The name Han Yu may not be familiar to many people, but mentioning the "Three Monks" he painted is a childhood memory of generations of Chinese. On June 25, the 90-year-old Han Yu appeared at the Art Museum of the Beijing Academy of Fine Arts and brought his new book "I Read Qi Baishi". On the same day, the exhibition "Will Not Be Far Away - Han Yu Reading Qi Baishi" was also officially opened.
Mr. Han Yu donated books published over the years, such as "I Read Qi Baishi", to the Beijing Academy of Painting
book
"A post-90s old man touts another post-90s old man"
The book "I Read Qi Baishi" contains 50 articles, and through the form of one painting and one article, it expounds Han Yu's understanding of the philosophical ideas contained in Qi Baishi's paintings, which is a comprehensive presentation of his research results on Qi Baishi. The article is concise and concise, the perspective is unique, the side is quoted, the language is plain, and after reading, people can't help but be funny.
Nowadays, there are many works about Qi Baishi, but few scholars can cut into the painting itself and comment on the philosophical ideas and aesthetic pursuits of the painting. Han Yu said in the book: "Qi Baishi's brush, no matter what the point is, the 'what' is immediately interesting, but it is cute and cute... Zhenzhen is in line with that idiom: turn a stone into gold. Because of this, Han Yu must sigh every time he looks at Qi Baishi's works: "Playing is not tired, and I can't see the end." ”
Han Yu was deeply moved by Qi Baishi's art and would write such a witty remark. Years later, he still vividly remembers the excitement of seeing "He Called Each Other every day" for the first time, "two little chicks, like a mirror, let the well-dressed people shine themselves out of it, and they are ashamed of themselves." A small painting of flowers and birds has such a great power that it is unparalleled in the world from ancient times to the present. ”
"This is a book by a post-90s old man touting another post-90s old man." Han Yu said humorously, "Although they are all post-90s, when I was born, the old man of Baishi was already 70 years old, and he was the grandfather's generation. Taking the drama world as an analogy, The Old Man Shiraishi is a titan to look up to, I am just a fan of the stage, I will only shout good! This book is a good call, but this good is not called to the point, you have to say twice. ”
unfold
More than 70 works by Qi Baishi are exhibited together with "Three Monks"
As an important town for Qi Baishi's research, the Beijing Academy of Painting specially took the book "I Read Qi Baishi" as the starting point for curating and research, and held the exhibition "Not Far from the Heart - Han Yu Reading Qi Baishi" at the Art Museum of the Beijing Academy of Painting, so that the artistic works of the two ninety-year-olds had a dialogue and echoed each other.
The exhibition sorts out the wonderful chapters of the book "I Read Qi Baishi" and selects more than 70 works of Qi Baishi collected by the Beijing Painting Institute for display. At the same time, it also comprehensively presents the comics, calligraphy, Chinese paintings, books and other categories created by Han Yu in different periods, including the painting "Three Monks" and his unique opera character paintings.
Qi Baishi and Han Yu, two artists, although different in time and space, are surprisingly similar in their life circumstances and artistic pursuits. Both were born into ordinary peasant families, and the sights and stories of local life are reflected in their paintings. For example, Qi Baishi's paintings of "Cow Herding" and "Chai Xiao", Han Yu's paintings of "Playing the Stove King" and "Watching Drama in Childhood" all come from the understanding of life. In addition, both of their art draw on the essence of many folk arts. Qi Baishi borrowed the simplicity of hunan local wood carving and woodcut art, and Han Yu found the artistic language of folk comics, which was to the point and unexpected. At the same time, through self-study, with the persistence and desire for painting, they have gradually ascended to the temple of art. Both were erudite and talented, Qi Baishi poetry, books, paintings, and printing, omnipotent; Han Yu was also proficient in calligraphy and painting. Because of this, Han Yu really understood Qi Baishi, and "I Read Qi Baishi" was just like the intimate jokes between the elderly.
The titles of Han Yu's articles are short and concise, rich in deep meaning and philosophy, such as ""Half" Character Has a Big Article", "Not Leaving the Brush, Not in the Brush", "The Peak Is Speechless and Sound", "What Does It Mean to Be a Piece Of Feather", "Interesting in the Heart, Endless and Uninteresting", etc., these insights are presented in a multimedia and digital way in the exhibition. The exhibition will run until October 8.
draw
The design of the three monks is expensive in "simplicity"
Han Yu is the first generation of art workers since the founding of New China. As early as 1958, his comic strip "Give Way" caused a lot of sensation in society. In 1981, the classic character image in the animated short film "Three Monks" produced by Shanghai Fine Arts Film Studio was written by Han Yu. The film won the best art film at the first Golden Rooster Awards, the Silver Bear Award for Short Films at the 32nd Berlin International Film Festival and other domestic and foreign awards, and its broadcast on television is a precious memory of a generation. For his outstanding contributions to the cause of Chinese comics, he also won the honorary award of the "Golden Monkey Award of Chinese Comics".
At the exhibition site, Han Yu told the creation story of "Three Monks". "At that time, the Shanghai Fine Arts Film Studio wanted to find some cooperation partners from the society, because it was better to rely on the strength of the factory alone than to work together." In fact, as early as the early 1960s, Shanghai Mei film studio had adapted Han Yu's comic strip "A Silk Belt" into an animated film. In 1979, director Xu Jingda took the initiative to find Han Yu and wanted to cooperate.
"The Three Monks" appeared in the exhibition
"At that time, we set a theme for educating children, that is, 'don't be selfish', selfish and harmful to others, and design stories around this theme." Thinking about it, they thought of a few folk proverbs that everyone is familiar with: "One monk carries water to eat, two monks carry water to eat, and three monks have no water to eat." However, the proverb ends negatively, and they hope to tell the story of the transformation of the three monks in the film, "how to go from selfish to not selfish, how to go from having no water to having water to eating."
After setting the theme and story, the styling design becomes the biggest problem. "Three monks are folk proverbs, abstract, and can't all be made into a movie, right?" At least appearance, height, fat and thin, personality, there must be a difference. "Therefore, Han Yu designed the three characters as a small monk, a middle-aged thin monk, and a fat monk." The little monk was relatively simple, there was no bad eye, there was no selfishness, he appeared first. Then I met a middle-aged skinny monk, and the two lived together. Perhaps under the influence of the thin monk, the little monk learned to be selfish. Although the fat monk is also selfish, he is not as yin as the thin monk, he is chubby and stupid. ”
In this way, three characters with different personalities were born, and the simple lines and the use of red, yellow and blue primary colors made the image of the three monks particularly deeply rooted in people's hearts. Han Yu concluded that the success of this film lies in its minimalist style: "The color is the simplest, the lines are the simplest, and the composition picture is the simplest." Except for the necessary props, there is nothing more. ”