A piece of colored mud, rolled in the hand, kneaded, and then glued to the black ears, pinched out a short arm and leg... In the blink of an eye, it has become the "ice pier" of the mascot of the Beijing Winter Olympics.
Recently, Zhang Junxian, the representative inheritor of Beijing's intangible cultural heritage "Beijing Noodles", showed reporters the Winter Olympic mascot made by teaching primary school students with colored mud. In his hands, the "ice pier" also played ice hockey, and the "snow rongrong" stepped on the skis.
On January 13, in Dongcheng District, Beijing, face sculpture artist Zhang Junxian and his Winter Olympic face sculpture. Beijing News reporter Zheng Xinqia photographed
Zhang Junxian, who is nearly seventy years old, was awarded the title of "Folk Arts and Crafts Artist" by UNESCO and the Chinese People's Association in 1995. Engaged in the craftsmanship of noodles for more than 40 years, Zhang Junxian regards it as a lifelong artistic pursuit.
Zhang Junxian's association with the "Double Olympics" dates back to 2008. Invited by the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee, Zhang Junxian went to the Olympic Village every day to show the traditional Chinese face sculpture art to foreign friends during the Beijing Olympic Games. In 2021, when the Beijing Winter Olympics were about to be held, Zhang Junxian began to make the winter Olympic mascots "Ice Pier" and "Snow Rongrong" face people, and brought the face sculpture experience class to primary and secondary schools, teaching children to make winter Olympic mascots with ultra-light clay (color mud).
Zhang Junxian's Winter Olympic mascots "Ice Pier" and "Snow Rongrong" are noodles. Beijing News reporter Zheng Xinqia photographed
Challenge tradition and make a face that can be preserved
Zhang Junxian's works focus on conveying the spirit, exquisite color, vivid shape, and seeing the big in the small.
Eighteen arhats, twelve zodiac signs, old birthday stars, Guan Gong, and a muscular iron crutch Li wearing shorts... The bookcase in his bedroom was filled with all sorts of people with faces. The brave Nezha glared at the Dragon King who came by the waves, it was Nezha noisy sea; Lin Chong, who was drunk, was against the goose feather snow, that was Lin Chong's snow on Liangshan at night... Each work is colorful and vivid.
Zhang Junxian's anti-epidemic theme face sculpture works. Beijing News reporter Zheng Xinqia photographed
Speaking of the association with "face sculpture", Zhang Junxian said that it was a very fortuitous opportunity. One day he was shopping with his children and saw an old gentleman on the side of the road pinching noodles, and he remembered the scene vividly. "At that time, there were several people in front of the line, and the child wanted a Sun Wukong, and the old man said, don't worry, come one by one."
This old gentleman was Zhang Junxian's first master, Huang Junshan. At that time, he watched Mr. Huang Lao's dough kneading people, kneading and kneading the dough in his hand, and in just a few minutes, a vivid Sun Wukong was "born". Zhang Junxian was impressed by Mr. Huang Lao's exquisite skills, "Like magic! In just a few minutes, the colorful dough in the old man's hands can be transformed into various shapes, and I felt so amazing that I made up my mind to learn the technique of face shaping from the old man. ”
However, when Zhang Junxian said to Mr. Huang Lao's idea of learning art from his teacher, he did not expect to be rejected by Mr. Huang. Mr. Huang Junshan has been pinching noodles all his life, and he relies on the stunt of noodles in one hand to go from his hometown in Shandong to Beijing to make a living, so as to support his family. He said to Zhang Junxian, "Young man, I advise you not to learn this, this line is particularly bitter, I have accepted more than twenty students, but in the end none of them can stick to it." The old man expressed his helplessness.
But Zhang Junxian was still bent on studying, and after his repeated pleading, the old man agreed to let him try. As a result, Huang Junshan also became Zhang Junxian's enlightenment teacher in the study of face skills.
Zhang Junxian followed Huang Junshan to learn from pinching the little white rabbit, and the little white rabbit originally made by his hand was too short in ears and too sharp in the nose, and was ridiculed by his friends like a rat, but he still persevered. The old man slowly discovered that this apprentice was very diligent, hardworking, and very quick to get started.
After studying art with Teacher Huang Junshan for three years, Zhang Junxian also visited the master of face plastic Wang Yan and He Xiaozheng as his teachers, and there were in-depth studies on the expression form of face plastic technology and the scientific treatment of surface materials, and at the same time strengthened the summary and collection of the origin of face plastic and the development of theoretical materials, and further discussed and studied, self-taught a large number of art theory books and Chinese and foreign classical masterpieces, theoretically improving their literary accomplishment. Later, I heard that there was a "clay man Zhang" in Tianjin whose works were very impressive, and Zhang Junxian took a train to Tianjin to observe and learn the techniques of "Clay Man Zhang", and skillfully used them in the production process of the face people, making the face sculpture works more evocative and more elaborate.
"As a folk craft, the art of face sculpture is very difficult to pass on." Zhang Junxian said that in the past, the face of the person was a "short-lived art", which was pinched in the summer and would have a layer of white hair the next day; in the winter, it would crack after a few days and it was difficult to preserve. But when he first asked the teacher's father, the master did not want to face this problem, and the master said, "If the noodles can be preserved for a long time, then what do we eat?" ”
But Zhang Junxian believes that "this art cannot be broken in the hands of our generation, it should be passed on." "Only by inheriting can art radiate lasting vitality." Consulting the dough sculptor Wang Yan plus his own pondering, Zhang Junxian added honey, glycerin and preservatives to the dough, and after countless experiments, the dough man finally did not crack, even if he pinched hard, it was not broken. Its preservation life has been extended from a few days to more than 30 years.
Walk into the Olympic Village and showcase the traditional art of face sculpture
In 2008, at the invitation of the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee, Zhang Junxian went to the Olympic Village during the Beijing Olympic Games to show the traditional Chinese face sculpture art to foreign friends.
On the day he received the invitation, Zhang Junxian was so excited that he did not close his eyes for one night. In Zhang Junxian's bookcase, there are also his certificates for entering the Olympic and Paralympic Games at that time, and the certificate of "China Story" issued to him by the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee and the China Folk Writers Association.
This event is the only project for Chinese folk artists to directly participate in the Olympic Games, serve the Olympic Games, and communicate with athletes from all over the world face-to-face, and it is also the only cultural display and performance project in the commercial street of Beijing Olympic Village, which has become the first characteristic cultural and folk art exchange activity in China in the history of the Olympic movement.
According to Zhang Junxian's recollection, before the Olympic Games even started, they entered the Olympic Village to work. Before entering the Olympic Village, he prepared the dough for the doughmith in advance. Every morning at 5 o'clock to get up, 6 o'clock to leave, he wears the certificate issued to him by the Olympic Organizing Committee, not to mention how proud, take the bus, subway can be free. "When I went to the Olympic Village, after breakfast, I officially 'took up my post' at 8:30."
Zhang Junxian said that there, on the one hand, he made noodles on the spot, showing the great charm of China's intangible cultural heritage to guests from all over the world, while spreading China's traditional culture. During the more than a month-long exhibition, the Olympic Games and the athletes gave him a lot of creative inspiration. During the Olympic Games, he also produced the "Olympic Champion" series of face sculptures, and for each athlete who won the gold medal, he used the face sculpture to make a real portrait. "When the athlete goes to this station, I can imitate his appearance in half an hour to make a face man." Many foreign athletes and coaches see his work and even claim praise: "Very good!" ”
It was also in this year that Zhang Junxian's face art entered the district-level "intangible cultural heritage" list and became an inheritor.
Bring the art of face sculpture into the classroom and teach children to pinch the Mascot of the Winter Olympics
After Beijing's successful bid to host the 2022 Winter Olympics, it aroused Zhang Junxian's desire to create, and he began to think about making a series of works about the Winter Olympics. He used ultra-light clay to create images of the Mascots of the Winter Olympics, "Ice Piers" and "Snow Melting", and took them into the campuses of primary and secondary schools. In his hands, the "ice pier" plays ice hockey, and the "snow melts" on the skis. "I am using my meaning to welcome athletes from all over the world who participate in the Winter Olympics." Zhang Junxian said.
Zhang Junxian is making a face sculpture of the Winter Olympic mascot "Ice Pier". Beijing News reporter Zheng Xinqia photographed
"Before, I was just a noodle person, and I didn't think about the problem of inheritance. Now as a non-hereditary heir, I feel that the burden on my body is getting heavier and heavier. Today, when traditional folk art is on the verge of extinction, our generation of folk artists must boldly take the podium and pass on what they know to students without reservation, so that they can teach art without hiding it. In Zhang Junxian's view, in order to inherit, folk art must first go out of the house, so that more ordinary people have the opportunity to learn it and fall in love with it.
Today, Zhang Junxian, who is over the age of flower armor, often travels to schools, streets and communities to teach face plastic. Preschool teachers, restaurant cooks, socially handicapped people, students, and community residents have all become his students, and they have followed him to feel the charm of the art of face sculpture.
Temple of Heaven Dongli Primary School, Jintai Primary School, Gymnasium Road Primary School... Zhang Junxian has all taken classes here. In order to make the children interested in the opposite plastic, he looked for all the materials that could be used as face people, such as Beijing Fuwa, Smurfs, Happy Goat, NBA stars... The various images that the children liked were all displayed one by one by his face sculpture. Before each class, Zhang Junxian would write a detailed hand-written lesson plan, write out the face shaping skills in a simple and simple way, and then teach them to the children. In these places, the children are his best students and the hope for the future of face sculpture.
Beijing News reporter Chen Lin photojournalist Zheng Xinqia
Edited by Liu Xixian Proofreader Li Lijun