Visual Culture in Communist China

One of the websites I found very interesting is http://www.lhs-arts.org/lang.html. It is the official site of the Liu Haisu museum in Shanghai. In this website, there is a lot of information on paintings of Liu Haisu, including the picture of the painting and the introduction. Also, there is an introduction to Liu Haisu’s life and its literature work. It also gets both the Chinese and English version of the website.

I found Joe’s art analysis is very useful to my artist and his work. Qi Baishi is obviously good at painting ink on the paper and ShanShui painting. My target Liu Haisu is also very good at Shanshui painting. In his late life, he drew lots of painting on Mount Huang using the techniques of ink on the paper. However, Liu Haisu combined western painting styles with traditional Shanshui painting. However, Qi Baishi’s painting is purely traditional style. I can compare Qi Baishi’s painting with Liu Haisu’s painting. It would show how Liu Haisu changes his painting style.

This link is a video of Yu Hong’s commentary on the quality of life in a rapidly developing society. She initially talks about the societal pressures women in China face to suit the traditional role. However, she feels that China has changed since many women are now able to be successful artists. The video captures her studio space in what seems to be an abandoned industrial park. The decrepitness of the industrial space emphasizes the harsh conditions of China. She talks about how her next series focuses on melancholy, specifically painting and interviewing those around her. The paintings emphasize the true reality of a rapid growing China, a pure melancholic state that has grown too fast for it’s people.

Link: https://www.nowness.com/story/yu-hong-the-laughing-heart

Bibliography

NOWNESS. 2013. https://www.nowness.com/story/yu-hong-the-laughing-heart.

At the top of Ai Weiwei’s website is a link to to http://www.moonmoonmoonmoon.com, a collaborative project with Olafur Eliasson. On the site, visitors could click on any blank space of the moon and upload a drawing, filling the moon on the main page with sketches and quotes. The purpose of the project, which began in November of 2013 and ended almost four years later, was to connect people all around the world through art. Moon is another example of Ai’s use of art to bridge cultural gaps, encouraging creativity amongst the public and promoting positive conversation and expression. Interactive projects like this and #aiflowers, a response to the Sichuan earthquake of 2008, engaged the public to participate, reflecting his goal to incorporate politics into art.

References

This website gives a biography of Li Keran as well as the story of his career. This biography is interesting not only because it provides the story of Li Keran’s life, but also gives context to the events in it. The link talks about Keran’s academic and artist career as well as the political and legal trouble Keran ran into in his life. The link is particularly interesting in talking about Keran’s life during the Cultural Revolution. Keran was not only criticized during the revolution but was imprisoned and harassed as well. Despite this he continued painting in his unique. The article shows how determined and dedicated Li Keran was to art and how that legacy still lives on in Chinese art.

Link: http://www.chinaheritagequarterly.org/scholarship.php?searchterm=012_CenturyliKeran.inc&issue=012

Bibliography:

Roberts, Claire. China Heritage Quarterly. Australian National University. http://www.chinaheritagequarterly.org/scholarship.php?searchterm=012_CenturyliKeran.inc&issue=012.

Lars’ analysis of Fu Baoshi and his individualistic style is an interesting comparison to Li Keran’s own work and style. Lars’ talks about how Baoshi grew up in a time of lost identity and how he turned to traditional realistic depictions that stressed color and a shift from the monochromatic Chinese techniques. The painting Lars chose for the analysis is similar to Dresden at Dusk in its effect and appearance. However, Keran utilized the traditional monochromic style seen in Chinese traditional while Baoshi included color in his work. Both acknowledge and use traditional styles but add their own twist to their works. In Keran’s case it is the incorporation of Western art styles, Baoshi adds his personal touch with uses color and ink wash. The combination of traditional Chinese styles with other techniques is an interesting evolution of the art, as is seeing how different artists take that evolution in different directions.

Huang Yong Ping in Paris. Image

This webpage focuses on Huang Yong Ping and some of his most famous works, as well as crucial information to understand his life and the kind of artist he is. Beginning with important personal information, the article provides insight to his early life and what he is known for. Huang Yong Ping was a very controversial artist, and a lot of his work involved political and historical controversies. This webpage goes into more detail with what he was involved in, such as the dada group, which he founded. This group held an exhibition and then burnt all of their work. This led him to the realization that art is about the “spiritual process of creating and not the finished product”(Mancoff). This is insight to the studying of his work because it gives a better understanding of why his work might be the way that it is. Huang Yong Ping lived through many events that influenced his work and it was mentioned in this webpage as well. The reason why this is important is because his art is influenced upon what he has been through and experienced, and the political views he possesses.

Bibliography

Britannica Academic, s.v. “Huang Yong Ping,” accessed January 27, 2019, https://academic.eb.com/levels/collegiate/article/Huang-Yong-Ping/628702.

Image: Encyclopædia Britannica. “Huang Yong Ping,” accessed February 1, 2019, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Huang-Yong-Ping/images-videos/media/2075911/218345

Chen Yifei. Eulogy to the Yellow River. Oil on canvas, 1972. Image source: RasMarley. “Chen Yifei (1946-2005) – 1972 Eulogy of the Yellow River (Private Collection).” Flickr. September 05, 2013. Accessed January 29, 2019. https://www.flickr.com/photos/32357038@N08/9680204005.

This 1972 oil on canvas piece by Chen Yifei is titled, Eulogy to the Yellow River. Inspired by a poem written by Guang Weiran, it depicts a soldier of the red army standing on the edge of a cliff overlooking a vast, mountainous landscape through which a powerful river flows. A flock of geese can be seen flying over the river behind the soldier. With its large size of 297 cm by 143.5 cm, Yifei uses lots of color and detailed, expressive brush strokes to create a very realistic image.

This painting was made at a time when order was being restored to China after the Cultural Revolution. For years, China was in a state of near-anarchy, with students and young adults being called upon by Mao to overthrow many teachers and party leaders to extinguish their old ways of thought and propel the party forward once again. This put China into chaos for years, with many people hoping for the arrival of a better future. Eulogy to the Yellow River is a massive, serene image that portrays a sense of sheer beauty, heroism, and hope. The brushstrokes used show motion and power, while the rays of sunlight across the mountains make the entire painting glow with dazzling beauty. Yifei was quoted saying, “In the red army soldier’s rifle shoulder strap was a little piece of red fabric, like a blossoming fresh flower… I felt it was so beautiful, and heroic, as well as romantic.” (China Guardian, 2013). The soldier looks very dignified, with happiness and accomplishment on his face. He stands on the highest point in the painting, facing the viewer with his back to the landscape. Many Chinese works of art depict someone looking out over a landscape to symbolize a brighter future. It seems that Yifei painted this soldier looking toward the viewer with his back to the darker landscape to portray the idea that they have made it through the most strenuous times and can now begin to enjoy the fruits of a new society.

The scale of this painting immerses the viewer into the scene and evokes romanticized feelings of hope and heroism. Famous artist, Chen Danqing, remembers his first time seeing the work, “Standing in front of the giant canvas Yellow River… I must have been eighteen then, my only feeling was: I also need to paint grand oil paintings!” (China Guardian, 2013).

Bibliography:

Who We Are-China Guardian Auctions Co.,Ltd. Accessed January 29, 2019. http://www.cguardian.com/en/zxzx/2013/12/3860.shtml.

Andrews, Julia Frances., and Kuiyi Shen. The Art of Modern China. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2012.

“Chen Yifei (1946-2005): China’s Restless Romantic.” Geringer Art, Ltd. July 21, 2017. Accessed January 29, 2019. https://www.geringerart.com/chen-yifei-1946-2005-chinas-restless-romantic/.

Revolvy, LLC. “”Chen Yifei”.” Revolvy. Accessed January 29, 2019. https://www.revolvy.com/page/Chen-Yifei.

“WikiVisually.com.” WikiVisually. Accessed January 29, 2019. https://wikivisually.com/wiki/Chen_Yifei.

Figure 1, Chinese Offspring, Zhang Dali, Saatchi Gallery, 2003

This installation encompasses Zhang Dali’s mission to visually aestheticize the foundation of everyday life in China. His rebellious attitude is evident in this exhibit as he portrays the social deficiencies of working class citizens. In this exhibit he portrays immigrant workers from rural areas of China who have traveled to major cities in order to earn a living providing for their families. These are construction workers who are described as “the most important members of the Chinese race,” because they are literally building the physical foundation of China’s reality. (Saatchi Gallery) Zhang chose to represent these figures because despite their fundamental importance to Chinese society, they remain a “faceless crowd who live at the bottom of out society.” (Saatchi Gallery) In order to create these figures, Zhang cast them in resin, a way of small scale production in which liquid resin in poured into a plastic mold and then hardens. By doing this, he immortalizes their identity and importance, giving them the recognition they are owed and would otherwise never receive. Here, the artist has hung these figures upside down which indicates “the uncertainty of their life and their powerlessness in their own fates.” (Saatchi Gallery)

The gallery describes Zhang Dali’s work as “actively engaging with the rapid changing environment in China… Working across a wide variety of media.. Zhang’s portraits document a contemporary social history of a culture in radical development and flux.” (Saatchi Gallery) Zhang has created one hundred of these sculptures, displaying fifteen in this exhibit, each one of them different. Every one of the resin figures is tattooed with his signature and a number in an effort to pay his respects to the workers and give them a sense of individuality however, also playing on their lack of identity – degrading them to a number rather than a name. The underclass construction workers “contribute to the modernisation process at its most visible level… Zhang’s work not only champions the individual plights of these transient labourers, but also records the one of the most important phenomena of new Chinese order: the growing schism between poverty and wealth.” (Saatchi Gallery) His work exemplifies the irony in that these workers are the epitome of poverty and underdevelopment however their work contributes to the exact opposite, modernization and wealthy corporations. The fact that these figures are bare naked, hanging upside down from their feet exaggerates their sense of vulnerability.

Bibliography:

“Zhang Dali: Chinese Offspring.” Saatchi Gallery Artists, Saatchi Gallery, 2003, www.saatchigallery.com/artists/artpages/zhang_dali_offspring.htm.