| An important
issue within the contemporary Chinese art circle is the close
relationship between Eastern and Western cultures, and their
effects on one another when it comes to traditional Chinese
painting and calligraphy. Chinese art today is heavily influenced
by Western art and concepts, particularly ink and oil paintings,
and performance arts. By transforming both conventional and
contemporary Western vocabulary, Chinese artists are now negotiating
culture differences between the past and present, self and
others, as well as styles and ideas. Five mainstreams artists
in particular have ushered in this modern take on traditional
Chinese art over the past century, the oldest, 95 years old
and the youngest, 46 years old.
The differences
between Western paintings and Chinese paintings are undeniable,
for each defines itself in its own unique, yet subtle way.
Western paintings are usually more direct in its message,
realistic in perception and intense with details. Chinese
paintings however are mostly indirect in its message, impressionistic
in perception and relatively simple with details. Their
difference correlates with each culture’s way of thinking,
philosophies and lifestyles.
C.C. Wang is by
far one of the most famous masters of Chinese art still
living today. Not only a famous painter, he is also a calligrapher
and philosopher. His unique styles and techniques have influenced
many young artists today. Coming to the United States in
1947, Mr. Wang studied art history at a famous school for
abstract expressionism in New York. Using the Northern Sung
Dynasty style of painting as the basis for his own works
of art, Mr. Wang has taken the simplicity of tradition and
added a whole new dimension through his use of strong, thick,
and bright tonal colors. Creating textures through the use
of accidental effects, Mr. Wang’s departure from the more
traditional planning of each brush stroke, has resulted
in his ability to evoke an abstract feeling from his art,
including his calligraphy.
Believing that humans
should take the feelings and rights of their animal counterparts
into consideration, Su Xinhong, the chairman of an art institute
on oil and Chinese paintings, uses humanism and the environment
as the inspiration for his art. Using bright colors and
ink techniques, Mr. Su creates heavy layers of colors to
compliment the symbolic subject matter within his paintings.
Though art, peace is attained, both unique and decent, it
is a mix of both Western concepts and Chinese colors that
allows us to "relax in his troublesome life."
Zhang Hongtu, a
vanguard artist born in Beijing, China, who attended the
Central Academy of Fine Arts, moved to the United States
18 years ago and started his career as a painter of Mountain/River
art, utilizing the styles of Van Gogh and Monet. Different
from landscape painting, which has fewer colors, details
and emotional input from the artist, Mr. Zhang’s injection
of Western impressionism into his work, has given a newly
found energy and perspective on a 2000-year-old tradition.
Taking into consideration movement, space and time, Mr.
Zhang’s philosophy is that it is beneficial to recycle old
styles in order to create new things.
At first glance,
the art of Xu Yongmin, a professor and executive vice-president
of the Hubei Fine Artists’ Association, may look like oil
or water colors to the naked eye, but in reality it is Chinese
ink on rice paper. Criticized for being commercialistic,
and anti-traditional by his peers, Mr. Xu believes that
there should reform in the way things are done, that Chinese
painting should embrace Western techniques and ecstatic
theories, using more durable materials for longer lasting
creations.
Born
in Central West China, Fan Feng was the earliest pioneer
in the reformation of Chinese paintings during the 1970’s.
Utilizing the Sung Dynasty effect, he believed that colors
and textures were more important than techniques of the
brush and ink. Criticized for being too westernized, Mr.
Fan’s art departs from tradition, adding abstraction into
the typical Chinese painting of the bird’s eye perspective
with fresh colors.
Not until after
the 1980’s, when the Open Door Policy with China was put
fully in effect with the United States, did the acceptance
of modern Western ideas seep into the traditional Chinese
way of painting.
|
