Ding Cong, Images of Today, ink and opaque color on paper, 1944

In this painting, the medium used was a type of watercolor called gouache, which is similar to watercolor except for it is an opaque color that is thickened with a glue-like substance to give it a matte finish (Anderson, 2016). Key features of gouache is that the paint dries very quickly, and it allows artists to paint with great detail (Anderson, 2016). Above, the work is broken in half to fit the page, however it is one continuous canvas that is supposed to resemble a traditional scroll that Chinese artists used to paint on (Lullo, 2020). The content of this piece is a depiction of various individuals that are in their own “scene”, some are interacting with others, while some are alone. From top right to bottom left, there seems to be a general cycle of some academic people, spaced with some poor/injured people, followed by wealthy figures. The objective of this work is to shine a spotlight on what was then modern Chinese society, and this spotlight artistical is shown by having a white background with frames or “scenes” of figures that have seemingly been cut from whatever they were doing and placed into this painting. There is debate about the corruption of government during Chiang Kai-Shek’s rule through the 1940s, and while this painting does not directly represent this corruption, Ding does depict a very inequitable socioeconomic class structure of Chinese society. One key aspect that shows this is the woman with her child begging in the background for some food or money, while four wealthy men stand in front of her, paying her no attention. The ends of the piece show a man reading a book with his mouth covered, and a man walking with a newspaper in his mouth and a hand covering his eyes, and this could be interpreted as the truth about life in China being smothered by the government. One last thing to point out is the way each class is shown in relation to the viewer. The rich are prominently in the foreground, looking away from the viewer, while the poorer people show more of their faces, and are in the background. The man reading a book and the man holding his painting are facing the viewer, symbolizing the knowledge and truth of the corruptive government.

References:

Anderson, Madeline. “Watercolor and Gouache: What’s the Difference?” Escalette Permanent Collection of Art at Chapman University, 18 Feb. 2016, blogs.chapman.edu/collections/2016/02/18/watercolor-and-gouache-whats-the-difference/.

Lullo, Sheri. Class presentation. 2020.

Chen Yifei, Red Flag I, Oil on Canvas, Dimensions: 300 x 159 cm (118.1 x 62.6 in.), 1971-1972. Source: http://www.artnet.com/artists/chen-yifei/red-flag-1-tBXyFFUh-0HVcgGfbG-bXA2

Red Flag I is constructed of oil on canvas and depicts a number of soldiers holding the Chinese Flag and a gun. The landscape is unclear as most of the detail is in the soldiers and their forms. The soldiers are preparing to charge into battle to fight for the liberation of China. The image is mostly realistic with the exception of its size in order to create a sense of reality for the viewer showing that there are people who are fighting for the liberation of China.

This image of the soldiers standing tall and proud before running into battle creates a sense of pride in the viewer as they are not afraid to die for what they believe in. Red Flag I towers over the viewers at 300 x 159 cm. This size creates a sense of pride and power as well as protection for the masses which is provided by the communist party. The importance of the communist party is exemplified in this painting by the red accents of the flag and the crests on the soldiers hats which contrasts with the dark earth-tones of the soldiers uniforms and the background. By having the soldier holding the flag, Chen Yifei is conveying to the viewer that these soldiers, who are about to run into battle and possibly lose their lives, are not afraid of death because they are fighting for a cause that they truly believe in. The Communist Party.

Red Flag I is a powerful image for the communist party as it glorifies the work that they and their soldiers are doing to liberate China. It also creates a sense of pride in the viewer and shows the communist cause as one that is for the people and will provide protection and a strong ruling over the country.

Sources:

“Now Sotheby’s Hong Kong 40th Anniversary Evening Sale.” chen, yifei red flag 1 ||| history ||| sotheby’s hk0488lot75f82en, n.d. https://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/2013/40th-anniversary-evening-sale-hk0488/lot.25.html?locale=en.

Yifei, Chen. “Red Flag 1 by Chen Yifei.” Red flag 1 by Chen Yifei on artnet. Van Ham Kunstauktionen, n.d. http://www.artnet.com/artists/chen-yifei/red-flag-1-tBXyFFUh-0HVcgGfbG-bXA2.

For this blogpost I elected to write regarding a political poster painted by Ha Qiongwen, titled “Long Live Chairman Mao!” In order to fully understand this political poster, somebackground regarding the era in which it was painted may be helpful. In 1949, China ushered in a new era of government which was led by the Communist Party of China and Chairman Mao;the de facto leader of China until his death in 1976 (Yaochang 2014: 290). Mao was a selfprescribed Leninist (at least until he began developing his own theory of rule) and felt that
literature and art should an integral part of the proletariats enterprise. Essentially, this meant thatMao aimed to use the majority of literature and art being composed in China at the time tofurther his political agenda. With a large portion of the people in China during this time being illiterate, Mao needed to convey his political content in a way that people would be able tounderstand with little to no education. As such, Mao made a speech after his election in 1949 that set Socialist Realism as the “…official theory and method of artistic and literary composition…” in China during his reign (Yaochang 2014: 290-291). This declaration somewhat restricted what artists and writers could publish during this period, as if the Communist Party of China deemed awork to be ‘inadequate’, the work would not be published/allowed for distribution.

When examining the poster I selected, one will see a young child and her mother playing in what appears to be cherry blossoms, with the text “Long Live Chairman Mao!” at the top. When first published this poster was revered by the CPC, however once the Cultural Revolution
started this was not the case. Upon further inspection, one will notice that the woman holding the child is wearing rather nice clothing, suggesting she is a member of the bourgeois and not the proletariat. Further, no physical depiction of Mao is present, which became more and more essential to the CPC as Mao engrained himself into all aspects of Chinese society. Qiongwen became an object of criticism during the Cultural Revolution, and was publicly humiliated and beaten on numerous occasions due to his slight deviation from the CPC’s standard (Shen 2000: 192).

Bibliography:

Poster and Historical Background

Yaochang, Pan. “The Posters of the Mao Era: A Perspective of Art and Society.” Artibus et Historiae, vol. 35, no. 69, IRSA, Jan. 2014, pp. 289–304.

Personal Information Regarding Ha Qiongwen

Shen, Kuiyi. “Publishing Posters Before the Cultural Revolution.” Modern Chinese Literature and Culture, vol. 12, no. 2, 2000, pp. 177–202. JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/41490832. Accessed 17 Apr. 2020.

Blogpost 4/17

Long March: Restart2008

Medium: Video game (color, sound), custom computer software, and wireless game controller

Feng Mengbo created this piece, and it is supposed to stem from actual historical events in China. The “Long March,” was the punishing flight of the Communist Red Army from the national KMT government, in which few survivors were left. The actual game does not represent this exact event but instead you play as a Chinese red soldier and shoot fireballs at aliens. The actual work of art is an interactive game, which anyone could play at the actual scene of the installation. The medium that Mengbo uses plays into his message as well. Mengbo was trying to reach and almost teach the youth that grew up without knowing about the “Long March,” through creating a game that would ultimately make these kids interested in learning about the actual history of the event. The game has political elements and also shows western influence. The actual piece is not meant to be accurate in representing any historical event, but is supposed to clearly show it is influenced by it. The game also has various elements that show western influence like throughout the game there are various Coke cans, adding to the complexity of the piece. The piece is fairly large, as seen in the picture above it is displayed on two big walls almost functioning like a hallway made up of video games on both sides. The actual piece first was at PS1 in Long Island City, which is an exhibition branch of the Museum of Modern Art in NYC. I think this is a super effective piece of art. I never had heard of the “Long March” until I read about this piece and I bet that is the same for many people. Mengbo as an artist is successfully teaching a history lesson while creating a very modern work of art with this piece.

Sources:

Chayka, Kyle, et al. “Feng Mengbo’s Video Game Epic ‘Long March.’” Hyperallergic, 31 Dec. 2010, hyperallergic.com/15898/feng-mengbo-long-march/.

Mengbo, Feng. “Feng Mengbo. Long March: Restart. 2008: MoMA.” The Museum of Modern Art, www.moma.org/collection/works/122872?artist_id=36090&locale=en&page=1&sov_referrer=artist.

Shepherds, 1980, oil painting on wood, 79 x 52 cm

Source: artnet.com (http://www.artnet.com/artists/chen-danqing/shepherds-_c5BgdZT-kKaTTzQ7Yajhw2)

This painting done by Chen is typical of his depictions of the Tibetan people in the Tibetan Plateau of China’s far west.  The individuals are draped in traditional Tibetan garb, representing their preservation of traditional culture in an increasingly homogeneous China.  This work is typical of Chen’s style, emphasizing the need to depict the truth in life, not to be convoluted by adding superfluous detail to beautify the image.  As put by Lu Peng, “their [Chen Danqing] works often reflect their personalities and their visual experience of growing up during the Cultural Revolution… which propelled these artists to become stronger, more creative, and powerful” (Lum 2010, 91).  The difficulty of living through a period such as the Cultural Revolution inevitably shaped the way the artist perceives his surroundings, particularly the emphasis on life’s harsh reality.

What is most notable about Chen’s paintings is the light in which he depicts the Tibetan people, one of China’s 56 zus, ethnicities.  Often depicted in public discourse as an unruly and subversive ethnic group due to confrontations with Beijing, Chen portrays Tibetans in a refreshingly normal manner, portraying “ordinary life with utterly non-dramatic and non-literary themes” (Lu 2010, 757).  He paints them in a style as he would paint a member of the Han ethnicity.  Furthermore, he portrays the man in the image attempting to kiss the woman, appearing to smile in what could be identified as pleasure.  To contrast the mainstream narrative regarding the subversiveness of Tibetan people, Chen portrays the humane nature of the two subjects in a style that emphasizes the normality of their lives and culture.

The piece is done as oil on wood, depicting the earthy tones of the sparsely populated endless grasslands and unruly terrain of the Plateau.  The shirt of the woman contrasts with the earthy tone primarily featured, complemented by her colorful necklace, a typical accessory in Tibetan culture.  The wool coat adorned by the man, assembled from the wool of the sheep which he cares for, shows the harmony between his profession and nature, both of which require mutual respect for bounty and health.  The ardent realism portrayed in the Sheepherder serves not only as a medium for Chen to portray the Tibetan people in a realist light, but also a means to explore the way in which they understand the relationship between earth and man.

Peng, Lu. “Scar Art and the Life-Stream.” In A History of Art in 20th Century China, 757-780. Milano: Edizioni Charta Srl, 2010.

Lum, Ken. “Zhang Shengtian and Hank Bull in Conversation.” Yishu: Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art, 91.  Volume 8, Number 1, January 2009.

Pan Yulaing – Self Portrait (1945), Oil on canvas, 73.5 x 60 cm

Source: A Century in Crisis, page 169 (figure 69)

Pan Yulaing (1895-1977) is best known for her female nude paintings but I decided to focus on one of her self portraits for my visual analysis as I feel they best embody the spirit of my topic. Pan Yulaing painted many self-portraits over the course of her life, giving us a better glimpse into her life, each one a reflection of her self-preception. The painting I chose, Self Portrait (1945), was painted by Pan Yulaing in Paris a few years after she moved back to Europe for good (Andrews and Shen 1998: 178). Painting in the western style of oil on canvas, Pan uses a mix of post-impressionist styles with hints of fauvism influence, reflecting her western training, although the colors she uses in this painting are darker and more serious (Andrews and Shen 1998: 178). 

In this painting, Self Portrait (1945), Pan Yuliang depicts herself standing in front of a closed window confidently leaning one hand against a table with a vase of yellow flowers. Unlike many of her other self-portraits where Pan depicts herself dressed in traditional Chinese garb, in this portrait she is wearing her hair up while dressed in simple western-style clothing, showing her struggle with her Chinese identity. Her bright, rosy cheeks and pink lips are contrasted by bulky winter clothes that hide her feminine figure with dark, traditionally non-feminine, colors and patterns. 

Pan’s facial expression is serious and confident, portraying an air of professionalism. In opposition to social customs which dictated that women must avert their gaze as a show of modesty (Ng 2019: 26), Pan Yuliang stares straight ahead with a penetrating and unflinchingly direct gaze, challenging the preconceived notions of how women should act. The yellow blossoms behind her are reminiscent of classic feminine ideals and the vase suggestive of the outdated views of women she was forced to fight against her whole life. In traditional Chinese culture, women were often compared to flower vases, equating them to a fragile decorative object with no substance (Ng 2019: 25). By juxtaposing herself next to the vase of flowers (a reoccurring theme in many of her self-portraits) she confronts these antiquated and oppressive ideas, challenging viewers with her piercing gaze. She paints herself as a complex human being rather than as a clichéd ornamental beauty that women were so often portrayed as in art.

Works Cited:

Andrews, Julia Frances, and Kuiyi Shen. A Century in Crisis: Modernity and Tradition in the Art of Twentieth-Century China. Guggenheim Museum Publications, 1998.

Ng, Sandy. “The Art of Pan Yuliang: Fashioning the Self in Modern China.” Woman’s Art Journal 40, no. 1 (2019): 21–31.