Thematic Art Creation and Exploration of Mixed Material Painting Language: An Interview with Song Ke
Yan Mengyang (Ph.D., Teacher, School of Fine Arts and Design, Chengdu University): Mr. Song, you have painted a lot of thematic art works, and you have in-depth thinking and research on them. What do you think is the development of thematic art creation in the Chinese art world?
Song Ke: Your question involves a long tradition of art history. The first batch of Western traditional paintings to be brought to China on a large scale were some painters who studied in France in the 20th century, such as Xu Beihong, Lin Fengmian, Liu Haisu, Chang Shuhong, Lu Sibai, Yan Wenliang and others. They brought the language of Western painting to China and began to establish an academy education system. The second group is a group of artists who studied in the Soviet Union after the founding of New China, including Li Tianxiang, Quan Shanshi, Xiao Feng, Shao Dazhen, Xi Jingzhi, etc. From 1955 to 1957, the former Ministry of Culture of China invited Maximov, a professor at the Surikov Academy of Fine Arts, to hold an oil painting training course at the Central Academy of Fine Arts, where he trained a new generation of oil painters such as Jin Shangyi, Zhan Jianjun, Hou Yimin, He Kongde, and Feng Faci. The Maximov training course has played a very important role in the development of modern and contemporary oil painting in China, and it can be said that its influence has continued to this day.
In the early years of the founding of the People's Republic of China, Chinese artists painted a number of thematic oil paintings, including Dong Xiwen's "Founding Ceremony" and Wang Shikuo's "Bloody Clothes". At that time, Chinese oil paintings were basically based on the inherent color series, and the pictures did not have too many warm and cold tones. The greatest contribution of the Maximov Oil Painting Training Course was the study of the relationship between cold and warm in the picture. Maksimov often took his classmates to sketch outdoors and study the relationship between light and color. We can get a glimpse of this development trend through the graduation work of this class. For example, Zhan Jianjun's "Beginning", the color relationship is very comfortable. This painting is in the collection of the CAFA Art Museum, and I have had the pleasure of seeing it twice. There is also He Kongde's work "Letter from the Motherland", which depicts the scene of volunteer soldiers reading letters from relatives in the Shangganling tunnel during the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea. Although the picture is backlit, the colors inside are very rich. It can be said that since the beginning of the Maximov training class, Chinese artists have taken another step forward in studying the laws of ontological language of painting.
In recent years, with the advocacy and support of the state, thematic art creation has ushered in greater space for development. In 2020, the Chinese Artists Association established the National Art Committee for Art Creation on Major Themes. It is the largest art committee in the China Artists Association, including important artists from all genres. In the future, this art committee will definitely undertake more and more important art projects, and will also lead the new development direction of thematic art creation.
Song Ke, Marx for the New York Daily Tribune, 250cm×300cm, oil on canvas, 2018
Yan Mengyang: What do you think is the most important content and artistic language in thematic art creation?
Song Ke: Some time ago, I attended a seminar on theme creation and teaching at Nanjing University of the Arts, and everyone agreed that thematic art creation is one of the most challenging and difficult art forms in the formal language of painting. Because a large-scale theme creation often contains multiple characters, the composition, shape, color, and space density of the picture, as well as the dynamics, expressions, costumes, props, etc. of each character should be taken into account when creating, and the most important thing is the composition of the large-scale creation. The structure is the skeleton of a picture, which embodies the tension and overall situation of the art work. One of Repin's favorite works is called "The Zaporos Write to the Sultan", and the composition of the portraits in this painting has not only the space on the left and right, but also the space before and after. In the foreground, the body of a person leans back, and the fingers of a person in the center point backwards, so that the whole picture creates a moment in the space before and after the viewer, rather than just the relationship between the top and bottom, left and right.
Song Ke (co-author), "Great Craftsmen - Xu Liping", 300cm×800cm, oil on canvas, 2017
Yan Mengyang: You have been engaged in teaching for a long time, what do you emphasize in the teaching process of thematic art creation? What are the prospects for the future?
Song Ke: In the process of teaching, I still emphasize the ontological language of painting, especially in the undergraduate teaching stage of colleges and universities, and should teach some regular things. The choice of an artist should be made at least during the master's or doctoral studies, and the individuality will be emphasized after your modeling ability has matured. At the beginning, when they have not yet mastered the laws of art language, they are eager to innovate, just like children, they want to run before they can walk, and they will definitely fall on their heels. In addition, the artistic principle of emphasizing individuality in thematic creation is different from that in contemporary art, especially when expressing major historical themes, the modeling language should be biased towards realism. For example, when expressing the centenary of the founding of the party and Chinese civilization, it is necessary to pay attention to the consistency of creative techniques and public acceptance.
I remember one year when an important artist was assigned the task of commemorating the Red Army's Long March. Although he painted well, his artistic technique was inclined to expressionism and was not suitable for the image of the leader, so he had to "change the generals" - this is the peculiarity of the theme creation. As for the development prospect of thematic art creation teaching, I think it is related to the orientation of society. In the past few years, contemporary art has become more popular, and the art market is also very hot, which will produce a certain orientation and affect the concept of college students. However, I think that this trend has changed somewhat through the guidance of public opinion in recent years. In the past two years, the state has been advocating the core values of socialism, carrying forward the main theme, spreading positive energy, and emphasizing that artistic creation should go deep into life and take root in the people. Therefore, I believe that the teaching of thematic art creation will develop to a certain extent in the next few years.
Song Ke, Jiao Yulu, 300cm×600cm, oil on canvas, 2021
Yan Mengyang: In your research direction of recruiting postdoctoral fellows at Tsinghua University, you emphasize the study of ethnic themes. What do you think is the status and role of ethnic themes in thematic art creation?
Song Ke: Ethnic themes are very important in thematic art creation. Because the techniques of traditional Western painting are foreign, the themes to be expressed in the works must be based on their own people. For example, Russia art - Russian painters also learned oil painting techniques and languages from France and Italy, but the subject matter they ultimately expressed was still the subject matter of Russia itself, such as the Volga Fiber. Similarly, some 19th-century artists in France represented works of their own nationality, such as the quarryman painted by Courbet. The concept of ethnic themes I am talking about is actually a broad category, not that you must wear a minority costume to be a national work.
Yan Mengyang: Mr. Song, you are also the deputy director of the Art Committee of Comprehensive Material Painting and Art Preservation and Restoration of the Chinese Artists Association. What do you think of the development of mixed media painting in China today?
Song Ke: In 2010, the Chinese Artists Association established the Art Committee for the Preservation and Restoration of Comprehensive Material Painting and Art Works, which has been going on for more than 10 years. During this period, the association undertook to hold the 12th and 13th National Art Exhibitions, as well as four comprehensive material painting biennials. Since then, domestic comprehensive media painting has developed rapidly, and many painters have begun to participate in the creation of comprehensive material painting. Under this influence, some colleges and universities began to set up related majors, and some provincial artist associations also set up comprehensive material painting art committees. The emerging discipline of mixed material painting has shown a flourishing development and is gradually moving from its beginnings to maturity. The Comprehensive Material Painting Biennale held by the Comprehensive Material Painting Art Committee of the China Artists Association in Ningbo has been held for four years, and many of the original exhibited works generally have problems such as showing off materials and stacking materials. These works have no thematic content or ideological connotation, nor do they have elements of excellent traditional Chinese culture. There are also some works that are collaged on the basis of oil paintings or traditional Chinese paintings, and some paper and cloth are collaged, without highlighting the material characteristics. These are all misconceptions. The development of comprehensive material painting in China requires a process and needs to go through precipitation, which is the law of the development of things. Since the 4th Biennale of Mixed Media Painting, I have felt much better. I think this year's 14th National Art Exhibition should be better, which reflects the progress of the creators.
Song Ke, Wax Moon, 225cm×340cm, oil on canvas, 2012
Yan Mengyang: You have also done a lot of mixed media creation practice, how do you define the scope and extension of mixed media painting?
Song Ke: I think that the six words "comprehensive material painting" mean that its connotation should first fall on "painting" rather than "material", and it should have the ontological language of painting. The first is to emphasize its pictorial attributes—it is first and foremost a painting, not a simple display of materials. Second, it is necessary to emphasize the linguistic characteristics of materials: comprehensive material painting should have relatively subtle and multi-layered material linguistic characteristics. Without the above two characteristics, mixed media painting will be confused with other types of painting.
This reminds me of the comprehensive material painting exhibition area of the 13th National Art Exhibition. At that time, many oil paintings and Chinese paintings participated in the re-evaluation, but many experts suggested that the selected works should still conform to the linguistic characteristics of comprehensive material painting, that is, the sense of material and the attributes of painting. On the other hand, if a Chinese painting is submitted to the Chinese painting exhibition area, can it be selected? If you can't be selected in this type of painting area, you should not be selected in the mixed media painting area. I think the thinking of the expert judges is very clear.
Another thing I know about mixed media painting is that it is more appropriate to be regarded as a discipline. For example, Chinese ink painting is defined by the characteristics of the material itself, and the same is true for oil painting. However, mixed media painting itself has the inclusiveness and comprehensiveness of different material languages, so it seems more appropriate to treat mixed material painting as a discipline.
Song Ke, "Bar Impression No.1", 40cm×40cm, mixed media, 2005
Yan Mengyang: How do you view the connotation of material language in painting? What are the implications for the development of the language of integrated media painting?
Song Ke: Each painting genre has its own painting language, and its formal language and material language are highly integrated. For example, Oriental paintings are mostly scattered compositions, juxtaposing elements from different time and space in a single picture, and their perspective is not strictly large, large and far small. Oriental painting is still linear, such as "Eighty-Seven Immortal Scrolls", "Qingming Riverside Picture" and other masterpieces are all modeled with lines. In terms of color use, it is also subjective to paint and color, so oriental paintings mostly use materials such as paper and mineral pigments to highlight the linear expression language. It can be seen that the artistic concept is different, and the modeling means and material selection are also different. In the same way, the difference in cultural tradition and material language also determines that comprehensive material painting must have its own language system. Although the innovation of mixed material painting is often reflected in the evolution of materials and techniques in a single type of painting. For example, some foils were pasted on paper materials, and some material experiments were added to the language expression of texture effects, which promoted the in-depth development of comprehensive material painting. Personally, I understand that mixed media painting should emphasize the texture and beauty of materials, and should bring the viewer an experience of mystery and richness, just like the works of Tabies, Kiefer and others.
Song Ke, White Mountain and Black Water, 100cm×220cm, mineral pigment on canvas, 2012
Yan Mengyang: At present, many mixed-media paintings have traces of haphazard accumulation of materials, while ignoring the continuity of the content of the picture. How do you see the relationship between mixed media painting and thematic art creation?
Song Ke: The intuitive impression of mixed media painting is that of abstract painting, and I think this conceptual and stylized impression is a misunderstanding. In fact, mixed media painting can include figurative works, but also subject creation. For example, Mr. Hu Wei, the director of the Comprehensive Material Painting Art Committee, has made a good combination of comprehensive material painting and theme creation. He has painted two works, one is "Chen Duxiu and the New Youth" and the other is "Zhang Juzheng's Reform". There is a subtle combination of material language and content of the work, which in turn makes the painting material highlight the heaviness of the historical theme. Therefore, mixed media painting can express the theme of creation, and its artistic rules are the same.
Like words and music, an important function of painting art is to disseminate culture. At present, the state emphasizes ideological and political education, and thematic art creation is a form of artistic communication of ideological and political education. So how do we better combine the language of the material with the subject matter? I think it is a choice to find the material language from ancient Chinese murals, portrait bricks, and historical relics, and the mottled and clumsy sense of material is actually very much in line with Chinese aesthetics. We absorb such nutrients for the creation of comprehensive material paintings, which can not only be based on Chinese traditional culture, but also conform to the laws of artistic creation.
Song Ke, "Great Beauty Invisible", 90cm×120cm, mixed media, 2012
Yan Mengyang: Now that the country is vigorously advocating aesthetic education, what role do you think thematic art creation should play in the perspective of social aesthetic education?
Song Ke: The promotion of aesthetic education itself has a certain popularity, and a good work of art is very important to improve the overall quality of a nation. My childhood impression is that two works with a very large circulation in China are "Chairman Mao Goes to Anyuan" painted by Liu Chunhua, and "Life Never Stops, Charge Continues" painted by He Kongde, both of which may have a circulation of more than 100 million copies. These works, which inspire patriotic feelings in a special period, have enhanced the spiritual temperament of a generation. The aesthetic education role played by thematic art creation in promoting the main theme and spreading positive energy is very valuable and significant.
Song Ke, Monogatari No. 5, 150cm×180cm, mixed media, 2009
Yan Mengyang: The contemporary Chinese art scene is complex, how do you think young artists should handle themselves in such a situation? How do you find your artistic direction?
Song Ke: Classic works of art still need time to test. Of course, there is no standardization for classic works. With the advent of cameras, the development of the times, and the popularization of AI art, art will eventually return to the essential level of aesthetics and creation. The choice of artistic path depends on the artist's growth, educational background, and personal aesthetic orientation. However, I still believe that artists should lay a good foundation step by step, do corresponding things at different ages, and be more solid, so that the personality of art will be naturally revealed in the future.
(Source: Aishang Fine Arts)
Artist Profile
Song Ke, professor of the Academy of Fine Arts of Tsinghua University, doctoral supervisor, member of the 9th Council of the Chinese Artists Association, member of the National Art Creation Committee of Major Themes, deputy director of the Comprehensive Material Painting Art Committee, director of the China Oil Painting Society, member of the 6th Council of the Beijing Artists Association, member of the Oil Painting Art Committee of the Beijing Artists Association, judge of the 12th and 13th National Art Exhibition of the China Artists Association, judge of the 7th National Youth Art Exhibition, evaluation expert of the National Art Fund, graduate of the Central Academy of Arts and Crafts, He was sent by the state to be a visiting scholar at the Repin Academy of Fine Arts in Russia. His works are collected in the National Museum of China, the History Exhibition Hall of the Communist Party of China, the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Central Academy of Fine Arts and other institutions.