This article**: The people**.
The art of printmaking——
Advance with the times and walk with the people (adhere to the "two creations" to create brilliance).
Acting on behalf of the power. People** December 03, 2023 Edition 08).
China is the homeland of printmaking. In the history of Chinese art, printmaking is an indelible memory and an inexhaustible chapter.
The invention of engraving printing made China's printmaking have a high level in the Tang Dynasty. In the 30s of the 20th century, the emerging woodcut movement advocated by Lu Xun, on the basis of inheriting the traditional printmaking skills and learning from the characteristics of European printmaking, made full use of the convenience, popularity and reproducibility of printmaking, so that the emerging woodcut art became the "war drum of the times" and "the clarion call of revolution", and opened the prelude to the development of modern Chinese printmaking. After the outbreak of the Anti-Japanese War, Jiang Feng, Li Qun and other young people brought the emerging woodcut concept advocated by Lu Xun to Yan'an, inspiring the national fighting spirit, inscribed the red memory, and sowed the seeds of printmaking art to the times and the people. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, the art of printmaking continued to develop in the direction of realist creation, and industrial printmaking and styles with regional characteristics shone brightly.
In the new era, printmakers inherit traditions, embrace life, and gradually integrate new technologies, new materials, and new concepts, further expand the boundaries of creation, enrich the artistic outlook, and engrave the mark of the times with diversified theme creations. This year, printmaking art exhibitions from all over the world continue to be launched and splendid, from the traditional look back to the creation of the present to the expectations for the future, outlining the road of inheritance and innovation of modern Chinese printmaking, highlighting the unique value of printmaking.
Go back to the source of the spirit.
The printmaking of the Yan'an period is an important chapter in revolutionary literature and art under the leadership of the Communist Party of China. The light of Yan'an's literary and artistic spirit has illuminated the road of modern Chinese printmaking. Recently, a number of printmaking art exhibitions have guided the majority of art workers to strengthen their creative ideals by tracing back to the source of the spirit of printmaking, and to write literary and artistic creation into the history of national rejuvenation and the journey of the people's struggle.
Advancing with the times and walking with the people is the precious spiritual wealth left by Yan'an woodcut prints to art workers. In order to give full play to the educational function of the birthplace of Yan'an's literary and artistic spirit, in June this year, the "Yan'an Printmaking Art Center" in Yan'an City, Shaanxi Province was officially opened, and the "First Yan'an Woodcut Printmaking Biennale" was held. The academic proposition of the exhibition is clear: to adhere to the spiritual concept of Yan'an woodblock printmaking, expand the meaning of artistic expression, and lead the creation of contemporary printmaking to depth and to the broadest. More than 200 works in the exhibition, such as Zhou Zhongming's "On the Field of Hope" and Xiao Li's "Ancient Town Movement", are all new original woodcut prints in the past five years.
There are also many art institutions that comb and display the classic printmaking works of famous artists in their collections, perspective the creative laws and social value of printmaking art, and lead the audience to appreciate how printmakers can integrate the individual "small self" into the "big self" of the country. In the "Slash and Plate Printing Inscription Elegance - 20th Century Woodblock Prints from the Collection of the China National Academy of Painting", works such as Li Qun's "Drinking" and Yan Han's "When the Enemy Searches the Mountain" reflect the creative passion of Yan'an woodcut creators with a hoe and a pickaxe in one hand and a carving knife in the other. In the "Star and Fire - Sichuan Art Museum and Shenzhou Printmaking Museum Collection Left-wing Woodcut Exhibition", through more than 40 representative works such as Gu Yuan's "Burning the Old Land Deed" and Li Hua's "Angry Tide" Group of Paintings - Get Up", the audience can deeply feel the power of the people's awakening. In the "From the Spirit of Yan'an to the Feelings of New China - Printmaking Exhibition to Commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the First Five-Year Plan", Hu Yichuan's "Ox Calf Workers' Team" and Li Shaoyan's "Go to a Meeting" and other works artistically depict the new life landscape and new spiritual outlook of the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningbo Border Region. These works are intertwined, which not only shows the development process of modern Chinese printmaking, but also reflects the pursuit of the spirit of realism and the keen consciousness of the printmakers to observe the times.
One exhibition after another, the rich connotation and creative tradition of printmaking are explained artistically, so that people can see the practical significance carried by printmaking and the spirit of the times engraved by printmaking, so as to lead the progress of thought, boost artistic innovation, and make Chinese printmaking creation move forward towards "grandeur and profundity".
Reflect the face of the times.
Before printmaking was called "painting", it always focused on "engraving", and "engraving" belonged to the category of craftsmanship. The rise of the emerging woodcut movement, the traditional craft reproduction into modern artistic creation, painting, engraving, printing are completed by the creator alone, with the creation of "painting" to enrich the value of "edition", printmaking expression of the era of space more and more broad. In recent years, on the basis of inheriting the tradition, many printmakers have further expressed and integrated into the times, and made their works exude the charm of the times with innovative exploration.
Some regional and local printmaking art exhibitions focus on highlighting the regional characteristics of printmaking and showing the development achievements of local printmaking. For example, Shanghai, as the birthplace of the emerging woodcut movement and an important town of contemporary printmaking in China, has held an academic brand exhibition, Shanghai Printmaking Exhibition, to discover creative talents, popularize printmaking art, and promote the exchange of printmaking art in the Yangtze River Delta and the improvement of academic level. The recently held "13th Shanghai Printmaking Exhibition", on the basis of continuing the century-old tradition, pays attention to the "Shanghai Story" in the new era, highlights major events and new events, and advocates small incisions, positive energy and big feelings. For example, works such as He Mu's "China Ding No. 4" and Ma Yaping's "Shanghai Textile Museum" show the pursuit of beauty, high appearance and warm expression of the "people's city" by portraying a corner of Shanghai's cultural construction. Printmaking in the Great Northern Wilderness is an important part of modern Chinese printmaking and an important carrier for inheriting and carrying forward the spirit of the Great Northern Wilderness. "Commemorating the 65th Anniversary of the Birth of the Great Northern Wilderness Printmaking, Deeply Cultivating the Black Soil, Continuing the Legend - The First Great Northern Wilderness Printmaking Biennale" aims to promote the spirit of the Great Northern Wilderness and enhance the influence of the Great Northern Wilderness Printmaking. The works in the exhibition take agriculture, rural areas, and farmers as the main objects of expression, highlighting the artistic temperature and condensing the strength to forge ahead. In Guizhou, Shanxi, Guangxi, Anhui, Sichuan and other places, various printmaking art exhibitions have been held one after another, focusing on the new era and based on new life, reflecting the development achievements of various places while reflecting the new look of contemporary printmaking creation.
The creator's dialectical thinking on craftsmanship and art, printmaking and painting, and between subject and object runs through the major printmaking art exhibitions. "Wood Marks and Water Shadows Reflect the Source of the Heart - Watermark Prints from the Collection of the National Art Museum of China", "Reality and Elegance - National Watermark Woodcut Printmaking Invitational Exhibition", "Water and Wood Essence - The Second Yiya Chinese Modern Watermark Printmaking Exhibition", etc., will focus on China's unique woodblock watermark technology. Among them, "Knife Marks and Water Traces - Kunshan Lu Fang Printmaking Art Museum Collection Exhibition", a selection of more than 100 Lu Fang's manuscripts and prints, fully demonstrates the author's reference to woodblock watermark techniques, retains the knife and wood flavor of woodblock prints, enriches the picture with color in the artistic style, and presents the artistic conception of the West Lake landscape. Through the exhibition, we can not only trace the tradition of woodblock watermarking, but also observe the exploration trend of modern watermark printmaking, and gain insight into the far-reaching influence of woodblock watermarking technology in promoting the innovation of printmaking techniques, the transformation of artistic language, the expansion of picture artistic conception and the expression of artistic emotion.
From technology to art, from form to value, these exhibitions show the prosperity of printmaking in the new era in a three-dimensional way in the observation of traditional context and contemporary life, which not only provides a reference for systematically sorting out the development achievements of Chinese printmaking, but also provides new ideas for printmaking creation and research.
Breaking new ground in art.
At the recent printmaking art exhibition, many young printmaking works have emerged, which has become a true reflection of the new look of printmaking creation. In the process of creative transformation and innovative development, these works continue to expand the content form and spiritual connotation of printmaking, and are full of youthful atmosphere in the presentation of themes, artistic language expression, and aesthetic concept renewal, opening up a new realm of printmaking aesthetics.
Through the exhibition, it can be found that young printmakers have a stronger sense of expression and creative vitality. They are broad-minded, integrate artistic individuality into thematic exploration, and pursue the unity of individuality and commonality, form and thought. For example, Wang Chao's "Brocade Ash Heap: A Small Collection of Collected Tiles" exhibited in the "Reality and Elegance - National Watermark Woodcut Printmaking Invitational Exhibition", and Liu Daoyuan's "Father's Medal" exhibited in the "Prosperous Imprints - 2023 China Hundred Jinling Painting Exhibition (Prints)" and other works, reflecting that the artist's understanding of the theme and connotation is no longer limited to specific events, but from the perspective of space expansion and time extension, the understanding of the theme is integrated into a peaceful and soothing expression, broadening the artistic conception and meaning space of the picture, and inspiring the viewer to think.
Another important change that distinguishes young printmaking from the past is the re-understanding of the aesthetic concept of printmaking. Many works break the conventional way of thinking and are sensitive to imagination and expression, so that the picture has a new rhyme, such as Kang Lei's "Beautiful Dong Village of Rural Revitalization" exhibited in the "Youth Flying: 2023 Chinese Young Printmakers Nomination Exhibition", and Sui Ying's "Autumn Shadow" exhibited in the "3rd Heilongjiang Printmaking Biennale". More and more young creators are finding the best way of artistic expression between imagination and reality with their keen life experience, bringing people a novel aesthetic experience.
In terms of the expansion of artistic language, contemporary printmaking with young people as the main creative group is rich in forms and different forms, emphasizing the natural presentation of individuality on the premise of respecting commonality. For example, Wang Yunyan's "Summer Evening Breeze", Chen Ciyong's "Wind-Leap", Wang Yilin's "Great Country Craftsman", Tan Yaolin's "Canal Morning Dawn" and other works selected for the "Prosperous Impression - 2023 China 100 Jinling Painting Exhibition (Printmaking)", all strive to use traditional printmaking language for personalized expression. These explorations have brought vitality and vitality to contemporary printmaking.
The art sown by the emerging woodcut movement continues to take root and sprout for the times and the people. Nowadays, Chinese printmaking presents a development trend of diverse themes, rich languages, and diverse techniques, and is full of vigorous vitality. In the future, Chinese printmaking will further develop and innovate, and highlight its unique aesthetic value and social value with excellent works.
The author is the deputy director of the Printmaking Art Committee of the Chinese Artists Association).
Typography: Cai Huawei.