“Though thirty spokes may form the wheel,
it is the hole within the hub
which gives the wheel utility.
It is not the clay the potter throws,
which gives the pot its usefulness,
but the space within the shape,
from which the pot is made.
Without a door, the room cannot be entered,
and without windows it is dark.
Such is the utility of non-existence.”
-Tao Te Ching
When I was first introduced to Japanese art I was struck by the amount of white space. Being totally different from the art of the Western culture in which I was raised, I questioned its purpose. Why was it there? Did the artist run out of ink? Or ideas? Or was there some deeper reason?
I now know that it is active negative space. It is the artistic manifestation of ma – emptiness, interval or space. It brings balance to the artwork. It gives a refreshing calmness that could not possibly exist if the paper or canvas was completely covered with ink. By its contrasting nature it enhances the positive lines of the ink. Chinese culture also values this “leaving blank”; it is known as 留白 (liú bái) (the two kanji mean “stop” and “white” respectively).
In a calligraphy work this active negative space is as important as the black lines of ink. The two are inseparable and complement each other, much like taoist yin and yang. In fact one could argue that it is the empty space that is essence of the calligraphy work – the black ink lines exist merely to highlight, divide, and protect this empty space.
Just as the empty space is as important as the ink, ma teaches us that non-being is as important as being, and non-doing is as important as doing. When we embrace non-doing and non-existence, it opens the way for creative exploration and new possibilities, as was understood by Moomins creator Tove Jansson:
“Every children’s book should have a path in it where the writer stops and the child goes. A threat or a delight that can never completely be explained. A face never completely revealed.”
So why not explore the mystery and wisdom of ma? Find the space for nothing. Take the path where the doing stops and the non-doing begins. Take a leap into nothingness and see where ma takes you.
Calligraphy by Vicky 