Song Yuanwen
Date from 1931, china’s new print has been always related to the course of Chinese history and people’s fate. Beijing’s central academy of fine arts print system, coached by the old print painter, the fine tradition of adhering to the new print, and continuously forge ahead, cultivated generation after generation for the country, for the Chinese contemporary printmaking compose the new chapter. Min-jie zhang to go out from here, in the new historical starting point, controlled the contemporary culture consciousness and orientation, continue to created good works with time feeling, often won the prize at home and abroad.
His works can be divided with series:
First is the creation in 1990, lithographs《Shi Touzhai》paintings. This series drew on the Tibetan amorous feelings of southwest China’s Sichuan province. Tibetan as the ancient nationality in China, she has own language, religion, social structure and living condition. In the 1950’s to get rid of feudal serf system, it is so far left behind one of the special significance of living fossil of human society, The unique cultural landscape and the Tibetan plateau climate sharpening image, modeling structure show very much, attracted obsession for several generation of artists. In Min-jie Zhang’s works have a multitude of characters and plots, trading and labor, living men and women, different costume men and women, samurai inserted into among them, which is derived from his former Tibetan life. we see that the paintings in many places to the singers playing, like epic artists in Tibetan singing performance, Sprechstimme a heroic epic and the Tibetan life, and the production of stories; swing games of the countryside in the works, people sang songs to swim in the air and overlooking the distant place, images shock the viewers ups and downs from time to time; the same subject matter and details in the later works, and occasionally in creation of oil paintings series《Game paintings》in 2003 and oil painting series《Swing paintings》 in 2006. Huge swing wanders in the air, all people look up, a kind of feeling beyond geographical and time and space.
Looking back,《Shitouzhai》paintings series, Tibetan dwelling pace is using local materials build stone house, has a sense of the evolution of the prehistoric cave. Here on a whim, the author let a stone building pile up, similar to the castle towers; this kind of imagination became ultra high stone buildings in the creation of oil painting 《The stage》 in 1995. In every window has a person like statue peep at, on the roof and ground, the clouds and sky dancing people everywhere. I think that the idea of a unique conceive and gradually deepening landscape, is the author parsing for a particular life, and the author for the known and unknown world development process of the cognition and yearning.
At the foot of the Great Wall Min-jie Zhang once creation and life. The Great Wall is a sign and the witness of defense and peace in China’s history, is also the frequent suffering memory of plebeian inhabitants. the legend of Meng jiangnv tears fell the Great Wall, is still spreading in the folk. In his 1992 creation of tinted wood engraving paintings series《Dancing up and down the wall》, 1993 tinted woodcut paintings series《Dove》，1994 tinted wood engraving paintings series 《The wall》 and so on, is the Great Wall as the background, through the image of Oriental dance, martial arts and tai chi, deducing the theme of national destiny symphony.
Growth in the earth Yanzhao Min-jie Zhang, known as the inherent localism, series of paintings 《Dance on the plains》created in 1994, once won big prize in the fifth international printmaking three years throw in Osaka Japan. In 1992, one of oil painting 《Yellow land》in 1992, the second of oil painting 《Yellow land》in 1999, the composition is vast and majestic. In the vast land, billions of people staying in the stage of the times, sing and dance in celebration of peace with lofty. He preached a period, a big background of the topic, I believe, in the creation of these works, he flew out of the picture, the heart has been shared with people epic hero symphony.
In recent years, his viewpoint is more diverse, has a lot of attention to real life subject matter works, such as《Xinjiang diary series of paintings》、《Yuannan diary series》、《Sichuan road diary series》，etc., and the humanities landscape, ancient and historic Tiananmen、temple of heaven、the whiter tower、Kowloon wall、huabiao as the background and creation of the series《Game》,series《China. Acrobatics》，series《Square dance and some works with many characters. These works are always focus on the scenes of real life, and the creator for the Chinese image of the contemporary spirit and humanistic feelings, who had thought, 40 years ago, Chinese also puzzled for food and clothing, now we faithful to run on a new life journey. I have been to some countries and regions, rarely seen have such mammoth to represent the art of the earth.
He create a new form of language:
Chinese landscape painting pay attention to borrow scene sentiment, actually is someone in the scene. Min-jie Zhang’s work is of great landscape scene. His work is first and foremost addition, all people swarming, layer upon layer of land into arc on the far side of the earth, make the image edges extension. Combination subtraction again at the same time, background or leaving the impression of a piece of foil, or a big tonal picture in unified whole. Add and subtract picture layout, because beauty put pen to paper for affection. As a result, a kind of oriental verve beauty of an outlet.
Look back, his work use line modeling more and less the block surface. His color language in large area of pure, pure of change, neither the light source color painting, nor a single flat, concise, he is in pursuit of tonal, emotional appeal and style.
The image mold, Min-jie Zhang is the means to use the language, people tapping waist drum up in the yellow earth, the earth shaking, loess float in the sky with splendor. People mountain people sea, there is a strong momentum overflow。He singing a certain details or plot repeatedly, produces the deepening, strengthen and sublimation. His works often appear in weightlessness flying, airship, objects, and soon, often makes me to search from memory has been hear of since childhood stories and fairy tales, and the traditional New Year pictures, martial arts novels and science fiction stories, seems to be a modern vision of these works.
He make cause and effect of each work combed and integration carefully, as told the interesting story of the birth one by one. Not only is willing to accept, and can lead people to take the initiative to comprehension and reflection. Min-jie Zhang’s works, the vitality of both the ground, and the romantic feelings through time and space tunnel. In what kind of language form, can apply Min-jie Zhang creative language. It should be said that language is a big subject, its involved in many aspects, only Min-jie Zhang can clarify their own artistic language. Here I can only say that he created, every work that is tightly around him to express ideas situation, mobilize all means to ascension and beyond and achieve the possible.
The Min-jie Zhang’s works, we see now is limited to 1990 since the creation, actually behind these works, he has many accumulation and painting outside. And support Min-jie Zhang elements of the art world, nothing more than two aspects in the cultural and spiritual.
About cultural elements:
Min-jie Zhang early once painted comic books, pictures and prints, and in the national and provincial awards. He was in a theatrical performances unit worked five years, at that time, he should not only painting set, also be a guest performance on the stage, still have a good voice, good at singing soprano of song, various sister art influence, and early infiltration in his blood, this make his characters posture, pattern arrangement, and even the whole scene atmosphere, full of sense of rhythm, is undoubtedly the transplant the rendering performance elements.
He is in the process of drawing comic books, not only to practice the capability of the characters and composition, but also practice a quite keen ideation. Comic book for a script in the form of literature, in the process of writing is not a simple text illustration, but created again. This initial enlightenment, in Min-jie Zhang later work, is always accompanied with literature runs through a narrative geographic, thus expanded the reading room.
The quantity of works of art, based on the cultural quality. Not only to learn, but must be good at learning and use. Just about the accumulation of cultural elements, growth talent, from practice to make Min-jie Zhang innovation path is board and smooth.
About mental elements:
The success of art works, covers for cultural modernity and mission, morality and world outlook, the spiritual elements such as the fate of people, and especially in the contemporary trend of multicultural background, each painter, faces difficult choice. Min-jie Zhang stand on the century intersection, continue to conscious from the difficult position, to the contemporary history.
The aesthetic function of art is varied. I like poetry works, both can stare for a long time, also like the magnificent works of big beauty, as in the past of the history of classical art, gave us a thought about human fate and social history. In 2015 to commemorate the seventieth anniversary of the anti-fascist war of resistance While at military parade, played 50 Anti-Japanese War songs, immediately to people’ emotions and focus back to the heavy and solemn and stirrings. It turns out, having historical of classic never go out of style. today’s artistic creation in order to achieve the aesthetic demand of many sided, among them contain reflect thematic big beauty of art of the Times.
Min-jie Zhang created many works on thematic, such as 1997 oil painting 《Homing》, that is since the opium war to the history of Hong Kong’s return to resist foreign aggression; 2009《The city》, is the early years of the Yuan dynasty Italian traveler Marco Polo described to Linan’s magnificent landscape; 2010《Footprint paintings》 across the major events of the 1990’s, year after year grand picture showed in the history of Chinese modern history; 2014 prints《Ship of dreams》, a collection of human civilization image of real ship, has a group of people, have every great fanfare, sail a flock of birds flying in the vast ocean. With symbolism performance different ethnic people, with the sacred mission by boat to the distance. 2015《Si ku quan shu》, outline the Chinese five thousand years civilization of classic enshrined in the up and down. Based on these works, the creator with highly sight with the nation and history , face the reality and future, and the like. It can be seen that China’s independence from behind to the renaissance, laid Min-jie Zhang start point of art orientation, in order to tap vitaport of each time a new work. He works for the deep connotation of digging, highlights the proposition of an era, the development of Chinese history to today’s node, where is the destiny of Chinese people? where is the mission of Chinese art? The author is based on the vision, cut over the undercurrent of the development of contemporary culture, exploration of spirit depth and strength of contemporary art.
Said about Min-jie Zhang art phenomenon, can’t help memorial how drive is he? Chinese people speak “painting as the person”, foreigners speak” style is man” (French, Buffon), Min-jie Zhang’s painting, fist of all, from his own personality. Here I have to say about his life and the events of two.
On July 28, 1976 morning, have taken place in Tangshan earthquake, shocked the Chinese and foreign, Min-jie Zhang in his sleep by the collapse of the housing pressure inside, cause serious concussion, thoracic vertebrae fractures, had be rescued after five hours, this long five hours, give the 17-years-old Min-jie Zhang, left a part for ever and painful memories. The Tangshan earthquake, killed 240,000 people. On another occasion, in August 1989, in order to gradation creation he into the thick of life looking for material, alone from Lincang to Lijiang in Yunnan province, from Deqin along the Jingsha river in Ganzi Tibetan areas of Sichuan province Derong, township and town again in Heida, there is located in the remote place, the unique landscape infatuated with him. After a month, until he wants to return to Yunnan on the way back, only to fall snow, close hillside. Was that a little way, there is no bus, only a lift, and his clothing and material of the original collection in Yuannan, he only walk shortcut back to Yuannan, this is the only option, and the choice was fraught with danger. On the road, his backpack bags have 15 kg(in addition to painting material and camera, and collect Ma shi and clay sculpture, and food the Tibetans bought to him). He was wearing a short-sleeve shirt, hold Tibetan knife in case the beast, crossing snow mountain alone. Below zero degrees centigrade, 60 miles a day, must reached the highway maintenance at night class cabin heating for the night, walking three days to reach villages in Yunnan.
Min-jie Zhang had two legendary life, the first is irresistible natural disasters, the second is for the sake of art and asking for the venture. Predictably, two times be a survivor of a disaster, Min-jie Zhang for the respect of the life value, for practicing life mission, with unusual cognition, Min-jie Zhang in my impression, he has always been committed to the sunshine and high-profile unremitting pursuit, but really is a realist, his wonderful lifebloom, for him, for art play the symphony in the harmony of times.
Song Yuan wen
Former director of Chinese artists association prints committee
Vice-chairmen of Chinese print artists association
In March 2016.