The scene of the opening of the "Words have things" (Chongqing, Zhejiang) comprehensive material painting exchange exhibition
Written by | Zou Ping
"Mixed material painting" was once one of the most creative art categories, and it was highly favored by young people because of its great imagination of innovation. However, in recent years, creative bottlenecks have emerged, routine creations have been frequent, and visual "freshness" has begun to fade.
How to solve this dilemma? How do you create new viewing angles? All need to be deeply thought out by the industry.
Recently, the "Words have things" (Chongqing, Zhejiang) comprehensive material painting exchange exhibition was grandly opened at the Chongqing Art Museum, 57 artists, 108 works focused on the latest appearance of comprehensive art painting in Zhejiang and Chongqing, and Zhejiang Station was also recently opened in Moganshan Comprehensive Art Village in Deqing County.
"Words have things" (Chongqing, Zhejiang) comprehensive material painting exchange exhibition site
In this regard, Yang Jinsong, director of the Comprehensive Art Committee of the Zhejiang Artists Association, and Feng Bin, director of the Comprehensive Material Painting Art Committee of the Chongqing Artists Association, respectively, explored many topics of comprehensive material painting itself on the basis of the exhibition.
Their thoughts, although painted by integrated materials, are far more than that.
Note: The following is compiled according to the Q&A and released after confirmation.
Yang Jinsong: Cultural contemplation and experimental spirit
"Words have things" was proposed by Teacher Feng Bin. This popular common sense points out the cultural characteristics of the practice of comprehensive material painting, indicating that this kind of practice is not a patchwork and stacking appearance, not only materials and materials, but the advancement of thought with the times, and the result of creative thinking and the content of daily life.
"Words have things" should be used as a basis for comprehensive material painting to break through stereotypes. Although the way of speech and aesthetic standards of each era will change with the process of society, the changes are discarded by those stereotypes that have become the shackles of imagination and creativity. Therefore, the internal driving force of the practice of integrated material painting, which aims to awaken and activate the visual power of culture, must be the result of unconventionality.
"Covering" 100× 100cm cloth comprehensive material 2021, Yang Jinsong
Feng Bin "2019-15 Tango Freshness One" 60 x 48 cm Multi-material, linen
"In the Courtyard No. 3", 170cm×100cm, oil on canvas, 2021, Yu Xuhong (invited)
"Guancang Sea_Fluxus", 120×60cm, 2017, Wang Minjie (invited)
"A Paper Prosperity" Full Picture, Lithography, 2011, Size 280 by 186cm Ying Jin Fei (invited)
Zhejiang/Chongqing comprehensive material painting inter-provincial exchange exhibition, which is a thought that has been planned for many years. How to cross domains, on what grounds, what kind of theoretical methods can help our cultural practice without being followed by others, etc., all need to be identified in one exhibition after another, and only the cognitive problems that arise on the basis of practice again will make our efforts close to our cultural vision, so as not to be lost in blindness.
In fact, comprehensive material painting has always had a dilemma that has not been solved.
That is, "Is it a way of artistic practice in the new era and new culture, or a new type of painting?" ”
After two national art exhibitions, one national youth art exhibition, three biennials, and a series of comprehensive material painting theme exhibitions carried out in various places, the test and theoretical research have found some "insincere words" phenomenon, resulting in the creation routine of "throwing in their favor".
Some budding young practitioners have also created bottlenecks in their creations. Although seminars and workshops of various sizes are being held in various places, in fact, what everyone is concerned about is not the issue of ideological and conceptual renewal, nor the issue of culture, but how to effectively master the relevant technical skills, and how to be selected for the exhibition. The lack of cultural deep thinking is becoming increasingly prominent.
Triangle, 120cm×150cm× 10cm Silk thread, plank, cloth, 2016, Huang Yan
In fact, the so-called national policy of "a rich China must become strong" refers to the solution of the problem of food and clothing for the people, and the people's will and wisdom have undergone earth-shaking changes in this process. In addition to the bulging of the purse, the hardening of the waist pole, the increasingly abundant spiritual needs and the novel and diversified aesthetic tastes are requiring writers and artists to create spiritual food that conforms to the temperament of the times with new literary and artistic styles and grounded atmosphere.
This is the popularity of "comprehensive material painting", which can form a social basis for national influence, and it is also the basis for Zhejiang to dare to be the first in the pursuit of "culturally strong province" when it becomes rich.
Therefore, in my opinion, how to make a new is not a technical problem, not a curve overtaking, but a cultural problem. How to "culture" is not how much knowledge and skills you have mastered, nor how many kinds of fashionable creative routines you are familiar with, but how you say something, not insincere.
Cao Zhongwei, Shanshui No. 1, 140 x 100 cm Acrylic, Comprehensive Materials, 2022
"When Zhuangzi Meets Kafka... V" 180×180CM, General Art, 2021, Wei Huidong
About ten years ago, the Variety Committee paid great attention to discovering new forces in various parts of the province, trying to activate local cultural factors and create the basic conditions for innovation and change.
The Provincial Artists Association launched the "New Peak Plan" to cultivate young people, received 200,000 yuan of funding from the Zhejiang Provincial Culture and Art Creation Fund, selected a group of rising stars from counties and cities around the country, and held a series of traveling exhibitions with the theme of "New Era, New Youth". In the process of this series of practice exhibitions, the support of local art associations is gathered, on the one hand, to examine the creative problems of the province, on the other hand, to guide young practitioners to find their dreams.
On March 10, the results of the re-evaluation of comprehensive material painting in the Seventh National Youth Art Exhibition were announced, and 13 young authors from Zhejiang were included in the list of 37 selected authors, accounting for one-third.
Among the 5 outstanding authors pushed, There are 3 in Zhejiang. If this achievement can confirm the general development of Zhejiang, in my opinion, the formation of an echelon of new cultural practice forces is the most gratifying thing.
The reason why I say "yesterday's efforts" cannot but mention the teaching echo of the Academy of Fine Arts of Zhejiang Normal University and the support of the Ningbo government eight years ago.
At that time, comprehensive material painting was in the ascendant, and all kinds of doubts were constantly heard, and Jinhua and Ningbo took the lead in accepting this new way of practice, which was one of the foundations for the comprehensive art experiment and practice in our province. In the following year, we have received support from the Lishui government to hold the "Zhejiang Provincial Comprehensive Art Biennale" for ten consecutive years (5th) at the Lishui Art Museum, which has greatly promoted the development of comprehensive art in various parts of our province. In this trend, the Provincial Variety Committee has held four provincial biennials non-stop with the themes of "eclectic", "continue to be eclectic", "visual intensity", and "water drop stone wear". In this full and imaginative process, we became acquainted with the Deqing government. The origin is in the theme of "art township construction".
In the past year, we have established a trusting working relationship with Zhou Zhifang, director of the Propaganda Department, and Cao Liyue, vice chairman of the Literary Association, and the Provincial Variety Committee has thus opened up a practical road of "art intervention in social space".
Deng Yi "Flying Dust-16" Comprehensive Material 120cmX180cm 2020
"Big River 2-1" 100cmx100cm Acrylic Board Composite Materials 2022, Xia Shang Zhou
This cross-disciplinary emphasis on visual art practices based on the study of visual culture must be a product of this era. Life has undergone earth-shaking changes, and the reform and opening up, which spanned forty years, has not only profoundly shaped several generations, but also changed the lifestyles and interpersonal relationships of generations. Comprehensive art, or integrated material painting, is in this cultural context, with a broader cultural tolerance concept and experimental spirit, shaping what it looks like today.
However, the occurrence and development of culture and art must be closely related to the content of social development and inseparable from the theme of the times. Mixed-material painting has its attitude of advancing with the times, but it cannot be determined solely by the sensitivity of the current or the fact that it is ready-made.
We should indeed consider in practice the dimension of thought and the intensity of vision that should be upheld in the present. We should carefully consider the way to deal with problems in our creation. Identifying specific issues (subject matter and genre) requires a way to match them. Methods for the sake of methods inevitably lead to the creation deviating from the object and losing the original intention. Materials for the sake of materials necessarily turn a blind eye to the content, resulting in a mechanically greasy "routine".
Feng Bin: Embed ideas into materials
"Material", as the artistic language of integrated material painting, necessarily involves the "material" nature of the material itself. In addition, shouldn't the paintings we paint should have ideological content and viewpoints? This is a more important concept of "things". Taking "Words and Things" as the title of the exhibition expresses our attitude and proposition of doing this exhibition: Comprehensive material painting is not only the "thing" of using materials, but also the conceptual content that has a meaning!
The point-to-point communication between the two exhibitions just reflects the role and significance of nodes and node links in the Internet era, which is just in time. The basic appearance of Chongqing's comprehensive material painting is similar to the national situation, most of the artists are from oil painting, Chinese painting, printmaking, lacquer painting, etc., using "materials" and "synthesis", but also present a relatively rich, diverse, pluralistic aspect; more works with concepts and content make our advocacy of "words and things" basically reflected in the exhibition.
He Peili "Tin Sheet 2022-01" 100x200cm Mixed Material 2022
"Partial Residue of 40-Foot Container", 225cmX195cm, 2021, Jia Chao
So, what is integrated material painting? In fact, it has always been a problem. In the preface to the Second Comprehensive Materials Painting Exhibition in Chongqing in March this year, I wrote that "the understanding and interpretation of 'comprehensive material painting' is also a difficult place for its original source, and it is difficult to have a clear definition so far."
I remember that more than ten years ago, I talked with Brother Hu Wei several times in Beijing for a long night, and then discussed it repeatedly on the phone, and I reluctantly decided on the current name before establishing this art committee.
First, the basic situation in China at that time was that several types of people and horses each brought their strengths to "cross-border" and converged. For example, Brother Hu Wei came back from Japan to combine the evolution of mineral pigments, Brother Yang Jinsong was the first to establish a comprehensive art department in the national art academy, and I myself evolved from Chinese painting in long-term personal creation, using various materials to do it, as early as 1998, I put forward the idea of "from materials to concepts"... Practice is better than theory, but the long-term lag of theory, or not being paid attention to by theory, does bring difficulties.
Li Yingwu's "Dance of the Yuanyuan" comprehensive material 40cmx55cmx3
"Surface" 70CM×140CM Rice Paper Ink Old Newspaper Reed Pole, Zhou Yi
Second, the contextual relationship of comprehensive material painting at home and abroad is not the same. More broadly speaking, its development abroad has a history of nearly a hundred years. From Matisse's paper-cutting to Picasso's pasting other materials on the canvas, the more extreme Duchamp directly took the ready-made product as a work, and then Tapius and Kiefer, all of which are considered artists who have a great influence on the painting of integrated materials.
However, China still draws the ground as a prison, distinguishing and recognizing the "painting genre", and the art education in Europe and the United States now does not distinguish the so-called "profession" of the country, oil, plate, and sculpture, and only sets up the "free art" major, or "free painting "free painting". Therefore, comprehensive material painting has been ridiculed, and there is also the saying that "it is not a thing that is not a thing".
In addition to the need for time to eliminate the cognitive barrier, the sorting out and interpretation of theories may not be delayed. At least, we can first define from the practical point of view what is not "integrated material painting", emphasizing the "comprehensive" and "material" characteristics of "cross-border" and "innovation".
Among them, the material is a language or technical means, rather than the comprehensive use of materials for the purpose of synthesizing materials, and materials should become an organic part of the concept and content, or even the concept and content itself. Only when the words of "from materials to concepts" have meanings and things, can comprehensive material painting truly become a "new way of artistic thinking, a new perspective of viewing the world and a new way of expressing artistic ideas", and the "contemporary" and "international" of comprehensive material painting will not be empty words.
Huang Junwei "Half Moon Nine" Silk Composite Material 70x100cm 2021
Dunhuang Restoration Plan NO. 2, 150x140cm, 2020, Hou Jiming
As we all know, although there are many people in China who have done works of different materials, it is regrettable that they have not become a trend. In 2010, the National Comprehensive Material Painting Art Committee was established, and a special exhibition area was set up in the national art exhibition since 2014, and a special national biennial began to be held in 2015, which is a process from scratch, many colleges and universities have set up relevant majors, and local art associations have also set up corresponding art committees.
Of course, we are very happy and happy to see such a "prosperous and developed" situation, and many colleagues of the Art Committee have done a lot of work and contributions, and we all feel that such a situation is not easy to come by.
It is precisely because we must cherish it more, so we should be more sober and vigilant against the problems and hidden worries under the appearance of prosperity. My perspective is three: First, how many of the increasing number of registered exhibitors are "cross-border" and "comprehensive"? How to avoid the risk of "speculation" due to the suspicion of "assessment" and "professional title"?
Second, it is understandable that young artists participate in one or two exhibitions, perhaps to meet the "performance" such as assessment and evaluation, and to solve the basic needs of the survival of the system, but it cannot be used as the only outlet for artistic pursuit, at least not equivalent to artistic pursuit.
The era of relying on one painting to beat the world has basically passed, or it is just a road. If young artists want to continue to develop, they still need to be tempered academically and in the market. Should the development of integrated material painting give relevant hints and guidance to young artists who are interested in this regard? Offer more and better possibilities and opportunities?
Liu Yang The Year of Gengzi (Partial) 63x90cm Digital Painting 2020
"Flying Fu" series "Cold Spring Creek", Silver Salt Glue Moment Painting, 68x104cm, 2021, Chen Yan
The third is the misunderstanding and abuse of materials that are nothing but materials. Of course, comprehensive materials are the comprehensive use of various materials, but there is a phenomenon worthy of attention and reflection: the painting is not clear, only blindly inverting the material, as if using enough materials is a comprehensive material, this is not an individual phenomenon, the national comprehensive material painting exhibition is frequently visible. Is there a risk of misreading and misunderstanding the painting of integrated materials? Will it also produce the disadvantages of form to the development of integrated material painting?
I don't think anyone will object, all materials, techniques, are an artistic language, just like the language itself, is used to express the meaning, is used for communication, dissemination and acceptance. Therefore, painting should also first have a meaning and a thing, in fact, it must have content, thought, theme, and soul, otherwise what is the meaning of painting? An important orientation of "contemporary art" is to have "what means", no matter what medium or technique is used, "embedding ideas into materials", especially in the present of rapid reading of pictures, the meaning and content of images are "clear at a glance".
"Light Comes from the Right", 190x190cm Mixed Materials 2022, Peng Ping
Kang Yi, "Tribute to the Bada Shanren", 160x170cm Cloth Ink Synthesis Material, 2018
Therefore, I still adhere to the clichéd point of view: only by transcending the obsession with materials and techniques, from materials to concepts, the breakthrough thinking and its methods of integrated material painting can we implement the meaning of words and meanings.
The driving force of the integrated material painting itself is also such rebellion and creativity. I think that the content of future creations needs to reflect more of this kind of thinking, in order to reflect the different weight of comprehensive material painting.
"Words have things" (Chongqing, Zhejiang) comprehensive material painting exchange exhibition
Chongqing Art Museum
2022/4/12-4/24
Guiding units: Chongqing Federation of Literary and Art Circles, Zhejiang Provincial Federation of Literary and Art Circles
Organizers: Chongqing Artists Association, Zhejiang Artists Association, Chongqing Art Museum, Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts, Deqing County Party Committee Publicity Department of Zhejiang Province
Organizers: Chongqing Municipal Artists Association Comprehensive Material Painting Art Committee, Zhejiang Provincial Artists Association Comprehensive Art Committee, Sichuan Academy of Fine Arts Chinese Painting and Calligraphy Art College, Deqing County Artists Association
Participating artists
Zhejiang: Yu Xuhong (special invitation), Wang Minjie (special invitation), Ying Jinfei (special invitation), Yang Jinsong, Ye Guofeng, Qiu Xingxiong, Chen Yan, Yu Wangbo, Hou Jiming, Li Zhigang, Xia Shangzhou, Wei Huidong, Peng Ping, Zhou Yi, Wang Zijin, Wu Qingyang, Jia Chao, Huang Yan, Dai Lianbin, Xu Zhongbo, Xu Haijun, Wu Chenkai, Wang Lei, Jin Xiaodang, Qian Min, Zhang Guiye, Zhao Honghua
Chongqing: Feng Bin, Shen Xiaoyu, Liu Yuan, Yang Shu, Wang Haichuan, Kang Yi, Cao Zhongwei, Jiang Jianjun, Li Yingwu, Chen Hongbo, Liu Yang, Xie Guangyue, Ma Yuanyuan, Luo Dan, Wang Lanlan, Li Jie, Liu Guanru, Zhu Xiaokun, He Peili, Liu Ye, Zheng Jing, Wu Jing, Wang Peiyong, Yang Kexi, Huang Junwei, Tan Chen, Deng Yi, Yi Xialing, Xu Shan, Liao Wei