Part 11 Phantom Painting and the Development of Nationalization in Oil Painting

Since the 20th century, after the introduction of Western oil painting to China, Chinese oil painting landscapes have borrowed the imagery of traditional landscape painting in their creation, forming unique landscapes. Especially after the arduous exploration of old artists such as Lin Fengmian, Wu Guanzhong, and Su Tianci, oil painting landscapes have developed to a very high level and have a profound cultural heritage. The innovation of Chinese painting, especially the development of modern painting, has played an important role.

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Oil painting is a type of painting developed based on Western cultural heritage. Chinese people can learn methods and techniques when learning oil painting, but the inherent spirit of the West is difficult to learn. Therefore, our Chinese painters are influenced to varying degrees by traditional Chinese culture and art, including landscape painting, and have borrowed the imagery of traditional Chinese landscape painting, which is innovation.

During the first three years of Lin Fengmian's arrival in France, he had been devoted to the study of academic and realistic styles. One day, his teacher, Dean Yang Xisi, looked at Lin Fengmian's works and was very dissatisfied. He seriously pointed out that you are a Chinese, and do you know how precious and excellent your Chinese art is! Why don't you study hard? Go ahead! Step out of the gate of the college, go to the Oriental Museum and the Ceramic Museum, and explore the rich treasures. You should not stop at the style of the academic school, but understand the styles created by the new and old schools.

Obviously, this is a historic conversation, which has had a great impact on Lin Fengmian's painting ideas after that, making him rediscover the aesthetic value of Chinese art in the context of western culture, and realize that the East and the West, tradition and modern can learn from each other and blend with each other. Therefore, he got rid of the single mode of academicism and put his vision of choice in a broader cultural background.

Lin Fengmian's freehand brushwork is expressed in both still life and scenery. His still life composition is full, leaving no blank spaces, emphasizing the division and contrast of geometric shapes in composition, eliminating the focus of perspective, and presenting a planarity in the picture, with a tendency towards fauvism and expressionism.

Landscape painting is the main theme of Lin Fengmian's paintings. In the scenes depicted, bright and opaque warm colors are generally contrasted with thick black ink and transparent cold gray, with obvious changes in dry strokes. Lin Fengmian blended the elements of freehand brushwork in Chinese landscape painting with the light and color changes of Impressionism, giving his paintings an Eastern style of freehand brushwork.

Mr. Wu Guanzhong is a painter who has influenced the Chinese art community with both artistic perspectives and creations. His artistic achievements are based on his own words: "I once raised myself in the East and West, ate tea and rice from the East, drank coffee and red wine from the West, and began to accept Western paintings. I started from sketching, observing, and expressing true feelings. However, ancient wind and shadow paintings were not derived from sketching, but were conceptual images that were not touching.

The Impressionist school believed that black and white were not colors, and due to the influence of sunlight, pure black and white could not exist. However, with the integration of Chinese and Western cultures, this view was abandoned early on, and black and white often became the darling of oil painting. Chinese landscape painting mainly relies on black and white, creating the world in black and white. Oil painting landscapes and ink landscape painting have encountered another round between color and black and white.

The third round is that all landscape painting is based on emotions, which is suitable for both oil painting landscapes and ink painting landscapes as a motto.

From the perspective of artistic types, Wu Guanzhong's artistic achievements have gone through literature, painting, and poetry. From the perspective of painting varieties, he has gone through watercolor, oil color, and ink color.

Wu Guanzhong attaches great importance to the formal beauty of painting, emphasizing the black, white, gray, dots, lines, and surfaces of the painting. He strives to explore the nationalization of oil painting and the modernization of Chinese painting, striving to create new styles of painting. The style of Wu Guanzhong's oil painting landscapes had already begun to emerge in the early 1960s; Wu Guanzhong's oil paintings draw on the characteristics of traditional landscape painting, using flat light, emphasizing black and white, and pursuing simplicity and simplicity. In the 1970s, Wu Guanzhong expanded from oil painting to the field of color ink painting.

He proposed: "Exploring Nationalization in Oil Painting and Seeking Modernization in Ink and Wash" ("Collected Works of Wu Guanzhong"), and Wu Guanzhong's achievements opened a new path for Chinese oil painting and traditional ink and wash. This also provides us with the greatest inspiration that if China produces world-class masters, they must be integrated between China and the West, and must have pure national blood and soul inside. Although Wu Guanzhong has gained market recognition, he is not always in line. The nationalization of oil painting is a major issue, and Wu Guanzhong has made successful explorations, but this is only the beginning. Many young oil painters are more willing to explore and create Chinese concepts in the Western painting system, using pure oil painting techniques and language to express traditional Chinese culture or variations in modern and contemporary Chinese political concepts, people's spirit, and material life.

Gao Juhan believes that "in Wu's oil paintings, he found techniques that mimic the brushstroke of Chinese painting, creating fine lines on large 'splashing colors', emphasizing the charm, etc. These are typical Chinese ink and wash traditions.

Conveying the rich life style of Jiangnan water town, the contrast between black, white, and gray is simple and lively, the language is simple, and the form is beautiful. The pen is particularly exquisite, and the white is squeezed, lifted, and rubbed in the gray and blue, fully demonstrating the dynamic feeling of splashing water and shaking wings in the lake. The texture of the picture is appropriate, accurate and beautiful, and highly expressive. In the 1980s, Wu Guanzhong ushered in his artistic heyday, with his oil painting and landscape works becoming more concise, abstract, novel and refined, refreshing the entire Chinese art community. Colored ink landscape painting has abandoned the traditional technique of using calligraphy pens and explored new effects using various modern tools such as nylon pens and board brushes. With the sprinkling of ideas, it has created a fresh, elegant, and aesthetically pleasing image. However, this success also comes at the cost of losing the quality of traditional aesthetic ink lines. Since the 1990s, Wu Guanzhong's semi abstract brushwork has also been refined to an unparalleled level, with a clearer realm.

Mr. Su Tianci's oil painting scenery is also a unique example in the contemporary Chinese art world. His creation of freehand wind and shadow paintings, specifically in the late 1970s, achieved a leap in the quality of painting language. Especially in "Early Spring of the Fuchun River", the ink is concise, the colors are clear and graceful, showcasing endless natural vitality and ethereal and elegant artistic conception, marking the arrival of the brilliance of Su Tianci's landscape painting art. The reason why Su Tianci's landscape painting has achieved such unique achievements is partly due to his inheritance of the black and white consciousness and the five color concept in traditional landscape painting, while also absorbing the essence of Western art. On the other hand, due to his use of a special brush to draw the lines of tree trunks and branches, which have a writing charm and a strong and elegant feeling, Su Tianci's landscape paintings are most outstanding in depicting spring and autumn. Among them, the Spring and Autumn series not only depict natural spring and autumn, but also present Su Tianci's life and artistic spring and autumn. Su Tianci's paintings have the affinity for life and the natural spirit. His freehand brushwork is an extension of the landscape spirit in traditional Chinese literati painting, and can also be said to be the result of the fusion of Chinese and Western culture and art. As Su Tianci said, "Every painting I paint has elements of East and West, sometimes with Eastern charm and Western realism; sometimes with Western color and Eastern ethereal spirit

Wu and Su were both under the tutelage of Mr. Lin Fengmian and received a two-way education in Chinese and Western art. Their landscape paintings reflect the extension and recreation of traditional Chinese freehand brushwork principles, and are paintings that focus on creating artistic conception through the use of oil painting ink and freehand brushwork techniques. In terms of artistic orientation, they mainly focus on Chinese art and pay attention to the establishment and improvement of painting language. Essentially belonging to Eastern artists, they have a deep Chinese complex of constant abandonment in their hearts. Therefore, their divine paintings have a distinct and unique Chinese style in the field of contemporary international oil painting art.

Zhao Wuji is a person who interprets two completely different cultures from the East and the West through artistic creation. He "connects" the two cultures of the East and the West, or rather stands at the intersection of Chinese and Western painting, while gazing at two different distinctive landscapes.

Zhao Wuji studied classical European painting in his early years, and later was deeply influenced by Cezanne, Picasso, Matisse, and others. This was the "concrete" period of his creation. Since 1954, influenced by Klee, he has shifted to abstract creation. In the void, abstract symbols like Chinese oracle bone inscriptions or Zhong Ding inscriptions float, filled with mysterious Eastern symbolic meanings. Zhao Wuji was greatly influenced by his trip to the United States in 1957, and he was deeply touched by the abstract expressionist paintings there. Afterwards, he gave up using pictographic symbols with strong symbolic meanings and turned to a more "direct" creative approach to expressing emotions and ideas. From then on, the unpredictable spatial structure, intricate colors, and free and spacious brushstrokes have formed Zhao Wuji's unique artistic style. Wu Guanzhong said, "I have scrutinized many of his huge works in the infinite studio. I have looked at the momentum in his paintings from a distance and the quality in them from a close look. His paintings are complex in layers, with mixed dots and lines, covering up layers and competing to reveal each other. The textures of transparency, semi transparency, and opacity are intertwined and complementary. These techniques form a unique tone, which can be said to be Zhao's accent

It can be said that Zhao Wuji's rebellious personality and independent thinking have driven his artistic creation. From concrete to abstract, from objective to subjective, he is clear about his spiritual aspirations and evolves his creations through continuous "spiritual agitation".

Zhao Wuji's "rebellion" is reflected in his early rejection of traditional Chinese painting concepts and his longing for Western painting art. He believed that Chinese painting had "lost its creativity" since the 16th century and had been "stagnant between repetition and copying", so much so that Professor Pan Tianshou chose to skip classes when he copied it; Lin Fengmian suggested that he change his painting style, but he said he didn't want to rush for success; After arriving in Paris for the first time, he said he saw another type of painting that was completely different from Chinese painting. Although I have a good grasp of Chinese ink painting, I don't want to take shortcuts or come to France to show off Chinese martial arts. I don't want to be labeled as a Chinese painter. When I go to someone else's place, I have to climb to their peak

After utilizing Chinese "symbols" through Klee's paintings and even directly experiencing subjective creative situations, Zhao Wuji gradually achieved success. The French poet Claude Waals also believed that "different cultures are antagonistic, and Eastern and Western cultures are fundamentally incompatible. Zhao Wuji is a powerful counter evidence to such dangerous myths." Looking back on more than half a century of artistic creation, He summarized, "People are subject to one tradition, but I am subject to two traditions." "If the influence of Paris is undeniable throughout my entire growth as an artist, I must say that as I delve deeper into my thinking, I gradually rediscovered China. Perhaps paradoxically, this profound return to its roots should be attributed to Paris.”

Zhao Wuji successfully integrated Western abstraction into Eastern imagery, with Western painting being 'form' and Chinese painting being 'quality'. On the one hand, it can be said that he gave a Westernized interpretation of the unique philosophical conception of the unity of heaven and man, emptiness and selflessness in his own cultural matrix; On the other hand, it can also be said that he used paint to describe the rendering method and space concept of Chinese ink and wash, and emphasized a kind of Chinese nihility and mystery, and the invisible great form Is beyond shape universe.

Another characteristic of Zhao Wuji's works is that they are all named after the creation date after 1959, with the aim of completely dispelling the "annotation" of words in painting, and allowing the audience to directly experience the artistic conception of the picture without being influenced by any factors.

Architect I.M. Pei's evaluation of Zhao Wuji is: "I can say without exaggeration that Zhao Wuji is one of the greatest artists in the European art world today." Just like Picasso and Miro in Spain, Chagall in Russia, and Van Gogh in the Netherlands, Zhao Wuji from China also forged his artistic ideals in Paris, this holy land of art.

Zhao Wuji said, "In the day after day 'struggle' with painting, I have gained great joy. I am not afraid of aging, nor am I afraid of death. As long as I can still hold a paintbrush and paint, I have nothing to fear. I only hope to have enough time to complete the painting in hand, bolder and more free than the previous one

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Today, if we do not embrace globalization and diversity, local culture will gradually decline; If there is no ambition and effort to integrate globalization, diversity, and local cultural interaction, local culture will face a crisis of being colonized by strong cultures. Therefore, in the face of challenges in contemporary times, maintaining a clear mind, maintaining the uniqueness and independence of local culture, and being inclusive and useful for oneself are the positions and attitudes that new contemporary art should uphold.

The emergence and development of new contemporary art need to be reflected in the process of interaction and integration between the localization and globalization of contemporary Chinese art, among which the most representative are the nationalization of oil painting and the modernization of traditional Chinese painting. Although some people believe that art has entered an era of globalization and diversification, and the boundaries between different ethnic painting genres and genres have become increasingly blurred, "nationalization of oil painting" and "modernization of traditional Chinese painting" still have their significance and value today.

Throughout the development of nationalization of oil painting in our country, from the early thematic oil paintings in southern China that reflected the spirit of the Chinese nation's Anti Japanese War, to the ethnic oil paintings depicting border customs such as Wu Zuoren and Situ Qiao, all reflect the local integration of oil painting from the perspective of theme and content, and have undergone a deep historical transformation of sinicization. However, the subsequent "85 Art Trend" was based on Western abstract humanism and liberalism, lacking a profound connection with China's local history and practice, making it impossible to truly face issues in more complex contexts such as localization and Western centrism during the process of cultural globalization transformation in the 1990s. Therefore, Wu Guanzhong proposed the concept of "kite continuous line", which is the return of contemporary oil painters to national localization. The works of Zhao Wuji, Zhou Chunya, and others all reflect a shift from a passion for Western modern and abstract art to a return to local Chinese culture from a philosophical and aesthetic perspective. Under the vivid oil paint, there is a sense of Eastern charm and literary poetry.

In terms of traditional Chinese painting, since the May Fourth New Culture Movement, Chinese painting has embarked on the exploration of popularization and modernization. Some painters combine Chinese painting with various artistic trends such as realism and modernism, resulting in rich and diverse forms of expression. Modern ink painting and non easel art using ink as a medium have also emerged. But at the same time, radical voices such as "Chinese painting is at an end" and "nationalism will hinder artistic modernization" are also constantly heard. From today's perspective, these discussions seem to be self defeating - because Chinese painting still exists, and his creative and appreciative group is still huge. But how Chinese painting, with a history of thousands of years, should develop in contemporary times, has been sharply mentioned in front of every Chinese painter.

Those who are familiar with the history of Chinese culture know that Chinese culture has unparalleled stability, openness, and inclusiveness. She is able to absorb the strengths of foreign cultures for her own use and make them a part of it. Nationalism and localization not only do not hinder "artistic modernization", but also serve as the foundation and conditions for achieving artistic modernization. Throughout the history of Chinese art, it is also told that in order to adapt to the development of the times, the spiritual connotations and forms of expression of Chinese painting always change with the changes in people's aesthetic needs. The inherent aesthetic laws of national art can adapt to the aesthetic ideals of the new era. However, in recent years, many Western powers have vigorously supported so-called "contemporary art" in order to expand their influence globally and promote their own cultural values. Chinese theorists have pointed out that in the spiritual space, Western culture, as the absolute "center", dominates the process of "modernization" in China, and contemporary art in China must be recognized by the West. The contemporary art advocated by the West now generally refers to "anti aesthetics", "anti sublimity", "anti order", "life is art", and so on. And China's national aesthetics always emphasizes truth, goodness, and beauty. Confucius once said, "The son is called Shao, which is both beautiful and virtuous." Zhang Yanyuan believed that art should be "educated and helpful in human relations," and the two are fundamentally opposite. Therefore, contemporary Chinese painting should have a continuous relationship with tradition, but it must also break through the tradition and be exploratory. Innovation should have a starting point, which should be the old tree spreading new branches, that is, rooted in the local culture of the Chinese nation. The modernization of Chinese painting should reflect the aesthetic ideas of the Chinese nation, inherit the genes of brush and ink, and have a personal appearance and characteristics of the times.

The artistic language of Liu Youju, the founder of illusionist painting, is basically influenced by oil painting. He believes that: Artistic language is very important for every painter. In artistic creation and practice, artistic language has unlimited possibilities. How to correctly understand and apply artistic language directly affects the expression of the theme and content of creation, and also directly determines the success or failure of the work. Because the content of a painting must ultimately be expressed as a concrete existence through a certain artistic language, it is to convey ideas and express emotions An important means and medium of sensation. The choice of painters for having their own unique artistic language comes from their artistic mindset, which determines their concepts, artistic themes, and artistic language. The updating of artistic concepts is crucial for exploring new forms of artistic language. Exploring the representativeness and uniqueness of artistic language is the concern of painters

In recent years, Liu Youju has begun to explore the innovation of color ink language, taking advantage of several schools such as Zhao Wuji and Lin Fengmian, and gradually integrating them into today's illusion art style. His works not only emphasize the presentation of the charm and artistic conception of Chinese brush and ink, but also strengthen the formal composition of the painting, highlighting the modern significance; Communicating with the spirit of heaven and earth, yet not wandering away from the warmth of the world's pulse; Experience the realm of art and even the taste of life between concrete and abstract, between birth and entry into the world.

Liu Youju's illusion painting art not only absorbs the purity of abstract language, but also has a deep charm of Eastern culture. He skillfully applied and integrated the techniques and spirit of Chinese and Western painting, based on the theory of "great form Is beyond shape" and "harmony between man and nature" in Chinese traditional philosophy and culture, and based on western painting forms, he achieved the goal of giving priority to freehand brushwork, emphasizing the expression of subjective consciousness, and pursuing the sense of "emptiness and illusion". Faced with the graceful and gentle nature of plants and trees, the rough and powerful nature of mountains and stones. Painters shift their paintings from objective natural representations to subjective spiritual expressions. He expresses his emotions in a unique painting language, using simple objects to describe both classical and contemporary.

The painter walks between concrete and abstract, like and not like, traversing Eastern and Western cultures, and expanding and integrating artistic language, showcasing the vast artistic spirit and realm of Eastern art.

The artistic language of Liu Youju, the founder of illusionist painting, is basically influenced by oil painting. He believes that: Artistic language is very important for every painter. In artistic creation and practice, artistic language has unlimited possibilities. How to correctly understand and apply artistic language directly affects the expression of the theme and content of creation, and also directly determines the success or failure of the work. Because the content of a painting must ultimately be expressed as a concrete existence through a certain artistic language, it is to convey ideas and express emotions An important means and medium of sensation. The choice of painters for having their own unique artistic language comes from their artistic mindset, which determines their concepts, artistic themes, and artistic language. The updating of artistic concepts is crucial for exploring new forms of artistic language. Exploring the representativeness and uniqueness of artistic language is the concern of painters

In recent years, Liu Youju has begun to explore the innovation of color ink language, taking advantage of several schools such as Zhao Wuji and Lin Fengmian, and gradually integrating them into today's illusion art style. His works not only emphasize the presentation of the charm and artistic conception of Chinese brush and ink, but also strengthen the formal composition of the painting, highlighting the modern significance; Communicating with the spirit of heaven and earth, yet not wandering away from the warmth of the world's pulse; Experience the realm of art and even the taste of life between concrete and abstract, between birth and entry into the world.

Liu Youju's illusion painting art not only absorbs the purity of abstract language, but also has a deep charm of Eastern culture. He skillfully applied and integrated the techniques and spirit of Chinese and Western painting, based on the theory of "great form Is beyond shape" and "harmony between man and nature" in Chinese traditional philosophy and culture, and based on western painting forms, he achieved the goal of giving priority to freehand brushwork, emphasizing the expression of subjective consciousness, and pursuing the sense of "emptiness and illusion". Faced with the graceful and gentle nature of plants and trees, the rough and powerful nature of mountains and stones. Painters shift their paintings from objective natural representations to subjective spiritual expressions. He expresses his emotions in a unique painting language, using simple objects to describe both classical and contemporary.

The painter walks between concrete and abstract, like and not like, traversing Eastern and Western cultures, and expanding and integrating artistic language, showcasing the vast artistic spirit and realm of Eastern art.

For anyone engaged in the art industry, all of their experiences will become the fate of life in their art through the precipitation of time and space. Liu Youju is precisely such an artist who focuses on experiencing culture and internalizing the realm of life. If his paintings are based on Western culture, then in his recent works, he has incorporated more Eastern and Western cultural concepts and spirits. He showcases the infinite charm of culture and art from a unique artistic perspective. From his works, it seems that I have gradually moved from "not seen in a day, like March" to a place where "the trees are overgrown and the grass is lush"; Turn to the realm of 'missing in a day, like the three autumns' and enter the realm of' the path is far away, and the wilderness is deserted '; I wandered back and forth in the beautiful scene of "missing in a day, like three years old" and marveling at the beauty of "the mountain air is shining day and night, and the birds are returning to each other". Life yearns for life, experiencing the connection between the heart and the mind. The heart imprints on the ink, and the ink generates the realm, which is understood by life. Mr. Shen Congwen said, "It is necessary to have a deeper understanding of life in order to use it more effectively." Liu Youju is such a person, an artist who is dedicated to the realm of life.

Faced with Liu Youju's works, I have gained a deeper understanding of Laozi's thoughts on literature and Zhuangzi. I often wander through them, comprehending the mysterious sense of life rhythm implied by the Book of Changes, and singing the poetic flavor of non existence in my soul.

Great form Is beyond shape.

A loud and weak sound.

Listen quietly to the mysterious sound played by the vast universe.