Pictured: Wang Weimin is guiding 8-year-old Wang Han Courtesy of the organizers
The 30-meter "Long Scroll of the Upper Seaside River" by pen painter Wang Weimin is being exhibited at the "Painting Shanghai - Shanghai Style Painting Exhibition in Comics" at the Shanghai Culture Square. Yesterday, he appeared in the exhibition with The French curator Yohan Radomski, who welcomed 20 young visitors with painting dreams. Wang You'an gave a detailed and vivid tour for the children, while Wang Weimin instructed the children to copy the riverside building in front of his long scroll.
If you want to define this exhibition, Wang Youan believes that it is "telling stories through pictures and words". He loves Chinese comics and Chinese culture, and has a good understanding of Shanghai's past and present lives and anecdotes of comic artists, this time he has selected nearly 600 works by 18 Chinese and foreign cartoonists and 4 collectors, overlooking the changes of the city from different perspectives, telling the inseparable relationship between comics and Shanghai.
The first to show is part of the work in the cartoonist Ding Shu's "Hundred Beauty Map", who is the father of cartoonist Ding Cong. His paintings depict shanghai women riding horses, skating, playing the violin, etc., showing the social life of that time, and also becoming the germ of modern Chinese feminist painting. Wang You'an introduced, "Opposite is He Youzhi's works, which he created in the 1980s, and the scenes in the paintings are his memories of 40 years ago." His eyes and mind are like cameras, recreating details over many years. "The vivid explanation made the children listen to it with relish, and also helped them understand the mystery of the master's paintings."
Pictured: Wang You'an is giving you a guided tour
After the visit, this group of children who love painting have been eager to try, and they can't wait to take the drawing board handed by Wang Weimin and start copying the "Long Scroll of the Upper Seaside River". What was displayed at the scene was a 12-meter-long miniature version, but for 12-year-old Tang Shiying, it was already "very shocking", she sighed: "It turned out that with a pen, I could create such a majestic work, and my city was so imposing!" She chose to copy the Lupu Bridge in the long scroll, because she lived in Pudong and had just passed the bridge on her way to see the exhibition.
Just after drawing a few arcs, Tang Shiying found that it was not right - the bridge body was too long to draw, Wang Weimin immediately stepped forward when he saw the situation, while showing the process of drafting by hand, while introducing: "We must first determine the overall structural proportion of the picture, and then consider the perspective relationship, so that we will not paint half of the picture and find that the picture is not large enough." 8-year-old Wang Han is also a "painting fan", Wang Han's mother said, she was immersed in her own world as soon as she painted, and others could not hear her talking to her. Usually, she loves to copy characters on comics and comic strips, but for architecture is rarely involved, this time there is a master on-site guidance, Wang Han is very excited, the pen in her hand does not stop for a moment, and she does not want to waste a minute.
Before devoting himself to creation in recent years, Wang Weimin had taught in many colleges and universities, mainly facing college students. This time, he "returned to his old business", facing younger children, hoping to contribute a little to the cultivation of future Haipai painters and Haipai designers: "After the 'double reduction', Shanghai children who like art have more time to see art exhibitions and participate in painting activities." However, just look at it yourself, the progress is limited, there are curators to talk, there are painters to teach, learn more. "Wang Weimin revealed that he plans to give more time to the children in addition to creation to cultivate their interest in Haipai pen calligraphy and pen painting." Children are our future, and the future 'masters' are among these children. Even if you don't become a master, as long as more and more children like Haipai pen painting, more people will come to hold art exhibitions and do cultural creation, so that the art of Haipai pen painting will flourish more vigorously. That's what I'm looking forward to. (Xinmin Evening News reporter Wu Xuying)