I painstakingly parameterized each tree, striking a delicate balance between preserving their inherent diversity and capturing the vitality that defines them. In 'Song', I painted four distinct types of pine tree leaves, each a testament to the rich tapestry of landscapes they inhabit. Some of these leaf varieties were meticulously observed in nature, while others emerged from the realm of code-driven experimentation.
To infuse a touch of modernity, I chose to introduce occasional bursts of color, a deliberate departure from the predominantly grey-shaded palette. Especially when the bark of the trees and the surroundings are all in black and white. I believe this contrast of classic and contemporary elements adds more interesting and playful elements to 'Song'. You could see Wu's incluence on my work when towering, majestic pine trees emerge from the earth, gracefully dominating the entire canvas.
After the main object, mountains in landscapes became the second challenge. While I had previously depicted mountains, as seen in 'Mei,' where I employed an impressionistic style to render distant peaks, this series demanded a departure from all previous representations. Here, mountains needed to be distilled to their essence - simple lines, just as it is for pine trees. In one meeting with friends, I came across and later found inspirations from LingDong Huang's remarkable work, 'shan-shui-inf' (https://github.com/LingDong-/shan-shui-inf/tree/master), which showcased the potential of this minimalist approach.
I came to understand that mountains could be conveyed by half-circles or sin(x) function, with added nuances provided by noise. The rendering texture of these mountains lay in a judicious repetition of this fundamental function, each time altering the diameter to introduce diversity. Within my algorithm for 'Song,' I incorporated and re-enginnered these elemental codes and developed them using my own preference. As is previously done with pine trees, much insights is gain simply by experimenting with code, or browsing throgh landscapes paintings. You would see three distinct types of mountains in 'Song', all with vast variations and depict a different background in the composition. Some appear as gentle ridges, others as sharp peaks piercing through the clouds, and some as distant mountains veiled in a hint of vegetation. Occasionally, traces of 'shan-shui-inf'(or more back in time, Huang Gong Wang's 富春山居图) influence on these mountains could be observed in 'Song' as well.
Shan Shui art landscapes are incredibly diverse, each telling a unique story and evoking different feelings. Inspired by these wonderful works, I decided to explore and break down these landscapes. I dived into the world of codes, taking apart these old paintings and creating new ones using my own imagenry and occasionally surprising outcomes from code mistakes. It was like a journey of discovery where I reimagined tradition in my own way. I welcomed randomness and various changes that I found interesting, even creating completely imaginary landscapes.
For nearly two years, I have been working on and off with this piece. I not only experimented with code but also explored other great art from the same era. I borrowed ideas from anything that sparked my artistic interest—adding elements like reeds, ducks, birds, the sun, and small bushes on decks. This process was ongoing until I was genuinely content with the work.
In the works which I am delighted to showcase in this article, you may discern subtle traces of influence from esteemed artists like Ni Zan and Huang Gong Wang. Through this generative art piece, I endeavor to pay homage to the remarkable contributions of artists spanning diverse eras, from the ancient to the modern. Numerous other influential works have played a significant role in shaping my artistic journey as well, even though they may not have been explicitly mentioned here due to space constraints. Lastly, and perhaps most importantly, I genuinely hope that you find as much joy and enjoyment in these works as I have throughout the creation process of "Song".