The Adventures of Tintin, the most popular European comic book series of the 20th century, has sold over 350 million copies and is an adventure/thriller novel set in the 20th century across cultures and races. The storyline spans many genres: sailing adventures, Cold War thrillers, explorations, archaeological wonders, science fiction, journeys through devastated landscapes, and more.
The Adventures of Tintin is also one of the favorite foreign comic strips of Chinese readers in the 1980s, because the content of "Blue Lotus" and "Tintin in Tibet" is the comic strip created by the author Elge who traveled thousands of miles to China. On August 6, the Museum of Contemporary Art Shanghai will jointly hold the Tintin themed exhibition "Tintin and Hergé" with the Hergé Museum in Belgium.
Chinese readers are familiar with the Adventures of Tintin from the Blue Lotus in this series of books. In 1934, at the age of twenty-seven, Hergé had already written four Of Tintin's Adventures, and in the trailer for his fifth work, "Tintin" would embark on a new adventure in the Far East.
At that time, the priest, who knew more about Chinese students, advised Hergé that before creating this comic with a Chinese background, he must give up his original understanding of China, collect more graphic materials related to China, and try to truly understand Chinese. Father Lu Zhengxiang of the Monastery of San Andeno in Belgium asked Zhang Chongren to meet Hergé, brief him on the real situation in China, and help him with his new work. Zhang Chongren briefed Hergé on China's history, culture, customs, and Chinese life, and talked about the suffering of the enemy invasion at that time.
In subsequent works, Hergé mercilessly attacked the aggressive acts of Japanese imperialism, and the "Wicker Lake Incident" written and directed by the Japanese army was exposed by "Tintin". After "Blue Lotus" began serialization, the Japanese Embassy in Belgium, through the Belgian government, pressed the newspaper, warning that the work hindered Japan's "establishment of a new order in East Asia", demanding that the publication be stopped immediately and asking the author to apologize, while the newspaper withstood great pressure and continued to serialize the work, "letting the world know the real China". Starting from "Blue Lotus", the image of "Tintin" is no longer just a tour guide who satisfies the curiosity of Westerners, but has changed into a character who values friendship, courage and wisdom. It was also from this work that Hergé combined the unique white painting technique of Chinese painting in his own creation to form a distinct artistic style, and freedom, equality and anti-war also became his eternal creative themes thereafter.
Wang Yue, the representative of the organizer, introduced:
"The Adventures of Tintin comic strips have been loved by Chinese readers since the 1980s, and 'Tintin' is a spirit for Chinese Ding fans, his spirit of adventure, his helpfulness. He went all over the world to meet friendly friends, which were very good traits that our generation grew up with, and when we were young, when we read 'Tintin', we all fantasized about being able to become a hero like 'Tintin'. As adults, we also hope to have a friend like 'Tintin', so we hold a Tintin theme exhibition in Shanghai, which not only transmits positive energy, but also presents the contribution that Elger has made to world culture and art with his life's time. ”
The exhibition will not only present the precious historical original works of "Tintin", but also focus on the artistic life of Hergé (formerly known as Georges Remy), the father of Tintin, including his manuscripts, notes, paintings and personal art collection. The exhibition will also bring to life the great image of the artist full of thought, vitality and curiosity, as well as his choices at different stages of his life, with the help of precious documentaries, old historical photographs, interview documentaries and various commentaries.
Since the 1960s, he has experimented with painting, using a wealth of art forms such as film, painting and photography to explore new creative angles, compositional techniques and perspective methods. These attempts helped him conceive a unique narrative, complemented by powerful storyboarding and imagery, to create a comic strip character with cross-generational influence. Hergé's distinctive artistic style stems from his extraordinary ability to reflect reality, as well as his innovative and nostalgic approach.
He is good at creating a world of imagination for readers with multiple elements: precisely outlining the world with concise lines, creating characters with social value, which is the epitome of the background of his time.
It is understood that the Adventures of Tintin has been translated into more than 70 languages around the world and sold more than 300 million copies. The author began to work on the first story of "Tintin" in 1929, and until his death the last unfinished manuscript painted in 1983, he devoted his entire life to the character of "Tintin".
Exhibition Period: August 6, 2021 - October 31, 2021 Opening hours: Tuesday to Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Closed on Monday: 60 yuan Address: Shanghai Museum of Contemporary Art, No. 678 Miaojiang Road, Huangpu District, Shanghai
Source: Shanghai Jing'an