Literati Lens 文人视角 Episode 6: Prairie as Mirror — Seeing the Midwest through the Literati Lens
by Jingwei Zeng
At the Kansas City Artists Coalition, the exhibition Prairie Ubiquitous reimagines the Midwestern landscape through the works of Aaron Dougherty and Butch Murphy.
Standing before their photographs and steel sculptures, I am reminded of how Chinese literati painters once transformed the visible world into a mirror of the inner self. Just as Dougherty’s horizon lines invite projection and memory, the Yuan master Ni Zan’s Wind among the Trees on the Riverbank distills landscape into quiet abstraction—an image of solitude and restraint that reflects not nature itself, but the cultivated mind.
In the same spirit, Su Shi’s Wood and Rock embodies the scholar’s belief that form and spirit must be one. His minimal brushwork transforms rock and branch into metaphors of moral endurance and poetic insight. Across centuries and continents, these works share the same question: how can art translate the outer world into inner truth?
Whether on silk or steel, ink or photograph, the landscape becomes a mirror where culture and emotion meet.
Artwork Credits
Wind among the Trees on the Riverbank (江渚風林圖軸)
Artist: Ni Zan (倪瓚, Chinese, 1306–1374)
Title: Wind among the Trees on the Riverbank Date: 1363 Period: Yuan dynasty (1271–1368) Culture: China
Medium: Hanging scroll; ink on paper
Dimensions: Image: 23 1/4 × 12 1/4 in. (59.1 × 31.1 cm); Overall with mounting: 102 1/4 × 22 1/4 in. (259.7 × 56.5 cm); Overall with knobs: 102 1/4 × 27 1/2 in. (259.7 × 69.9 cm) Classification: Paintings Credit Line: Bequest of John M. Crawford Jr., 1988 Curatorial Department: Asian Art Object Number: 1989.363.39 Collection: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Source: Source: The Met Museum – Object Page © The Metropolitan Museum of Art. All rights reserved.
Wood and Rock (木石圖)
Artist: Su Shi (蘇軾, Chinese, 1037–1101)
Period: Northern Song dynasty (960–1127)
Medium: Ink on paper, handscroll Dimensions: Handscroll format (see Christie’s catalog for details)
Description: The only known painting by Su Shi, one of the most important figures in Chinese history—poet, calligrapher, and statesman of the Northern Song dynasty. The scroll exemplifies his theory of painting as an extension of moral cultivation and poetic spirit.
Auction: Christie’s Hong Kong Autumn Auctions 2018 Provenance: Formerly in Japanese and Chinese literati collections; rediscovered and exhibited by Christie’s Hong Kong in 2018. Source: Christie’s Hong Kong – Wood and Rock © Christie’s Hong Kong. All rights reserved. ⚖️ Educational Fair Use Statement All copyrighted images remain the property of their respective copyright holders. No commercial use or monetization is intended. Images are employed for scholarly analysis, cultural discussion, and educational commentary under Section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Act (Fair Use).