Video: Art Empowerment Xiayuan Village
On April 16th, the opening ceremony of the "Xiayuan Art Life Season" was held in Xiayuan Village, Xingshou Town, Changping District. Without publicity, on the opening day of the art season, this small village was crowded with thousands.
Since 1995, a number of artists have successively entered the Lower Garden, and at that time, the relationship between artists and the countryside was more that artists needed more space for creation and living.
Previously, artists only made art in their own studios, and the objects of communication were basically between artists and artists. In June 2018, the Xiayuan Art Life Festival was officially launched, and the artists and villagers had a tangible interaction.
Supermarkets, restaurants, bars, village road hardening, circuit expansion, broadband installation... In addition to the improvement of hardware, the cultural life of the villagers is also improving, and with the east wind of the "Xiayuan Art Life Season", the larger blueprint of Xiayuan Village is expected to become a reality. In Xiayuan Village, from the initial artist needing the village, to the current artist and the village blending with each other, the practice of art entering the countryside is being staged.
The artist enters the village
Part of Xiayuan Village.
Xiayuan Village, a humble village in Xingshou Town, Changping District, 50 kilometers away from downtown Beijing, the area of Shangyuan Xiayuan was the emperor's orchard during the Qing Dynasty, Xiayuan Village produced apricots and persimmons, and Shangyuan Village produced apples. Initially, most of the artists who came to the Xiayuan area were looking for a cheap and good creative environment and exhibition space.
In the mid-1990s, the unique landscape of this place attracted artist Wang Jianzhong to set up a studio here. A year later, Wang Huaxiang, a teacher at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, also established an "enclave art workshop" in Xiayuan Village to do art examination training. Subsequently, more than a dozen teachers of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, such as Qian Shaowu, Tian Shixin, Sun Jiabao, and Wang Shaojun, successively lived and created works in Xiayuan Village.
From the very beginning, Xiayuan Village was a spontaneous formation of an art community by some artists who had already achieved fame, which is a clear difference from other art villages. In 2000, the famous sculptor Qian Shaowu inscribed "Xiayuan Artist Village".
The artists' rural feelings
The artist's voluntary visit to the countryside is a very important event from a historical and cultural point of view. Van Gaude used rural life as a creative resource, and Heidegger not only practiced rural life, but also made a philosophical interpretation of it - "to return to the homeland is to return to the closeness to the source"
Tian Shixin, an 81-year-old sculptor, has lived in Xiayuan for 25 years. He calls himself a "labor model" and an "old otaku", except for buying vegetables, occasionally buying some simple tools, and basically does not go out, but the vendors in the village market know this old man who likes to wear a baseball cap. The neighbor's villager aunt saw Tian Shixin and his wife, and came up with a left hug and a right hug.
In the workshop, Tian Shixin, wearing a dust mask, chiseled a chainsaw with an axe and slashed at the cheek of the thick and gloomy wooden statue made of more than one meter high, and the black and red wood chips instantly stained. After a large amount of wood was released, the portrait of Liang Shuming, who had devoted himself to the rural construction movement in the 1930s, "jumped on the wood".
In the workshop, Tian Shixin, wearing a dust mask, uses an axe chisel chainsaw to make a statue.
Tian Shixin worked intermittently.
Tian Shixin's small courtyard.
On April 9, Tian Shixin and his wife went to the market outside the village to buy vegetables, met acquaintances who had not been seen for a long time, and affectionately embraced the left and right.
"If we both don't work, we'll get sick." Sun Jiabao, another 82-year-old otaku in Xiayuan and a naïve and serious creator sculptor, pointed to a white depiction with few strokes and said, "I paint every day, I paint beautifully, and the trees here are particularly beautiful."
In the yard where Sun Jiabao lived, grass warblers flew in groups and wild boats crossed themselves. The "wild ferry" are two unfinished boats, and two wood carvings of the shape of the boat are easily built on the edge of the pond. He feels that his studio is as quiet as the countryside and the ferry, which coincides with the quiet state of mind of settling in the countryside.
"This village is very good for artists, when my compatriots saw that I loved to 'nibble' wood, I often brought pruned branches, dead trees, and knots of tree roots to play with for me." I tinkered with them every day, like a small worm, nibbling on decaying wood, and it was the satisfaction of eating a full meal. ”
On April 8, Sun Jiabao, a professor of the Sculpture Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts and a famous sculptor, created a creation in the studio. In addition to part of his teaching work, he spent most of his time "home" in the studio painting and sculpture.
On April 8, the works were placed in Sun Jiabao's studio.
On April 8, Sun Jiabao was in his yard. In the yard where Sun Jiabao lived, grass warblers flew in groups and wild boats crossed themselves.
Because the post-70s oil painter Han Yong's studio has never been renovated, it has preserved the simple style of the northern houses 20 years ago, walls, doors, windows, and everything that can be painted, he has come to paint a variety of vibrant small paintings, which is simply an art grocery store.
Starting in 2019, Han Yong went into the mountains, painted on the tree festival, painted on the stones, "painted a few a day, I will play there, read a book." He had painted his own painting of himself entering the mountains, the sun and the moon in the sky, riding his own bicycle, there was a man in the back seat basket, two beautiful big pheasants hovering overhead, followed by large dogs, and on their backs stood a few stray cats that had been picked up.
Han Yong believes that art is the mirror of society, and what society looks like, art should reflect and make people empathize, so everyone can be an artist.
On April 14, oil painter Han Yong created in his studio. He believes that art is the mirror of society, what society looks like, art should reflect it, let people empathize, and everyone can be an artist.
On April 7, Han Yong interacted with his cat.
Painting on Han Yong's door frame on April 7.
On March 27, Han Yong painted on an outdoor wall.
In the "Kanpo Small Canteen" in the Lower Garden, behind the shadow wall of the clean courtyard are three beautiful fruit trees, and on the wall are a group of large paintings "Xiayuan Village Night Feast Map" by Kuroko (Shen Jianjun), a young artist of the village. Almost every figure in the painting can find a corresponding Artist in the Lower Garden.
There is such an important artistic way in Chinese contemporary art, that is, to intervene in society. Art intervenes in the countryside, and what is important is the act of public aesthetics in the practical sense.
On April 14, artist Guo Zizi installed the landscape sculpture "The Shape of spring wind" in a small forest in the village. She said that this work shows the liveliness of life.
On March 27, resident artist Zheng Zhiyan rested between paintings outdoors. Because they liked his work, some villagers would ask him to create on the outer wall of their home.
On April 14, artist Guo Donglai performed sculpture creation in the studio. He said that the artists have the heart to return to the countryside, and the villagers have begun to pursue some spiritual improvement, in fact, the two are a mutual existence.
On March 22, artist Yang Xinke created a wall painting on the wall of the village. What attracted him was the pure artistic atmosphere and rustic countryside of the village.
The countryside and the arts are intertwined
In the rehearsal hall of a purple house in Xixincheng Village, adjacent to Xiayuan, Chinese dancer Jiang Keyu and her husband, Simon Abei, rehearse dances for six vegetarian dancers. Simon Abe is an African dance artist from Cameroon, singer and music composer. The couple travels around the world with their own work each year. Because of the epidemic, I stayed in the lower garden.
Pan Guangyin, a villager in Xixincheng Village, followed Jiang Keyu to learn to dance for more than a year, "Dance is the understanding of Ke Yu is art, for me is life, dancing with her opens up the body and mind, can make yourself a little more open." It is also a positive 'reciprocal' relationship between the artist and the countryside." Pan Guangyin said that the way villagers greeted Jiang Keyu also changed, not to say "have you eaten", but "did you jump today".
On March 29, jiang keyuzi house dance studio, villagers are learning dance.
Students who study dance at Jiang Keyu Dance Studio.
"Tongcha, Dongcha, Dongcha, don't be too fast, everyone..." At the Xiayuan Art Life Season that opened on April 16, the Zebra African Drum Club founded by Li Hong and Jiang Keyu's studio had an impromptu interaction between African drums and African dance. To this end, Mr. and Mrs. Li Hong have been leading the drummers to rehearse.
On March 27, in Xiayuan Village, musician Li Hong and his wife led the villagers to rehearse African drums.
There was a child in the village named Little Elephant, the drums were beaten very well, for several years, he came to play every week, first his mother wanted to learn, and then his mother did not practice, he came by himself. Li Hong will only ask the little elephant, will he fight this? Will you hit that? Which is fun? The baby elephants knocked in all kinds, and when it was time to eat, they were reluctant to go back. Li Hong let him enjoy the process, "Of course, parents like to ask the results the most, and they are concerned about whether the child can do this line of work, I will suggest not to think too much."
At Li Hong's African Drum Studio, a boy from a village practices.
A native peasant painter
Wang Baozhu, 63 years old and Liu Xiufen, 62 years old, are husband and wife, and they are also peasant painters born and raised in Xiayuan Village.
On March 27, in Xiayuan Village, Wang Baozhu and his wife collaborated in the studio to create the oil painting "Delivering Public Grain". Their works are placed in the studio.
Wang Baozhu said that in 2003, the family lived in a teacher who trained art examination students, and the family opened a commissary, and often painters came to buy things, and there were many contacts, and he often drove a minivan to help painters pull things and take them into the city to see exhibitions.
In 2004, they tried to paint oil under the influence of painters. Wang Baozhu has a special affection for animals, especially small donkeys, and he has painted many small donkeys from freehand to realistic in more than ten years.
The donkey does not have a fixed look, Wang Baozhu does not want to paint a heavy sample, "I always think about innovation, change myself", Wang Baozhu said, the first painting of the donkey leg is still a smooth side, and then painting, a German look at the purchase, that is my painting has been the farthest place."
Xiayuan Village, the work of Wang Baozhu.
Xiayuan Village, a painting of a public space in Wang Baozhu's village.
Wang Baozhu is also a ranger at the Xinglin Luyuan Collective Forest Farm in Xingshou Town, where he is part of more than 20 rangers, mainly responsible for the maintenance of thousands of acres of ecological forests, including forest protection, tree planting, and pruning of tree branches. The forest farm is one kilometer away from Xiayuan Village, going to work at 7:30 in the morning and leaving work at 6:00 in the evening, working 8 hours a day, resting for two and a half hours at noon, and can go home to eat and rest.
The partners said that you can paint enough to live, and you still come to work, how hard. Wang Baozhu said that the inspiration for painting is from the experience of life and work, in the past, he worked, that is, to do a good job as required, and now, he has experienced more fun in his work.
Spring has arrived, and Wang Baozhu works 8 hours a day.
From 2004 to the present, from small paintings of 30 centimeters × 30 centimeters to large paintings for exhibitions, the couple has painted more than 200 paintings in total, and dozens of them have been bought and collected. The 798 Art Museum and the Yanhuang Art Museum both have paintings by Wang Baozhu.
In Liu Xiufen's heart, Xiayuan Village is a beautiful village, famous in Beijing, the garbage classification is particularly good, there are such good artist resources, there are rent villagers income is also good, the village is leading in all aspects.
"I thought I had succeeded. Teachers can draw and sell for money, and we can also sell money when we paint. I would like to say that the peasants should be like the two of them, there are ten or eight in the village, and the Xiayuan village is even more different."
Art empowers the countryside
There are more than 150 villagers in Xiayuan Village, less than 500 people, most of the young and middle-aged people have entered the city, the rest are mostly elderly, and the youngest is more than 50 years old.
On the street of Xiayuan Village, the old man in the village basking in the sun outside his house.
Villagers who came back from the ground with their puppies.
However, today's Xiayuan Village has laid a strong brand as an "artist village", and there are more than 80 artists living here for a long time. The following garden village radiates around the center, and there are a total of more than 200 artists living in this area.
In Xie Yuning's view, "Xiayuan is not a social village for artists, but a place where artists live, whether it is the older generation, or middle-aged and young people, everyone is quietly doing things in the studio, not doing business."
Artists and villagers can live together, and everyone can keep a world. After all, the urban and rural life here is very close, the villagers have begun to pursue some spiritual improvement, and the artists have the heart to return to the countryside, in fact, the two are a mutual existence.
The famous sculptor Wang Shaodong permanently placed his sculpture "Crossing Kunlun" in the public space of the village. Wang Shaodong and the visiting villagers told the meaning of the sculpture's movements.
On April 14, in xiayuan village, a French artist in the village drove the landlord's tricycle and took his friends to a nearby market to catch a market.
The arrival of the artists brought about a clear change in the village. For more than two decades, there have been fewer apricot blossoms and trees, more houses, small courtyards, more public spaces, and even parking has become a problem. Walking around the village, you can see some villagers renovating their houses within the scope of the policy and renting them out to artists.
In the view of Feng Zhiguang, secretary of the party branch and director of the village committee of Xiayuan Village, the arrival of the artist has benefited the village, the appearance of the village has been improved, the rent and employment are steadily rising, and more than 80% of the villagers have rental income.
The artist came, and also let the old people and children see the world, like painting, making sculptures, looking no longer fresh. The sculptor Zheng Yukui regularly taught the elderly university students in the village to pinch pottery; villager Wang Baozhu and his wife picked up a paintbrush early and insisted on painting for more than ten years, and dozens of them were bought and collected; Chen Yongzhong, deputy secretary of the village party branch, liked painting, and there were many children in the village who were admitted to art academies.
Children learning to dance at Jiang Keyu Dance Studio.
On April 16th, at the opening of the Xiayuan Art Life Season, artists stationed in the village displayed their works in public spaces.
Sun Jiabao, a professor and doctoral supervisor of the Sculpture Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts who lives in Xiayuan, feels that artists need villages, but for a long time, artists have not contributed enough to the villages, and the communication channels between art life and society are still single and shallow.
Is there a better solution for the common revitalization of art and the countryside? Feng Zhiguang thought of the artists in the village, and frankly, how to let the artists lead the villagers to earn money.
Lao La's and Feng Zhiguang's ideas coincided. Lao La, formerly known as Zhao Feng, is a curator of art activities and has lived in Xiayuan for 15 years. Lao La said that he thinks about the same problem from the perspective of the social attributes of art, "At first, artists needed villages, and now artists and villages need each other."
In 2020, Beijing Xiayuan Kanpu Cultural Tourism Project Development Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as Kanpu Company), jointly funded by Beijing Xiayuan Culture and Art Development Co., Ltd., individual artists stationed in the village and individual villagers, was established, which is responsible for excavating high-quality artist resources and empowering the countryside.
According to the plan, Kanpu Company wants to develop homestays, Feng Zhiguang called on villagers to take out their idle rooms, and cooperate with Kanpu Company, will not let the villagers lose their homes, at the same time, idle rooms can also make money, and a room's annual income may be a courtyard for a year's rent, which is a new way to revitalize the idle homestead assets of the people. The elderly who have idle houses in the village can no longer reach out and ask their children for money, and truly realize the support of the elderly.
On April 16th, the Xiayuan Art Life Season kicked off, with a band of artists and villagers playing together.
On April 16th, the Xiayuan Art Life Season kicked off, with a band of artists and villagers playing together.
At the opening ceremony of the "Xiayuan Art Life Season" on April 16, the village was crowded, with children in the village sliding along the newly paved silky asphalt, villagers pushing strollers or riding bicycles to watch the show, and some lying on the grass with the sound of drums in the sun.
On April 16, the Xiayuan Art Life Season opened, and the elderly in the village watched the performances of artists and villagers' dance teams.
On the newly lawned Xiayuan Cultural Square, a huge mirrored sphere sculpture stands. In the woods not far away, there are Sun Jiabao's "Lao Tzu" and Wang Shaojun's "Crossing Kunlun" sculptures.
More than 20 artists and villagers jointly created more than 200 square meters of wall paintings that reflect the life of the lower garden. Shangyuan village artist Zheng Zhiyan's strawberries, apples, rabbits, cats and dogs also painted the walls of the villagers' homes.
On April 14, in Xiayuan Village, the wall painting on this 200-meter wall in the village, which was completed by artists and peasant painters, contains dozens of different story contents.
After the opening of the art life season in Xiayuan Village, Feng Zhiguang felt that this stimulated some villagers. In one example, the next day, some villagers approached him and asked if the village committee could organize the villagers to go to the scene of the art life season to do business, selling buns, pancakes, and wild vegetables. "The villagers themselves can't pull down their faces to do business, and they need the village committee to take the lead." And then there's the villagers who think, "Once a week or once a month, we can do business for a long time."
Feng Zhiguang plans to make a try after a while, "in the name of Kanpu Company to invest 10,000 yuan to steam buns, if you earn in the art season, all the money earned is distributed to everyone, even if each person gets one or two hundred, so that the people can see that making buns make money, so that the villagers can see the actual development direction."
"Next, Xiayuan has this condition to do a museum group or an art museum group, as long as the conditions allow, there will be a head, and I can solve the problem of influential artists staying here."
Hu Nan, deputy director of the Changping District Culture and Tourism Bureau, told reporters that the District Cultural and Tourism Bureau encourages farmers and artists to interact benignly and develop together. Realizing the standardized development of the village and empowering the revitalization of the countryside with the cultural tourism industry will become the only way for the development of Xiayuan Village.