Biography of the Painter ~ 547
The Chang'an School of Painting expresses the beauty of majestic enthusiasm and vicissitudes, but Kang Shiyao is outstanding with fresh elegance!
Text/Lu Xiuhui
Kang Shiyao (1921-1985), also known as Kang Xun, was a native of Boai County, Henan Province, who lived in Xi'an, Shaanxi Province.
Kang Shiyao was born in Kaifeng and later settled in Xi'an with his family. In 1941, after graduating from high school, Kang Shiyao was admitted to Wuchang Art College, when Wuchang Art College was established in Jiangjin, Sichuan province due to the War of Resistance, and he chose to take the craft direction taught by Wang Daoping in his first year of study at the art college. After Wang Daoping was transferred to the National Art College, Kang Shiyao changed to painting, and Tang Yihe taught sketching, mastering good modeling skills, and later systematically studied flower and bird painting under Zhang Zhaoming. Zhang Zhaoming studied under Wang Mengbai, Chen Shizeng, and Yao Mang's father, and his flower and bird paintings were influenced by Yun Nantian's painting style, and he was good at sketching and freehand, and did not seek work but saw work in pen and ink. Zhang Zhaoming's flower and bird paintings are calm and elegant, the pen and ink are deep and mellow, the style is plain and innocent, and the true meaning of ink freehand art enjoys a high reputation in the art world.
In 1944, Kang Shiyao graduated from The Wuchang Art College in Jiangjin, Sichuan. For food and clothing, he was employed as a clerk in Xi'an Zhongnan Match Factory, and insisted on the creation of Chinese paintings in his spare time. However, he could not find the space to display his artistic talents, and the young Kang Shiyao could not help but feel a little lonely in his heart.
In 1949, Xi'an was liberated, all sectors of society were in ruins, and Kang Shiyao's painting art also ushered in a new opportunity for development. He participated in the study class organized by the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region Literary Association, came into contact with Shi Lu, Fang Jizhong and others, and his painting level was greatly improved, and he was full of hope for the development of his future artistic path.
In 1953, Kang Shiyao, Yuan Baitao, Zheng Naijue and others joined the Xi'an Chinese Painting Research Association, which was founded under the auspices of Zhao Wangyun, and became a full-time painter of the research association. He was able to study literary and artistic theory with different painters, copy famous paintings from past generations, and actively participate in academic exchanges and works observation activities, his painting techniques have been greatly improved, his artistic style has become more distinct and mature, and he seems to have found a sense of belonging here.
In 1960, in order to make a greater breakthrough in the study of Chinese painting, under the guidance of the idea of "literature and art serving the workers, peasants and soldiers", the Shaanxi Artists Association set up a creative research room to conduct in-depth discussion and research on Chinese painting. Led by Shi Lu, the members include Zhao Wangyun, He Haixia, Kang Shiyao, Fang Jizhong, Li Zisheng and others, and put forward the idea of "one hand reaching out to tradition and the other hand reaching out to life". They went deep into southern Shaanxi and northern Shaanxi to experience life and drew a lot of sketches. Kang Shiyao also accompanied Zhao Wangyun and Shi Lu to many places in Shaanxi to sketch and created a large number of influential works. In the form of painting, they broke through the traditional way to reflect new ideas and reflect the direction of literature and art in the new era to serve the workers, peasants, and soldiers. In terms of content, it reflects the labor life of the broad masses of the people.
In October 1961, the Shaanxi Artists Association entered Beijing to hold a "Chinese Painting Study Exhibition" that bombarded the animation world, which produced a strong response in the art world and triggered a heated discussion in the art world about the new Chinese painting, as the only painter in the "Chang'an School" who mainly focused on flower and bird painting, Kang Shiyao was also regarded as a model of innovation in the flower and bird painting world at that time, in 1962, he published an article in "Fine Arts" that marked the maturity of his flower and bird painting. In 1964, Kang Shiyao's works such as "She Laughs in the Cong" and "Cuilang Jintao" were selected for the Fourth Art Exhibition of the Five Northwest Provinces, and "She Laughs in the Cong" was also published in the "People's Pictorial", which was highly praised by colleagues in the art world. In 1965, Kang Shiyao transferred to the Xi'an Branch of the China Artists Association and served as the leader of the Chinese painting group, one of the main members of the "Chang'an School".
In 1966, during the "Sino-Japanese Turmoil", the exploration and pursuit of the essence of art was no longer compatible with the political situation. Society is full of works that are politically supreme and thematic first, and the existence and development of Chinese painting are gradually marginalized. The "Chang'an School" was criticized and criticized, the Artists Association was forced to disband, and artists were sent to the countryside for transformation. Kang Shiyao was also forced to hang up the sign of "Dog Head Military Division" and criticize the fight outside the gate of the American Association.
In 1970, Kang Shiyao and his whole family joined the team in Niudong Commune, Huxian County, living in a dilapidated warehouse of the production team. The delegated Kang Shiyao was not depressed because of this, but worked hard to adapt to rural life and actively accepted "transformation". Every day, he raised flowers and vegetables, chatted with the farmers, humbly asked them for advice, and tutored the farmers to paint, and secretly insisted on painting themselves, suffering is a new sublimation for the soul of the artist.
In 1972, Kang Shiyao successively participated in the creation of paintings at the Xi'an People's Building, Zhengzhou Railway Station and Beijing Hotel. In 1973, Kang Shiyao was transferred to Xi'an Arts and Crafts Industrial Company, returned to Xi'an, and was arranged to work in the Special Arts Factory. In charge of painting cats in the feather workshop, he created 13 paintings with cats as the theme, which were finally edited into "Kang Shiyao Painting Cat Album". The experience of rural transformation and the life of the workers in the art factory gave him the opportunity to truly integrate into life, feel life, re-forge in the double fission of life and art, and truly refine the artist into a piece of steel. The interaction with the simple peasants had an important impact on Kang Shiyao's body and mind, and the phoenix nirvana, the rebirth of the fire, played a huge role in promoting the innovation of his flower and bird paintings, and his artistic appearance underwent great changes. The criticism of Kang Shiyao made intellectuals who were not born red but demanded progress extremely sensitive.
After the end of the "C-Noon Turmoil", Chinese painting, which was once marginalized, ushered in a new spring, and the thoughts of many old painters were gradually liberated and ushered in a new creative vitality. Kang Shiyao's flower and bird paintings have also been further improved and developed, and since 1978, he has successively lectured at the Central Academy of Arts and Crafts, the Central Academy of Fine Arts, and the Hubei Provincial Academy of Arts. In 1979, he participated in the renovation of the shaanxi hall of the Great Hall of the People and served as the overall designer. In order to fully realize his personality and aesthetic ideals, Kang Shiyao returned to his beloved subjects of paintings such as daffodils and chrysanthemums, and the artistic conception of his works tended to be peaceful, quiet and distant, in order to pin his inner true self.
In January 1980, Kang Shiyao accompanied the delegation to Japan for calligraphy and painting art exchanges; in 1981, the Shaanxi Academy of Chinese Painting was established, Kang Shiyao was hired as a consultant, and volunteered to teach with old painters such as He Haixia and Zheng Naijie; in 1982, Kang Shiyao served as the first vice chairman of the Xi'an Arts and Crafts Society, and in the same year, he also published the article "Inspiration from Xi'an Banpo Painted Pottery" in "Chinese Arts and Crafts"; in 1983, Kang Shiyao was commissioned by the China Arts and Crafts Society. Co-organized and presided over the Hantang Craft Research Class with Northwest University. In 1984, Kang Shiyao was appointed vice president of the Shaanxi Provincial Academy of Chinese Painting, and in the same year, his works such as "Yellow Flowers and Wild Fun" and "Mountain Tea" were exhibited in Britain, Japan and other countries.
On March 24, 1985, Kang Shiyao, who suffered from hidden coronary heart disease, died in Xi'an at the age of 64.
Kang Shiyao has held solo exhibitions in Chongqing, Beijing, Kaifeng, Xi'an and other places, and participated in the "Chinese Painting Exhibition" to exhibit in Britain, Japan, Denmark and other countries. It enjoys a high reputation at home and abroad.
Kang Shiyao's works include "Painting Flowers", "Exploration of Basic Techniques of Chinese Painting", "Flower Sketching and Change", "Freehand Flower Techniques" and so on. His works include "Selected Paintings of Flowers and Birds of Kang Shiyao", "Rong Baozhai Painting Notation and Flower and Bird Part", and "Kang Shiyao Teaching Paintings".
Although Kang Shiyao is famous for his Chinese paintings, his achievements in arts and crafts are also very prominent, because he has a great passion for folk crafts since he was a child, obsessed with collecting various folk embroideries and small crafts.
Kang Shiyao's works are novel in intention, dignified and refreshing with the pen, precise and strict in the dashing, fresh and elegant in the secluded, rich in techniques, wide in subject matter, and full of strong interest in life. His late works are written part-time and are a family of their own, with a fresh and elegant style. The pen and ink are familiar, delicate and exquisite, and have their own unique style.
Kang Shiyao is the only painter of the Chang'an School who is known for his paintings of flowers and birds. Because of Kang Shiyao's humble personality and unique painting style, which caused his indisputable and obscure pursuit, he rarely even showed his masterpieces to the world. He is a painter with a distinctive personality, and his exploration of his solitary style and seeking elegance in the world, seeking hardship in peace, seeking grandeur in shallowness, and seeking change in work shows that he is worthy of being an artist who advances in spite of difficulties.
Kang Shiyao co-founded the "Chang'an School" with zhao Wangyun, Shi Lu and several other painters, which had a major impact on the Chinese painting scene in the 1960s. The "Chang'an School of Painting" expresses the majestic, enthusiastic and vicissitudes beauty of this land in the northwest, and is mainly based on landscapes and figures, but Kang Shiyao mainly paints flowers and birds, and is a literati flower and bird painting with a "fresh and elegant" picture. Kang Shiyao silently dedicated his most splendid and precious years to the "Chang'an School of Painting", enriching and enriching the "Chang'an School", so that the rough and bold "Northwest Hanzi" of the "Chang'an School" had a gentle and gentle side. He was not overshadowed by the huge aura of Zhao Wangyun and Shi Lu, and he showed his warmth and beauty in the whole school of painting, adding a touch of qingfen to the beauty of the majestic atmosphere.
Lu Xiuhui has a song "Song for Kang Shiyao", a poem cloud:
The world is extravagant, and the beauty is also beautiful.
Majestic and homeless, vicissitudes are not flawless.
Quiet and fragrant.
Ancient rafters inch pen, sick can be cured.
Gentlemen, gentlemen.
Dust blows with the wind, and custom is love.
Heaven and earth are boundless, and the sun and moon are radiant.
Wonderful and beautiful, dignified and cool.
Dharma is self-explanatory, secluded and secluded.
Fresh and elegant, exquisite.
Work and write each other, skillfully check each other.
Dashing in the car, flat thrust lute.
Shallow into the Honggu Valley, deep pool boshade.
The way of grandeur, spring light and sand.
Another example is fresh water, or like clouds.
Ke Zhi looked at chen, drunken warbler flowers.
Joy and incense for a long time, weeping veil.
Born and fallen slightly, bitter once Oh Ye.
Painting is difficult to chase, and it is like singing.
Although the heart is not caught, it knows what to do.
Lu Xiuhui ruled the seal