Chongqing, January 26 (Reporter Liu Chun, correspondent Gao Shaojun, Qin Tao) Zeng Lingxiang, doctor of public art at the China Academy of Art, member of the China Sculpture Association, director of the Public Art Teaching and Research Office of the School of Public Art of the Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts, and now the first secretary of the central village of Huatian Township, Youyang.
Zeng Lingxiang in Youyang Central Village (Courtesy of Youyang County Rong Media Center)
Since he was stationed in the central village in May 2021, he has perfectly realized the gorgeous transformation from a professor who teaches and educates people to a secretary who solves his worries and difficulties, and together with the two committees of the village branch, he has carried out the planning and creation of rural art seasons, cultural revitalization planning, road and architectural style art design, "toilet revolution", agricultural festival scene installation design, agricultural product packaging design, people's art training center, etc., and explored a new path for rural revitalization with art.
Link resources to increase villagers' income
"On June 20 last year, Professor Zeng brought some students to eat and live with us, which brought a sum of income to my family." Ran Qiuxian, a villager in the village, said that only that time brought more than 10,000 yuan of income to the family.
It is reported that in June 2021, Zeng Lingxiang led the students of the Rural Revitalization and Folk Art Revitalization Characteristic Studio of the Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts and the graduate students of public art to carry out a 12-day workshop in the central village of "The Centennial Answer Sheet of the Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts Huatian Central Village Rural Revitalization Art Planning and Field Creation". During this period, Zeng Lingxiang also led the students to eat, live and work with the villagers, bringing about 50,000 yuan of income for the local villagers.
Zeng Lingxiang wrote in his work notes: In order to create a "research and study homestay experimental point" (Qi Fu'an home in the first group of central village), since June last year, the central village has guided the villagers' environmental beautification and industrial development in the form of Sichuan and American art practice courses and art research studies, and 7 villagers have participated in the experiment, with the highest benefit of 11,760 yuan.
"Linking resources and promoting industrial development is one of the plans for rural revitalization." Zeng Lingxiang said that considering "agriculture" as a holistic "life industry" has become a proposition of life aspirations and lifestyles, and art is an important starting point for integrating different social groups to understand, appreciate and identify with rural values, and to reconstruct society, so as to realize the integration and innovative development of agriculture, forestry, literature and art tourism.
After Zeng Lingxiang learned that there were 7 groups of lacquer craft inheritors, he purchased two wood embryos from the Internet, and as soon as he had time, he discussed and studied with the villagers how to make more exquisite and more craftsmanship lacquerware, and studied the structure of lacquer as a comprehensive industrial plan for the integration of agriculture, forestry, literature and tourism.
Zeng Lingxiang is creating (Courtesy of Youyang County Rong Media Center)
At the same time, he invited experts from various fields to visit the central village for many inspections, combined with the advantages of local resources to create a biodiversity park and landscape housing planning, so as to promote the sustainable ecological development of the central village.
From the "toilet revolution" to the empowerment of art
"There is a water heater and a washbasin inside, the appearance is well done, and there are many people who come to visit." Yang Deyun, a villager in the village, never dreamed that his toilet was more beautiful than the house, and the decorative materials were transformed by using firewood and wood, waste furniture and other old things in the home, which was ecologically friendly and beautiful.
"The 'Toilet Revolution' demonstration site in Central Village is located in Groups 1 and 2, with a total of 58 households, 39 new toilets and 19 reconstructed toilets." Zeng Lingxiang said that the "toilet revolution" in the central village revolves around the 3 points of mechanism innovation, functional innovation, and cultural innovation to carry out a new model of rural toilet design; from the mechanism to adopt the model of "farmers + mutual aid cooperatives + government + integral bank", farmers as the main body, from the farmers voluntarily, site self-adjustment, rough self-construction, fault self-repair 4 levels to mobilize the villagers' initiative and enthusiasm, villagers can use points in the points bank to exchange toilet necessities, the use of home firewood, wood, waste furniture and other materials for the transformation of old things, the use of "super finishing." The way, implanted with the abstract aesthetic concept of dots and lines, creates an aesthetic paradigm that is different from the experience of daily life, so that the built toilet becomes a work of art in the living environment, which is not only convenient for life, but also a landscape sketch that leads the rural aesthetics, and the transformation of the small toilet into a demonstration model for the large people's livelihood project."
In addition to his work in the village, Zeng Lingxiang also assisted in planning the "Second China Youyang Rural Art Season", road landscape flower design, rural revitalization slogan design, etc. in Hejiayan Village, and jointly designed the central village logo and the packaging design of rice and water in the central village with the team stationed in the village, making the village the first base of the Huatian Township e-commerce platform.
Artistic intervention drives the revitalization of rural culture
"The artwork highlights the original scenery of the countryside and the original traditional cultural values of the countryside, so as to empower the entire countryside and promote cultural revitalization." Zeng Lingxiang said that through the intervention of art, it will surely lead to cultural revitalization, thus promoting rural revitalization. Next, he will run art through the people's daily production and life ecology, carry out various forms of cultural and artistic activities, and comprehensively help the revitalization of Huatian Township.
Zeng Lingxiang (left) directs the creation of rural art season works (Courtesy of Youyang County Rong Media Center)
In the activity of participating in the planning and implementation of the "Second China Youyang Rural Art Season", Zeng Lingxiang created together with young artists from 4 colleges and universities in Chengdu and Chongqing and local villagers, excavated and displayed the local traditional culture, and 29 works of art such as baskets, ladders and wooden houses landed in Hejiayan Ancient Village, which not only beautified the countryside, but also built a bridge between art and rural construction, and explored a new path for art to revitalize the countryside.
"The 29 works of art on the wall and on the ground add color to the rural tourism of our Hejiayan Village and will attract more tourists to play." Tao Tao, deputy mayor of Huatian Township, said that in the past 8 months since Zeng Lingxiang was stationed in the village, he has played his advantages very well. In order to help agricultural products become commodities, the design of the central village logo, Huatian Gongmi and other brand packaging and derivatives; in order to promote the sustainable ecological development of the central village, experts from various fields were invited to the central village for many inspections, combined with the advantages of local resources to create a biodiversity park and landscape housing planning.
"There are three things to do in the central village." Zeng Lingxiang said that first, based on the People's Art Training Center of the New Era Civilization Center Practice Station, the community governance service teams from all parties have been introduced to interact with the people and build together to make the daily lives of the people more beautiful. Second, with art and culture as a means, together with villagers and craftsmen, we will do a central laboratory for raw lacquer to achieve the malleable development of the raw lacquer industry in the central village. Third, it is planned to realize comprehensive innovation projects of agriculture and forestry cultural tourism such as alpine hive communities in the Wujiaping area of group 3 of the central village.
"For example, the 'Flower Field Inside and Outside, Up and Down the Yangtze River' cultural and artistic season is such an activity, so that the world can understand the flower field and let the flower field go out of Youyang." At present, Zeng Lingxiang is planning a sustainable cultural and artistic platform with Huatian Township as a whole and six villages to hold it together.