The Year of the Tiger is approaching, and a "Tiger New Year - 2022 Year of the Tiger Theme Illustration Exhibition" kicked off in the first exhibition hall of shanghai library. In the exhibition hall, there are not only more than 10 fine New Year paintings from the collection of the above-mentioned museum, but also theme paintings created by well-known artists and emerging cartoonists. The "tigers" presented from different perspectives and different expression methods gather together, and the traditional and modern are in harmony, opening the imagination space for visitors to the Chinese New Year festival and traditional zodiac signs.
Why is there a New Year painting in the illustration exhibition? In fact, new year paintings are equivalent to the illustrations drawn by our predecessors, and they are used for commercial illustrations. In the works of New Year paintings, the spiritual core is traditional culture, and the form of expression is illustration with woodblocks as a technical means. Woodblock prints can be called one of the most successful commercial illustrations in ancient China. It originated in the Song Dynasty, flourished in the Ming and Qing dynasties, and reached its peak during the Kangqian period. With the change of people's lifestyle, the custom of New Year painting has gradually been forgotten, but as a folk art form, its aesthetic value and cultural value have not disappeared, and after the washing of time, it has revealed a unique sense of beauty. When visitors stand in front of the pictures that have lasted for a hundred years, they can feel the mood of the people celebrating the New Year and the lively scene of welcoming the new year.
Interactive area of the exhibition site
The themes of the New Year paintings exhibited in this exhibition include themes such as zodiac signs and New Year customs, including Shanghai, Weifang, Shandong, Yangliuqing in Tianjin, and Wuqiang in Hebei. Zheng Xinyao, chairman of the Shanghai Artists Association, Sun Shaobo, director of the Comic Animation Art Committee of the Shanghai Artists Association, Murong Yingdao, cartoonist, Gui Tuzi, Wu Peng, and Yuechi, young illustrators, and huang Xiaoxiao, an ink painter, also created unique works for the Year of the Tiger for the exhibition.
As a flexible and free artistic language, illustration has made great achievements with the development of printing technology. Nowadays, the rise of digital media has given illustration art a new look, and the popularity of mobile reading has given illustration a broad space for development. In recent years, works with illustration as the main means of narration have developed into cross-age and cross-field art forms, which have been recognized and loved by readers. While embracing contemporary technology, many young illustrators draw nourishment from tradition and nourish their creations. Three months ago, the above exhibition joint illustration platform "Pineapple Circle" with the tiger as the theme, to collect illustration works, as of December 31, 2021, a total of hundreds of illustrators from 19 provinces and cities have received submissions, but also from the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Australia illustrators actively participated, and finally selected more than 50 works of 35 illustrators, also presented in this exhibition.
There are also elaborate interactive areas in the exhibition hall, where readers can paint their own works of the Year of the Tiger on the spot, or read related theme books and play with various Crafts of the Year of the Tiger. The exhibition covers the Chinese New Year holiday and extends until February 16.