Interpretation of Zhang Minjie’s Painting
Zou Yuejin
Since the 1990s, versatile as he is, Zhang has been a successful artist in painting, print and sculpture. This paper will mainly discuss his paintings and cultural significance embodied, to position his art in modern painting.
Zhang Minjie’s art features the reflection on the history and reality of Chinese people, which was vividly and accurately expressed by the images, themes and languages of his art. Therefore, we can also conclude that his paintings are unique because he manages to perfectly balance the accuracy of cultural concepts and the complexity of artistic expression. Elements throughout his works: the yellow earth and its color, Temple of Heaven, Great Wall-alike images, magnificent scenes, and hordes of people, these are all iconic images of the Chinese people. Zhang Minjie’s expression of cultural concepts is unique, complex and innovative, which could be perceived through the panoramic composition, ceremonial character modeling and action, modern structure and surreal settings.
Something worth mentioning is that in Zhang Minjie’s works, there were two different kinds of arts to express the image, spirit and will of Chinese people: one was the pure image of Chinese people, or the construction of traditional image of China; the other was the combination of traditional and modern China. These two kinds of art were intertwined, and the late appearance of the second kind of art to some extent shows the change in his artistic concept and mindset.
The first kind of his artwork includes: Yellow Earth Series I (1992), Yellow Earth Series II (1999), Man and Dragon Series I (1993), Man and Dragon Series II (1996), and Stage (1995). In these works, the pureness and greatness of the traditional China was conveyed through: The yellow earth that represents native China, which is a unique symbol for a great agricultural civilization; The dragon totem that shows the root of Chinese people; subjects in these works were mostly peasants from Shanbei region, which sits in the heart of what was once the prime times of China—Han and Tang Dynasties. With a transhistorical touch, the artist was able to convey the image and spirit of Chinese people at a specific period in history. Therefore, in comparison with those realistic works picturing folk stories in Northeast and Central China, Zhang’s art pays special attention to the limitation on people’s activities posed by time and space. However, for Zhang’s paintings, what really matters is the expression of the pure traditional China and its people’s will and spirit. Maybe it is in pursuit of this goal that Zhang chose those festival activities across history as the theme.
In view of anthropology, the cultural identity and self-awareness of a nation, in the most primitive sense, is deeply rooted in various celebratory activities. As it is shown in Zhang’s works, festivals and games are collective activities that require the participation of a whole nation. Therefore, festivals, games and rituals are important means for mutual acknowledgement in a nation. As for totem, the French anthropologist Strauss thinks it is an important identification symbol for individual tribes in a primitive society. The dragon in Zhang’s works serves as an important totem for the Chinese nation.
There is also another reason why I think Zhang is trying to convey the traditional and pure image, spirit and will of Chinese people. According to the American sociologist Benedict Anderson, as is written in his book Imagined Communities, the revival of national identification, ideology and nationalism in the western world are all closely related to modern communication media including newspapers and novels, after the nineteenth century. So, while Zhang is picturing the festive activities in rural China on the widespread yellow earth, he is expressing the traditional image, spirit and will of the pure and traditional Chinese people, before the time of modern society. In addition, the various art forms, including the assorted ceremonial and on-stage actions and figures, further enhanced the optimism, tenacity and unity of the Chinese people. Meanwhile, we could also perceive, through his works, Zhang’s profound understanding of national identification, as a Chinese in a traditional society.
From my own perspective, the cultural concept in Zhang’s art, his expression of the image, spirit and will of the Chinese people, originates from his reflection on the past and reality of China. In fact, since the opening up, there have been three stages for China’s art society to respond to social and cultural issues: 1978-1985 the reflection on the Cultural Revolution; 1985-1989 the response to the challenge posed by western culture; the thoughts about China’s market economy and globalization. I think the cultural reflection embodied in Zhang’s work is conceptually and logically related to the upsurge of culture and root-seeking since 1985. It is the result of his consideration and reflection on China’s future in the face of overwhelming western society and culture. It is also an effort made by Zhang, as a Chinese artist who was trying to grasp the idea of national identification in the traditional China.
In the perspective of art development, Zhang takes a very independent position. As we know, there has been a major transformation in art community since 1990: the emergence of new-generation art represented by Liu Xiaodong, and cynical realism represented by Fang Lijun. Loftiness gave way to playfulness. However, since his Yellow Earth Series in 1992, he has shown his passion toward China’s destination and culture after mid-1980s. His works continually focused on the reflection and expression of Chinese people’s will and destiny. Zhang did not go along with the trend of the time, which showed his character as an independent artist and intellectual. Unlike new-generation artists who focus only on the bored youngsters and cynical realism artist who show the ugly side of national character, Zhang conveyed the power and will of a united Chinese nation based on the history and reality. So, artistically and aesthetically, Zhang employed a novel approach. We are able feel its passion, power, inspiration and loftiness in his woks, epscially his first kind of works that present the Chinese nation from a positive angel.
For his first kind of works, if we consider them as a discussion of China’s cultural identity post 1985 based on the actual feeling and need, whose main subject is the pure and great image and will of the Chinese people, then Zhang focused more on the status quo for China in a context of globalization in his second kind of artworks. The classical works include Games Series II, III and IV, created from 2001 to 2004. In these works, you can not only find the similar features from the previous kind: magnificent setting, surreal imagination, unified models and dark yellow tone, but also a drastic shift from the pure Chinese national identity. There was the mixture of history and reality, east and west, war and peace, fall and float. Harmony and unity was replaced by confrontation and contradiction. This also means that there was a complex and contradicted relationship between modern China and traditional China formed within and outside Zhang’s works.
So, how shall we understand and appreciate the differences and confrontation between the two kinds of Zhang Minjie’s works? I think if we take into consideration that the two kinds of works are intertwined in his later works (Swing Series III in 2006, is similar to the first kind of artworks), we could say Zhang is the kind of artist that could perfectly combine cultural concept, survival perception and artistic innovation. In fact, it is out of the cultural concept originated from the profound reflection on survival that Zhang created two different kinds of paintings with strong cultural touch. Fundamentally, Zhang’s paintings focused on China’s urges and pursuits in the face of various challenges, opportunities and odds, in a global context. Therefore, Zhang was able to convey, through his two different kinds of works, the primitive urge, optimism and tenacity. In the meantime, he was able to confront the dilemma of modern Chinese society. It is Zhang’s profound reflection and unique expression from Zhang Minjie that consolidate his status as an important artist in contemporary art society.
Leap, Vol.2, 2008