【Art Scene Viewing】
Author: Liu Hong (Former Executive Editor of PLA Fine Arts Calligraphy Magazine)
That touch of red never fades (Chinese painting) Xiao Bo red
Poverty Alleviation Action - This year's fruit is particularly sweet (Chinese painting) Zhang Xiaolei
Red Detachment of Women (sculpture) Lang Yu
Frontier Guard - PatrolLing (watercolor painting) Ding Yi
Snow Mountain Iron Stream (oil painting) Shen Yaoyi
Marine Corps Series 201 (oil painting) Zhou Fulin, Zhang Hongfeng
In order to welcome the 20th victory of the Party and celebrate the 95th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese People's Liberation Army, the National Art Works Exhibition celebrating the 95th anniversary of the founding of the Chinese People's Liberation Army and the 15th All-Army Art Works Exhibition recently opened at the National Art Museum of China in Beijing. The exhibition selects more than 400 works with deep strength and timeless charm, comprehensively presents the glorious course of the people's army from victory to victory, narrates the glory of the past, shows today's glory, and expresses the historical achievements and changes that have taken place in the cause of strengthening the military.
Looking at the military theme art works that have emerged in recent years, from the selection of creative angles, the use of formal techniques, to the tempering of ideological connotations and the exploration of expressive language, a new artistic outlook has emerged. Whether it is the traditional return of Chinese painting, oil painting, printmaking, sculpture and other arts, or the innovative expansion of installations, comprehensive materials and other forms, artists pay attention to the personalized expression of military theme art creation, and integrate deep humanistic feelings and rich life colors into their works. Many masterpieces highlight the distinctive fighting character, exude a strong atmosphere of the times, and become the spiritual map and visual witness of the road to a strong army with Chinese characteristics.
The depiction of major historical events and war scenes, as well as the praise of revolutionary heroism, are the eternal themes of the creation of military theme art. Zhao Daqian's oil painting "Nanchang Uprising" creates a scene full of dramatic tension with a grand schema, allowing the viewer to feel the pulse of history as if they are immersed in the scene; Zhang Kaitong created "Torrent" with the traditional brush stroke language, and the large area of red rendered the courage of the former army rushing forward like a tide, vividly showing the unstoppable strength of the revolutionary team; The oil painting "Soldier With the Flag" brilliantly depicts a heroic cavalry soldier on the battlefield, and the painter Zhang Qingtao portrays the environmental atmosphere with a delicate sense of light, creating a heroic and tragic picture tone; Chen Shudong and Liu Meichen took a bird's-eye view when creating the oil painting "1949 Military Parade - The People's Victory", and the subjective expression of sky color contrasted with the imposing military parade in front of Tiananmen Square, and the magnificent scene was exciting.
Presenting revolutionary historical themes in a microscopic and poetic way is the direction of exploration by many artists. The sculptor Lang Yu attaches great importance to the formal beauty of the work in his creation, and his work "Red Detachment of Women" vividly shapes the heroic and fearless image of many female warriors, full of strength, both the praise of heroes and the contemplation of life. The first impression of the New Year painting "Heroes of the Towel And The Yimeng Sisters" is the colorful colors with a very local atmosphere. Artist Yang Zhibin applies the formal language of traditional New Year paintings to his creations, and the dense and orderly layout makes the characters and scenes live in a virtual reality, and the design sense is full.
Along the way, the people's army has established immortal merits for the party and the people. Remember the glorious history and continue to write a new chapter in strengthening the army. In the new era, the people's army has always insisted on arming the whole army with the party's innovative theories as the primary task; they have built a solid foundation of faith, replenished the calcium of the spirit, stabilized the rudder of the mind, and set up an era benchmark for strengthening the army and rejuvenating the army in the new era.
The heroic and determined demeanor of the warriors in the face of challenges is vividly displayed in Xiao Bohong's Chinese painting "That Touch of Red Never Fades". The work juxtaposes the group portraits of the people's army in different periods, and uses exquisite ink painting techniques to create a three-dimensional and full character image, highlighting the ideal and belief of Chinese soldiers that will never fade. Zhou Fulin and Zhang Hongfeng's oil painting "Marine Corps Series 201" directly hit the scene of high-difficulty and high-intensity special combat training, reflecting the iron-blooded spirit and high morale of the soldiers.
In addition to the faithful reproduction of the scenes of the people's army's arduous training and mission execution, as well as works focusing on the latest weapons and equipment, scientific and technological achievements and other themes, it is also an important entry point for the creation of military theme art in recent years to show the spiritual outlook of the people's army in the new era by depicting the ordinary moments of the daily life of the soldiers. Xing Junqin is good at shaping characters in the unique expressive language of oil painting, and when creating "Our Class", he tried to integrate abstract artistic symbols into the picture. More than 20 warrior images with different expressions overlap and intertwine with camouflage patterns, and the cultural connotations they carry give the images a new realistic context in deconstruction and transformation, reflecting the artist's tireless spirit of exploration and broad humanistic feelings.
The creative method of "Art +" began to intervene in the 13th All-Army Fine Arts Exhibition, and was also fully demonstrated in this exhibition. These works with interdisciplinary and cross-disciplinary characteristics reflect the openness, inclusiveness and contemporary nature of military theme art creation. Among them, Xia Hesheng, Xu Zhongming, and Xia Ming's installation work "Strengthening the Army with Science and Technology" integrates missiles, ships, fighter jets, satellites and other contemporary advanced equipment and the warrior queue in an orderly space, and with the cooperation of sound and light, it is combined into a spectacular scene with great visual tension, which three-dimensionally shows the strong determination of our army to fight together "land, sea, air and space" and defend national sovereignty and territorial integrity. The installation work "Warrior" uses handicraft techniques such as cutting, carving, carving, skeletonization, and pasting to create an image of a warrior who holds its ground, and artist Lan Jinbin, on the basis of inheriting the traditional paper art language, gives the work a new era appearance and artistic connotation, so that it overflows with fresh life force.
Lofty patriotism, idealism and heroism constitute the spiritual background of the creation of military theme art. From the fierce and vigorous war masterpieces, to the exquisite sketches depicting a pair of torn straw shoes and an old military trumpet; From realist masterpieces focusing on themes such as "flood relief" and "fighting the new crown pneumonia epidemic", to experimental masterpieces that focus on image refinement and try language innovation, whether it is grand narrative or microscopic performance, each work conveys the sincere emotions of the artist's heart for the people's army.
In the future, with the continuous expansion of the boundaries of artistic creation, how to dig deep into the cultural connotation of military theme art creation, fully highlight its unique artistic charm and appeal, but also need artists to continue to closely follow the pulse of the times, deeply cultivate the fertile soil of the military camp, cast the military soul with Danqing, and jointly build a new pattern of military theme art creation in the new era.
Guangming Daily ( 2022-08-07 09 edition)
Source: Guangming Network - Guangming Daily