East and West Ask 丨Ye Wu: Why does Chinese watercolor painting reflect the fusion of Eastern and Western art?

Ye Wu: Why does Chinese watercolor painting reflect the fusion of Eastern and Western art?

China News Service Tianjin, May 6 Title: Why does Chinese watercolor painting reflect the fusion of Eastern and Western art?

——Interview with Ye Wu, Associate Professor of the School of Architecture, Tianjin University

Author Yang Zijiong Sun Lingling

Since the beginning of the 20th century, the modern "Chinese watercolor" has undergone tremendous changes in innovation after a century of evolution.

How is watercolor painting used as an imported product in Chinese "Western studies"? Why is watercolor painting that incorporates "ink elements" an innovative development in China? Why does Chinese watercolor painting reflect the fusion of Eastern and Western art? Ye Wu, associate professor of the School of Architecture of Tianjin University and teacher of the school's "Watercolor Painting" general studies class, was recently interviewed by China News Agency's "East and West Question" to discuss the above issues.

The interview transcript is summarized below:

China News Service: What is watercolor painting?

Ye Wu: Watercolor painting, that is, the art of painting that uses water as the medium to reconcile colors, is the third largest type of painting that is different from oil painting and Chinese painting. Watercolor art originated in Europe, but it really developed into an independent genre in 18th-century Britain, which is called "modern watercolor".

During the Ming and Qing dynasties, under the influence of "learning from the West to the East", Western modern watercolors were introduced to China. In the early years of the Republic of China, under the active advocacy and promotion of the famous educator Cai Yuanpei, school education was introduced into the Western teaching system. Watercolor as an important means of teaching art as a basic teaching has gradually been promoted. Nowadays, watercolor paintings transplanted from the land of China with a history of 100 years have gradually integrated traditional Chinese aesthetics, local culture and ink painting through the continuous pursuit and creation of Chinese painters, forming a unique Chinese watercolor painting that integrates Chinese and Western styles.

China News Service: How can watercolors as imported watercolors be "used in Western studies" in China?

Ye Wu: The water-based pigments used in watercolor painting have a natural connection with the ink expression of Chinese painting, so watercolor painting has become a foreign art painting that Is easily accepted by Chinese painters.

Western watercolor painting and ink painting have many similarities in spiritual connotation and formal extension. Chinese watercolor painters have integrated national traditional culture, philosophical concepts and creative techniques into the light color and spatial shaping of Western watercolor paintings, and constantly explored new models for watercolor painting creation. The oriental ink freehand is integrated into the creation of watercolor painting, and the contemporary watercolor painting with oriental philosophy is expressed with an eclectic and integrated way of thinking, realizing the "western learning" of watercolor painting.

China News Service: What are the similarities and differences between Chinese watercolor and Western watercolor techniques?

Ye Wu: Let's talk about Western watercolor first, take the world-famous Eighteenth Century British watercolor as an example. The artistic effect of Western watercolor painting is often more rational than emotional, and its common standards are programmed as painting methods, sometimes after the stage of precise pencil outline, and then extremely complex color filling. Western watercolor paintings place special emphasis on the time, light and shadow and sense of space of the objects expressed, and the watercolor works are even more exquisite.

Western watercolor painting has many similarities with traditional Chinese painting in the use of water colors and tools, and there are also many internal connections in expression techniques - the water, color, pen, ink and other techniques of traditional Chinese painting are extremely rich. In terms of color function, watercolor painting is also the same as color ink Chinese painting, and painting with water tone and color ink has long existed in traditional Chinese painting. Turning over the history of Chinese painting, in the Neolithic Age five thousand years ago, the "Stork Stone Axe Diagram" unearthed in Linru, Henan Province, and the dance pattern faience vase painting in Datong County, Qinghai, both of which have the nature of similar to watercolor painting.

Chinese painting pays attention to the sense of truth, while Western painting often pays attention to objective realism. It can be seen in many contemporary watercolor paintings that Chinese painting pays attention to the coexistence of reality and virtuality, which is also a common technique for painting composition. Using clearly visible things to reflect the subject, and then using vague illusory things to set off the subject, can make the whole painting have a mysterious aesthetic imaginary beauty.

Chinese painters also often apply the traditional Chinese ink painting technique of "leaving blank" to Chinese watercolor painting. "Blank space" is a unique way of expression, with a very good artistic effect. Chinese watercolor painting is influenced by traditional Chinese ink painting in terms of technique, paying attention to the realm of intention to write first and not being able to reach the pen, using the pen rigorously, highly refined, and the painting style is clumsy. He pays the most attention to the freshness of the depicted objects and the affection and intention of the artwork, and constantly pursues the peak of Chinese watercolor painting.

China News Service reporter: What are the national characteristics of Chinese watercolor paintings that are used in Western studies?

Ye Wu: National characteristics are the common fundamental characteristics of a nation, which are of epochal nature. Chinese watercolor paintings that are "used in Western studies" will naturally form a common watercolor painting artistic language in history. Artistic creation must be rooted in the soil of national life, deeply express the ideology and feelings of the nation, no matter what form of art is adopted, it will not be separated from the spirit of the nation.

Chinese ink painting has the style of national culture, as well as the characteristics of Lao Zhuang and Zen thought, landscape artistic conception and theoretical integration. With the fusion of Chinese and Western cultures, the integration of Chinese and Western development in the field of painting art is indispensable. Therefore, the Chinese watercolor painting "used in Western studies" has the spiritual connotation of Chinese ink painting, integrating the traditional elements such as qi rhyme, artistic conception, shape and layout in Chinese painting, and also integrates oriental ink freehand into watercolor painting creation, and expresses the national characteristics with oriental meaning with eclectic and integrated thinking.

China News Service: Why is it said that oriental rhyme is a unique aesthetic concept of Chinese watercolor painting?

Ye Wu: Art is the emotions and thoughts that have been experienced from the heart that are evoked from the heart, and give a certain image of the expression. The art of Chinese watercolor painting is influenced by cultural traditions and has a unique oriental charm, and the formation of this aesthetic concept has its origins.

Chinese often express "psychological harmony" through paintings to shape the ideal personality of society and realize the spiritual communication with nature; Westerners often achieve "formal harmony" with the objective world through paintings, reflecting profound attainments and styles. This distinction just highlights the ink charm of Chinese watercolor painting, which is more easily accepted by the public and has long-term vitality. The art of various ethnic groups communicates and influences each other, and the unique aesthetic art form of Chinese watercolor painting shows the perception of national culture and the deep feeling of real life.

China News Service: Why do You Say That Chinese Watercolor Painting Embodies the Fusion of Eastern and Western Art?

Ye Wu: Eastern and Western art has always been about absorbing and borrowing from each other. Some great painters in the West attach great importance to Chinese culture, lamenting the decline of the traditional Western art of seeking truth and realism, and at the same time admiring the vitality of Oriental art. For example, in the works of Picasso, the founder of modern art and the Spanish painter, many artistic expressions focus on spiritual expression and emphasize the creation of artistic concepts, which is integrated with Chinese philosophy, literature, painting and so on. Chinese watercolor painting, which also originated from Western art, has also developed in tandem with the development of the nation, forming an art form with the characteristics of the Chinese era, but it is no longer surnamed "West", but "East". It can be seen that Chinese watercolor painting is rooted in the soil of modern social life where the nation is changing, and has the characteristics of the integration of "learning from the west and gradually learning from the east" and "learning from the east gradually from the west".

China News Service: Why is it said that watercolor that incorporates "ink elements" is an innovative development in China?

Ye Wu: "Chinese watercolor" in the modern sense has gone through more than a hundred years of history. The reason why watercolor paintings rooted in Western culture can be popular and developed in China so far is inseparable from its absorption and reference to traditional Chinese philosophical culture.

"Chinese watercolor" is the product of the integration of Chinese and Western painting art, "Learning from the West and gradually learning from the East" is a process, not a boundary monument, and its process is synchronized with China's social development, reform and opening up. The profound national traditional culture is the foundation of Chinese watercolor art, which injects the cultural characteristics and aesthetic taste of national tradition into Chinese watercolor to form innovation.

The growth of Chinese watercolor painting is the history of the organic integration of Chinese and Western painting concepts, and it is also the history of the gradual development of exotic cultures and the new culture of Tibet. Chinese watercolor art integrates traditional elements such as qi rhyme and artistic conception in Chinese painting ideologically, and integrates the "ink elements" of Chinese painting in painting techniques, embodying the national spirit through these two aspects. At the same time, some Chinese watercolor works also clearly borrow from folk shadow puppetry and paper-cutting styles. The tireless efforts of generations of watercolor painters contributed to the modern national style. It is precisely by virtue of this style that Chinese watercolor painting stands tall in the forest of watercolor art in the world with a constantly innovative appearance. (End)

Respondent Profiles:

Ye Wu is an associate professor and graduate supervisor at the School of Architecture of Tianjin University. He is a special expert of the Education Steering Committee of the State Council and a national postgraduate education evaluation and monitoring expert. He is a member of the Architectural Society of China and the China Industrial Design Association. Judge of the first National College Advertising Design Competition, judge of the 2020 "Dyson" Global Design Grand Prix in China. Judge of the 2021 "Star Cup" National Art Competition. He has presided over or participated in a number of national, provincial and ministerial scientific research projects including art, published more than 30 papers such as "Looking at the Landscape View of the Literati of the Song Dynasty from the Similarities and Differences between "Landscape Skills" and "Forest Springs"", edited and published more than 10 monographs such as "Architectural Landscape Watercolor Expression Techniques", "Color Composition", "Architectural Pen Paintings" and more than 10 textbooks for colleges and universities, and has been designated as teaching materials by the Steering Committee of Architecture Majors of the Ministry of Education. Professor Ye Wu has been engaged in scientific research and teaching for many years, responsible for the School of Architecture of Tianjin University and the watercolor courses of the whole school, and the watercolor works have a unique charm of coexisting with rational thinking and humanistic feelings. Stretching with pen and color, seeing elegance in the atmosphere, and containing the heart of the text in elegance, reflecting the excellent aesthetic meaning and the beauty of watercolor that connects China and the West.