Shi Lu (石鲁) - 2, One article on Shi Lu by 郎绍君

I have recently found one article on Shi Lu  (石鲁),  郎绍君 《论现代中国美术》 Chapter - 8, Discussion on Shi Lu - Died young Grand Master.

Shi Lu lived for 63 years, from 1919 until 1982. We can say <died young> by our standard but in 1982 in China the life of 63 years was not very noticeably short. But comparing with other grand masters like Zhang Daqian (張大千), Qi Baishi (齐白石), it may be very short and considering his genius it is regretfully and tragically short as many grand masters produce grand master level of paintings in their 60s, 70s, 80s and even over, which is a typical thing of art productions, especially paintings. Incidentally I am 63 years old this year (2015).

The writer (Mr Lang) is a professional art critic. ＜Discussion on Shi Lu - Died young Grand Master＞ was written in Chinese and seems no English version. This article was first written in 1980 and revised and added in 1986.The following is my partial translation of this article with my comments.

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郎绍君 《论现代中国美术》 Chapter - 8, Discussion on Shi Lu - Died young Grand Master.

Shi Lu is one of brilliant star artists in the history of Chinese paintings but regretfully he died young during the Cultural Revolution (*1). This article was first written 1980 and revised and added in 1986.

Shi Lu's Artistic two development stages

1st stage  -  objective and realistic description - in 1950s until mid1960s
2nd stage  -  subjective and emotional expression - for ten years of the Cultural Revolution (which openly started in 1966)

Mr Lang analysis of the changes during the above two stages in terms of the following four changes

1) Change from the emphasis on the beauty found in people's daily lives to the emphasis on emotional beauty
2) Change from emphasis on the characters of the objects to the emphasis on the characters of the artist (i.e. Shi Lu himself)
3) Change from the emphasis on the realistic figures (形象) to the emphasis on the deformed figures
4) Change from the emphasis on the use of brush and ink to the emphasis on style (风格, feng-ge) made by brush and ink

The argument is rather redundant as he explained some differences (changes) before starting the four groups of the changes.

1) Change from the emphasis on the beauty found in people's daily lives to the emphasis on emotional beauty

a) people's daily lives b) emotional beauty

2) Change from emphasis on the characters of the objects to the emphasis on the characters of the artist (i.e. Shi Lu himself)

a)  characters of the objects
b) characters of the artist (i.e. Shi Lu himself)

3) Change from the emphasis on the realistic figures (形象) to the emphasis on the deformed figures

a) realistic figures (形象)
b) deformed figures

4) Change from the emphasis on the use of brush and ink to the emphasis on style (风格, feng-ge) made by brush and ink

a)  use of brush and ink
b)  style (风格, feng-ge) made by brush and ink

The above a)'s are closely related and b)'s are closely related as well.

a)'s:  people's daily lives 1) - characters of the objects 2) - realistic figures (形象) 3) - use of brush and ink 4)

The paintings made during the first stage are the realistic figures of people's daily lives showing the
characters of the objects and made by the normal use of brush and ink.

b)'s: emotional beauty 1) - characters of the artist (i.e. Shi Lu himself) 2)  - deformed figures 3) - style (风格, feng-ge) made by brush and ink 4)

The paintings made during the 2nd stage show deformed figures, emotional beauty and the characters of the artist (i.e. Shi Lu himself) and his style (风格, feng-ge) by the special use of brush and ink.

The above normal use of brush and ink does not mean an mediocre use of brush and ink. In the case of Shi Lu's paintings the use of brush and ink, especially in the later part of the first stage in his late 30's (in late 1950s) and 40's (in 1960s) was technically highly developed (in which I personally find some 风格 (feng-ge) as a Grand Master) but not so particular as the special use of brush and ink in the second stage, which are very emotional and in which most of us can see his very individual  风格 (feng-ge). I will develop this argument in the next post as I have found some big changes in his paintings much earlier than the start of the Cultural Revolution in 1966 when he was 47 years old.

The Chinese ward 形象 (xing-xiang) can be regarded as 'figures' or shapes.

The Chinese ward 风格 (feng-ge) does not exactly mean 'style'. In Chinese paintings 风格 (feng-ge) in a painting must be required as a Grand Master's work. 风格 (feng-ge) can be said as some high value of artistic "individuality" expressed in a painting by an artist. Meanwhile 人格 (ren-ge) means 'personality' in general, not particularly an artist.

Mr Lang made some good analyses.

1) Change from the emphasis on the beauty found in people's daily lives to the emphasis on emotional beauty

"

他追求的是诗意的再现，还不是表现的诗意。

During the first stage Shi Lu was trying to re-create poesy (beauty) found in people's daily lives, not trying to express poesy (beauty) found in people's daily lives. 

"

<To express poesy (beauty) found in people's daily lives> belongs to the second stage while the paintings in which he tried <to re-create poesy (beauty) found in people's daily lives> tend to be realistic and objective, the latter is not an easy job either.


4) Change from the emphasis on the use of brush and ink to the emphasis on style (风格, feng-ge) made by brush and ink

Mr Lang describes his landscape paintings in the first stage different from the traditional landscape paintings or his modernization of Chinese landscape paintings.

I think this change is a very big one and related with the movement of Chang’an School of Painting, and not a change found between the first stage and the second stage but already started in the first stage. But he did not elaborate it and compare with the landscape paintings in the second stage very much.


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Added part (in 1986) - Shi Lu and Chang’an School of Painting

This Chang’an School seems a historical one and "died young" like Shi Lu. Shi Lu was an active member as well as Zhao Wangyun.

The official site of Shaanxi Government introduces <He (Shi Lu), working together with Zhao Wangyun to unite a group of artists in the northwest regions, made a great contribution to the building of the Chang’an School of Painting.> (*2)

Zhao Wangyun 趙 望雲 (1906 - 1977) Paintings

 http://www.invaluable.com/artist/zhao-wangyun-dosvjz5iuc

山 區民校 Village School

Description: 趙望雲
(1906 - 1977)
山區民校
設色水墨紙本立軸
1958 年作
款識：山區民校
一九五八年
一月趙望雲
鈐印：(望雲寫生)
Zhao Wangyun
Village School
Hanging Scroll,Ink & Color on Paper
Dated 1958
Entitled and signed Zhao Wangyun, with one artist seal
30¼ x 18¾ in.
76.7 x 47.6 cm.

 

 

 

We can find some similarity to the early works of Shi Lu, departing from the traditional Chinese Landscape paintings though the painting materials were the same.

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Cultural Revolution (*1)

Cultural Revolutio From Wiki (03-May-2015)


The Cultural Revolution, formally the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a social-political movement that took place in the People's Republic of China from 1966 until 1976. Set into motion by Mao Zedong, then Chairman of the Communist Party of China, its stated goal was to preserve 'true' Communist ideology in the country by purging remnants of capitalist and traditional elements from Chinese society, and to re-impose Maoist thought as the dominant ideology within the Party. The Revolution marked the return of Mao Zedong to a position of power after the Great Leap Forward. The movement paralyzed China politically and significantly affected the country economically and socially.
The Revolution was launched in May 1966, after Mao alleged that bourgeois elements had infiltrated the government and society at large, aiming to restore capitalism. He insisted that these "revisionists" be removed through violent class struggle. China's youth responded to Mao's appeal by forming Red Guard groups around the country. The movement spread into the military, urban workers, and the Communist Party leadership itself. It resulted in widespread factional struggles in all walks of life. In the top leadership, it led to a mass purge of senior officials, most notably Liu Shaoqi and Deng Xiaoping. During the same period Mao's personality cult grew to immense proportions.
Millions of people were persecuted in the violent struggles that ensued across the country, and suffered a wide range of abuses including public humiliation, arbitrary imprisonment, torture, sustained harassment, and seizure of property. A large segment of the population was forcibly displaced, most notably the transfer of urban youth to rural regions during the Down to the Countryside Movement. Historical relics and artifacts were destroyed. Cultural and religious sites were ransacked.
Mao officially declared the Cultural Revolution to have ended in 1969, but its active phase lasted until the death of the military leader Lin Biao in 1971. After Mao's death and the arrest of the Gang of Four in 1976, reformers led by Deng Xiaoping gradually began to dismantle the Maoist policies associated with the Cultural Revolution. In 1981, the Party declared that the Cultural Revolution was "responsible for the most severe setback and the heaviest losses suffered by the Party, the country, and the people since the founding of the People's Republic."^[1]

Arts and literature

During the Cultural Revolution, only a few writers who gained permission or requalification under the new system, such as Hao Ran and some writers of worker or farmer background, may have their work published or reprinted. The permissible subject matter of proletarian and socialist literature would be strictly defined, and all the literary periodicals in the country ceased publication by 1968. The situation eased after 1972, more writers were allowed to write and many provincial literary periodicals resumed publication, but the majority of writers still could not work.^[119][120]
Some of the most enduring images of Cultural Revolution come from the poster art. Propaganda art in posters was used as a campaigning tool and mass communication device, and often served as the main source of information for the people. They were produced in large number and widely disseminated, and were used by the government and Red Guards to educate the public the ideological value as defined by the party state.^[126] There were many types of posters, the two main genres being the dazibao (大字报, big character poster) and "commercial" propapanda poster (宣传画, xuanchuanhua).^[127] The dazibao may be slogans, poems, commentary and graphics often freely created and posted on walls in public spaces, factories and communes. They were vital to Mao's struggle in the Cultural Revolution, and Mao himself wrote his own dazibao at Beijing University on August 5, 1966, calling on the people to "Bombard the Headquarters".^[128] The "commercial" propaganda posters were artworks produced by the government and sold cheaply in store to be displayed in homes. These artists for these posters may be amateurs or uncredited professionals, and the posters were largely in a Socialist Realist visual style with certain conventions - for example, images of Mao should be depicted as "red, smooth, and luminescent".^[127][129]
Traditional themes in art were sidelined the Cultural Revolution, and artists such as Feng Zikai, Shi Lu, and Pan Tianshou were persecuted.^[130] Many of the artists have been assigned to manual labour, and artists were expected to depict subjects that glorified the Cultural Revolution related to their labour.^[131] In 1971, in part to alleviate their suffering, a number of leading artists were recalled from manual labour or free from captivity under the initiative of Zhou Enlai to decorate hotels and railway stations defaced by Red Guards slogans. Zhou said that the artworks were for meant for foreigners, therefore were "outer" art not be under the obligations and restrictions placed on "inner" art meant for Chinese citizens. To him, landscape paintings should also not be considered one of the "Four Olds". However, Zhou was weakened by cancer and in 1974, the Jiang Qing faction seized these and other paintings and mounted exhibitions in Beijing, Shanghai and other cities denouncing the artworks as "Black Paintings".[132]

(*2) Form the official site of Office of information-oriented government administration

http://english.shaanxi.gov.cn/articleCulture/culture/artculture/fwofaaa/200812/2739_1.html

Shi Lu

 From: 2008-12-04
   Shi Lu （1919 - 1979）, born in Renshou County, Sichuan province and originally named Feng Laiheng, changed his name into “Shi Lu” due to his strong adoration for Shi Tao, a great artist in the early Qing Dynasty, and Lu Xun, a modern revolutionist and litterateur. At 15, he was admitted by the Department of Drawing, Chengdu Dongfang Vocational College of Fine Arts. There he systemically studied Chinese traditional paintings, modeled himself on the paintings of Shi Tao and those of the eight famous landscape painters , and imitated the works of the Yangzhou School and those of Wu Changshuo, a renowned painter. All these efforts laid a solid foundation for him to take up the artistic re-creation of traditional Chinese painting. When the War of Resistance against Japan broke out, he became a brave fighter. In 1944, he was transferred to the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region to be a painter. He often carried a self-made drawing-board to make sketches of the local people, of the old Red Army men or of the young Eight Route Army men. Because of the lack of drawing paint and paper, he started making woodcuts. In the early years of Liberation, he was sent to work in the Shaanxi Fine Arts Association and acted as the vice director of the Northwest Fine Arts Association, president of Northwest Pictorial Press and the vice chairman of the Xi’an Fine Arts Association successively. He, working together with Zhao Wangyun to unite a group of artists in the northwest regions, made a great contribution to the building of the Chang’an School of Painting. During the Great Cultural Revolution, he was nearly persecuted to death. After that, he earned his place in the art circles of China and was appointed as a member of the Institutional Affairs Committee of the Chinese Traditional Painting Research Institute, president of the Shaanxi Paintings Association and Shaanxi Calligraphy Association as well as honorary president of the Shaanxi Chinese Traditional Painting Institute, meanwhile sparing no effort for the revival of the Chang’an School of Painting.
   His paintings are drawn in bold and rough lines, characteristic of “darkness, thickness, grotesqueness and roughness.” The landscape paintings he has drawn are soul-stirring and inspiring. The precipitous Mount Hua and the roaring Yellow River are vividly and incisively expressed at his hands. Upright pine trees and cypresses, grave and stern orchids and plums, are all drawn with ease and verve. However, as there are too many fakes of his paintings in the art market, his works tend to be undervalued unless they are from a trustworthy source.

sptt