Beiqing Quick Review | may wish to tolerate the "Sad Tiger" zodiac stamps

Recently, the China Post Tiger Year Zodiac stamps began to be issued to the outside world, but many netizens complained that the tigers on the stamps were "slightly sad", their brows were locked, they looked sick, and they did not have the might of the mountain tiger at all. "The tiger in the first picture looks a little sad and full of sadness; in the second picture, the tiger mother with two cubs is not happy. The big tiger has no tiger power, and the little tiger is not agile. Some netizens even doubted the painter's level.

Zodiac stamps are New Year stamps featuring twelve zodiac animals. Because of its traditional culture, this kind of stamp has commemorative significance and collection value, and has attracted social attention. According to the traditional Chinese calendar, 2022 is the Year of the Tiger, so the Year of the Tiger zodiac stamps are either loved by collectors or purchased by people born in the Year of the Tiger. But I did not expect that as soon as the Year of the Tiger zodiac stamp was recently issued, it was questioned by netizens - the tiger on the stamp was considered "sad" and "like a cat".

In this regard, both painters and netizens have different views, one side believes that the tiger on the zodiac stamp lacks the style of the king and is too sad; the other side believes that the tiger in the painting is not benevolent, courageous and gentle, and the tiger also has happy, sad, and missed times. At the same time, the author of the work also explained that "animals also have joys and sorrows" and "anthropomorphizes it and strive to convey a spiritual emotion". Apparently on purpose.

So, how do we view this "sad tiger"? From a scientific point of view, animals have various emotions and emotional expressions, but we lack careful observation of the emotional performance of some animals. That being the case, as a tiger on a zodiac stamp, there should also be different emotions and expressions. From the perspective of artistic creation, the painter also has the freedom and right to give the work emotions and emotions. We cannot evaluate a painter's work by one way of thinking or one standard.

Taking tiger painting as an example, although most of the works show the domineering spirit of the king of the tiger, and the tiger does have the reputation of "the king of the beasts", thus leaving a more consistent impression on the public, we cannot ignore the other emotional expressions of the tiger. In particular, artistic creation should not only show the diverse emotions of the tiger, let the creation break the rules and regulations, but also use the tiger to show people's thoughts and emotions, so that the connotation of the work is richer. And simply imitating the monotonous mood of a tiger makes little sense.

Therefore, we must look at the "sad tiger" on the zodiac stamp rationally and inclusively. This can not only give more room for artistic creation, but also allow the zodiac stamps to show different things. If you do not recognize the "sad tiger" and then doubt the level of the painter, in fact, rigid thinking limits people's imagination, which deviates from the reality of animal pluralistic emotions and diversified artistic creation. Of course, it is normal for people to have different views on the same work of art, and painters must also correctly view different opinions.

However, when painters create tigers for zodiac stamps, they also have to consider how many people accept the "sad tiger". If most people like the "mighty tiger" and do not accept the "sad tiger", then as a more popular zodiac stamp, the issuance will be affected. This kind of creation is not a private customization, but to consider the market acceptance. Even if the "sad tiger" is deliberately to break through its animal properties to paint, there must be a detailed and popular interpretation to facilitate the public to understand the original intention of creation.

The reason why the "sad tiger" has aroused controversy and doubt, on the one hand, from some netizens to some painters, they all use solidified thinking or rigid thinking to look at tigers and artistic creation. On the other hand, it may also be related to the painter's creation of too much self, ignoring the psychological needs of the public. Hopefully, this controversy will provoke us to think deeply, whether it is the creation of zodiac stamps or the creation of other works of art, whether it should cater to the public or guide the public, whether it should be popularized or personalized.

Text/Zhang Haiying

Image source/Visual China

Edit/Ji Yuan