Harbin is a multicultural city, we often say that architecture is a solidified movement, and sculpture and architecture can be said to be a complementary relationship. Urban sculpture, like architecture, is relatively permanent and landmark. Harbin's urban sculpture, like its architecture, has undergone a century of construction and vicissitudes.
Like other urban features of Harbin, the urban sculptures here are heavily influenced by Russian culture. At the end of the 19th century, Tsarist Russia took advantage of the Danger of the Manchu Qing Dynasty to seize the right to build the Middle East Railway and the privileges of the dependencies along the route. As the hub of the Middle East Railway, Harbin was completely controlled by Tsarist Russia in terms of administration, justice, finance, and education. During this period, a large number of Western cultures and ideas entered the Harbin area, and Tsarist Russia established a modern education system in Harbin, which promoted the spread of humanities and sciences in disguise. It has promoted the development of Harbin's exotic culture. Harbin has become one of the earliest cities in the country to have urban sculpture and a large number of cities, these early works constitute the prototype of Harbin urban sculpture, because of its strong foreign color and exotic style, early works are mostly expressed in architectural decorative sculptures, garden sculptures and sculptures with strong religious colors.
Architectural decorative sculptures such as Matsuura Yoko on Chuo Avenue, and male and female sculptures on the corner of the second floor of the main entrance of the building are like galleries. (The original sculpture was destroyed in the 1960s, and the existing sculpture was remade by Yang Shichang in 1986.) ）
In the garden sculptures, "Bear", "Little Boy" and "Volleyball Girl" in the Riverside Park in Butou District in the 1830s are represented. They were all written by the sculptor Winkler. Frankishek Winkler (Франтишек Винклер) Moravian Czech. Winkler was born in 1884 to a family of furniture makers in the village of Pulshelov, near the Moravian city of Olomouc. The boy, who had shown a love for art from an early age, was sent by his father to study at an industrial art school in Prague. The city of Prague attracts Winkler with its harmony of nature, architecture and sculpture. He was like a sponge, absorbing the majestic beauty of the city and filling his soul throughout his life. After graduating from the Academy of Arts in 1908, Winkler began to work independently. But the outbreak of World War I in 1914 completely upended his future life. He appeared on the Russian-German front as a full-time photographer. In early 1915, Winkler was captured, nearly killed by a Cossack saber, and soon he was exiled as a prisoner of war to the distant Siberian city of Omsk.
At the beginning of the twentieth century, Omsk experienced rapid cultural and economic development. Materials and human resources flowed along the railway that crossed it into the former Omsk military fortress, and a large number of shops, religious sites, educational institutions and government institutions were rapidly built. All these buildings required a sculptor to decorate them. As a sculptor, Winkler was the only sculptor with an academic education at that time. Sculpture of the Omsk City Theater, sculpture of the façade of the Russian-Asian building, sculpture of the Omsk Railway Administration. At this time, Winkler was in the golden age of life and artistic creation. In 1927, the consul of the Czech Consulate in Harbin invited the Winkler family to settle in Harbin. The Winkler family arrived in Harbin in 1928.
In 1932, the sculptor Winkler was invited by the Harbin Special Municipal Office to create sculptures "Bear", "Volleyball Girl" and "Little Boy" on the bank of the Songhua River. All three sculptures are in the early Russian classicist style, derived from the medieval Renaissance sculptural style. The sculpture was completed in 1938. In terms of content, these sculptures reflect the deep influence of Russian culture in Harbin at that time. "Bear" is a high status animal in Russia, in ancient Siberians mainly fishing and hunting, they worship the bear, the bear as the owner of the forest, the ancestor of the whole family in the world. Symbolizing bravery, strength, and strength, it is a sacred beast worshipped like a totem of this nation. The sculpture "Volleyball Girl" is based on Winkler's daughter Yelena, the sculpture uses a half-side, sitting leisurely, holding a volleyball in her hand, looking ahead with a pleasant look, in that era, beach volleyball was a very popular sport for Russians, which was also reflected in many old Harbin photos. The little boy sculpture is based on Igor, Winkler's son, sitting upright in swim trunks. It reflects the pleasant life of Russian overseas Chinese in Harbin in that era. Unfortunately, the three sculptures were destroyed in the late 1950s.
The sculptures in the cemetery are mostly near the Church of the Holy Mother of the Rest (in the present-day Nangang District Cultural Park) and are of a large scale. Once a Russian and Jewish cemetery, it was known as the New Cemetery and was the largest Orthodox cemetery in Harbin and the Middle East Railway annex at the time. In the cemetery, there are angel sculptures with religious colors, portrait sculptures of the deceased, etc.
After liberation, urban sculpture in Harbin began to reflect a distinct theme. The Monument to the Martyrs of the Soviet Red Army in Harbin, built in 1945. The bronze statue at the top of the monument is composed of Sailors and infantry of the Soviet Red Army holding military medals together.
Monument to the Martyrs of the Soviet Red Army in front of Harbin Railway Station, the tower was designed by the famous Soviet architect Bajichi. The sculptor Winkler created reliefs for the monument, with reliefs at the base depicting an infantryman in the middle holding a large flag and tankers and sailors straddling the submachine gun diagonally from left to right. The monument was removed in the 1990s and its whereabouts are still unknown.
The Northeast Anti-Japanese and Patriotic Self-Defense War Martyrs Memorial Tower built in 1948, the relief of the base of the tower was created by the sculpture group of the Fine Arts Department of the Northeast Lu Xun Literature and Art College, and the east side was shaped for the anti-coalition fighters to charge into battle, created by Feng Xiangsheng. The west side is shaped by militia to form a stretcher team on the front line, created by Su Hui.
This kind of conceptual theme and monumentality has been more prominent in urban sculpture after the founding of the People's Republic of China, and has gradually formed a realist sculpture genre with northeastern characteristics. It is close to people's lives and reflects objective reality. Conveying real emotions, it has a strong social, epochal and national nature. The more typical work is the flood control memorial tower built in 1958, and the sculpture was collectively created by the graduating class of the Sculpture Department of Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts. The statue at the top of the tower pillar is composed of tang hongmin, Wu Shunping, Ye Qingxin, Li Zhencai, Wang Ximin, Yan Jia and other teachers, and the shape is composed of three men and one woman holding up the national flag, carrying a straw bag and holding a tool. The circle relief of the tower pillar is a great scene of Harbin citizens, all sectors of society and international friends uniting to fight against the flood, and is jointly created by Tian Jinduo, Li Renzhang, Qu Naisuo, Wang Ximin, Huang Xinwei and other teachers. The relief on the east side of the colonnade of the memorial tower was created by Wu Guozhang, and the relief on the west side was created by Liu Meili, which is shaped for the people of the city to celebrate the victory against the flood.
The Flood Control Memorial Tower belongs to figurative decorative sculptures, in which the ancient Romanesque cloister columns, this design idea, in the 1950s, can be called a masterpiece of Chinese and Western fusion. There is also a creative anecdote: due to the lack of models at that time, when creating two characters on the side of the tower: the little girl with flowers and the little boy with the peace dove, Teacher Wu Guozhang, a graduate of Lu Yi, simply made his younger brothers and sisters prototypes.
Also in 1958, a sculpture of the same theme was completed on the streets of Tongjiang Street. This is the sculpture "Fulongquan" created by sculptor Yang Meiying, which commemorates the victory of the people of Harbin in 1957 over the great flood, and the sculpture "Fulongquan" is located in the north of the intersection of Tongjiang Street to the Songhua River, with a high base. Shaped as a strong handsome young man with a muscular body, he waved his palm to subdue the dragon under his feet. The dragon was doing a dying struggle in the spray on the sky. The handsome youth symbolizes the strength of the people of Harbin, and the dragon symbolizes the great flood of the Songhua River in 1957. The use of classical Chinese mythology alludes to the truth that man will triumph over heaven. (The original sculpture was later destroyed and later revived by Qu Weibao, Wu Naiguang, Luan Xiuping, and Li Xiangping.) ）
In the children's park of the 1950s, the sculpture of a little boy reading a book implied that the theme was that knowledge changed destiny. In the 50s, when everything was in ruins, such a quiet education was very important for children and parents. In that era, there was already a rise in science and technology among children and teenagers, many schools had model airplane groups, children made their own models, and the little girl holding the plane not only reflected the scene of the times at that time, but also represented the happiness of the flowers of the motherland to fly their dreams.
In the early 1960s, the Fine Arts Department of Harbin Academy of Arts opened a sculpture major, hired sculptors from Chinese sculpture factories as teaching teachers, and cultivated a group of outstanding sculpture professionals, thus rapidly expanding the sculpture creation team in Harbin. These teachers and students quickly created many garden sculptures in Stalin Park on the south bank of the Songhua River, and their main sculptures such as the "Swan" sculpture created by Su Hui, a sculptor at a Chinese sculpture factory in 1963. The sculpture was originally placed next to the sculpture "Fulongquan", and the sculpture "Lei Feng" was placed in front of the entrance of the Youth Palace. I don't know when the position of the "Lei Feng" sculpture was replaced by "Swan", and the swan with its wings spread flew high into the sky, symbolizing the beautiful future of Harbin. In 1965, the sculpture "Three Teenagers" (song of the Young Pioneers) created by Teacher Zhang Deti and the sculpture "Worker" created by Zhang Dehua. The sculpture "I Am a Soldier" created by teacher Liu Lianhai, as well as works such as "Little Painter", "The Girl Who Plays the Accordion", "Female Militia" and so on.
These works from the 1950s and 1960s are basically cement sculptures. Because the material was not rich in the era, metal was urgently needed by various industries, and the cost of cast copper sculpture was too high, so most of the sculptures were shaped by cement.
Unfortunately, due to historical reasons, a large number of urban sculptures in the urban area from the late 60s to the 70s were destroyed.
At the end of the 1970s, the Harbin Municipal Garden Department organized a group of sculptors to participate in the creation of garden sculptures. For example, in 1978, the sculpture "Mother and Son" (toddler) cooperated by Wu Xilin and Liu Lianhai. The sculpture "Morning Reading" created by Sun Zhengzhuo. The sculpture "Diving Baby" created by teacher Wang Songyin. The sculpture "Qin Fan" created by Teacher Zhang Deti (the time of destruction of the original sculpture is unknown, and the existing sculpture is remade by Teacher Lu Bin in 2012).
With the reform and opening up, Harbin's urban construction has also developed rapidly. Urban sculpture has entered a new era of rapid development. During this period, the hotel beautified the park with sculptures in the park. For example, in 1980, the sculpture "Red Luo Girl" created by sculptor Yang Shichang in the courtyard of the Garden Estate Hotel. In 1984, the sculptures "Jiaojian" and "Play" created by Teacher Li Xiangping in Jiangpan Park were created. In 1985, Teacher Yang Shichang created "Riding the Wind and Waves".
Once destroyed sculptures have been restored (such as the aforementioned sculpture of men and women at the entrance of Matsuura Foreign Firm, the sculpture "Fulongquan" on the street of Tongjiang Street, etc.), a large number of well-known sculptors with national and even international influence have emerged, and sculptures of different styles have sprung up. Works such as "Old Street Afterglow" and "Urban Rhythm" located on Central Avenue are no longer limited to cement, the choice is more expensive and diverse, the theme is more extensive and flexible, and it is full of cultural thinking and humanized care. Distinctive sculptures appear in the streets, alleys, park squares, and shop districts, and they are interlaced and echoed, like a rearranged note, forming a new era of acura movements.