Introduction - Control Freak
Control Freak (2018) represents the new-era digital calligraphic art concept that transcends the traditional idea of ‘four treasures of the study’. Artist Hung Keung presents the new concept of ‘eight treasures of the study’, which includes the traditional items such as rice paper and black ink, and products of the new era: a specially made magnetic writing brush, a 3D wooden pendulum rod, computer software programs, a mechanical milling device, mobile writing table and hanging rack, and continuous computer imaging technology. This novel mechanical art installation allows the participant (the writer) to write Chinese calligraphy by using the mechanical pendulum rod to control the brush. It corresponds to the magnetic mechanical force and computer software under the rice paper.
The forces of the magnetic poles, combined with the writing techniques of the participant, will impact on the artistic performance in terms of the shades of the ink, the brushwork, the firmness of the strokes, and the speed of writing. This is a mechanical Chinese calligraphy installation that involves the use of human force, gravitational force, magnetic force and mechanical force. After several rounds of evolution, Control Freak officially debuted in 2018 at Asia Society (Hong Kong) as a commission art project ( 7th-15th July 2018). The audience was invited to be participants (writers) and they manipulated a set of made-to-order pendulum rods to control a brush and put down a Chinese character on traditional rice paper.
About Control Freak
The Control Freak interactive artwork series is based on the Magnetic Pendulum Chinese Writing Robot Series jointly developed and created by artist Hung Keung and his German American friend Dr Andreas Schiffler, who is also a physicist and software engineer. The two wanted to create a new set of rules for Chinese writing and visual experience by using the Foucault pendulum and the magnetic forces. They also wanted to explore and research into calligraphic art and see how our traditional culture that involves human movements contrasts with the contemporary culture which involves mechanical operations and computer software.
The participant needed to stay focused to control the pendulum system above the brush and ensure the amount of ink soaked by the brush was appropriate, while fighting the resistance from the magnet below the rice paper. The participant had to write the character ‘heart’ while handling the forward and backward movements and facing the conflicts between what could be controlled and what could not. The manoeuvre between controllability and uncontrollability created unique experiences for the participants/ writers. The journey of writing and the final products became carriers of the emotions expressed during the act, and thought-provoking, life-reflecting philosophical and religious issues.
