The original text was published on The Beijing Morning Post on October 24th 2007. This version has been edited by the interviewee.
Reporters: Xianfu Yang, Suping Hou
Interviewee: Zhang Xiuzhu
Time: October 16, 2007
Place: Houhai, Beijing
As we know, many people in the art circle are fond of your works and pay close attention to your state of art. We heard recently that you have created a large number of works showcasing the modern female, including ink paintings, line drawings, oil paintings and sculptures, all with this theme. Please talk about these works.
The main works for the past two years are the line drawing and oil painting series As Time Goes By and oil painting and sculpture series Dreamscape. Both are of the same topic and can be blended as one. Both are about oriental interpretations of modern female through prying eyes, which naturally implies my unique personality and psychology.
"As time goes by" is origonated from lyrics of The Peony Pavilion by Tang Xianzhu, and later appeared in The Dream of the Red Chamber. Within the context, this line conveys the delicate and charming manner of the oriental female. It fits my expression well. "Dreaming Image" is about annotation for contemporaneity of art and humanity. The polysemia, ambiquity and ambiguity shown in the contemporary art interweave in the thoughts caused by mental and spiritual imaging. Sexual imaging seems precious nowadays as sanctity and mystery of sex are degraded to physical desire.
What different interpretations do you have to west and east femininity?
For oriental and especially China, it is implicative and graceful, while that in west is direct and manic. But with deep understanding, a hint of hypocrisy exists for oriental woman. There are two different kinds of ruthlessness to woman in times of feudal China and medieval Europe. They are of same nature. Bound feet and chastity lock are examples of ruthlessness, they only look graceful with embroidered satin shoes. Recently, I am fascinated about landscape paintings by Dong Qichang, which shows zenic enlightment for simplicity and freedom spirit. But Dong was a person with evildoing for women which led to home ransacking. Dong is not the only one who's personal character and painting conflict.
How do you express your understanding of modern female by art?
This is a complicated question. I myself could not make it clearly for images in my paintings, and perhaps it is expression of subconscious and just the charm of art. French painter said that Chinese draw portrait of palace maid by touching and he himself draws woman by prying about, grabbing into for deconstruction. According to De Kooning, woman is painted by violent deconstructing, tearing up, squeezing and then hanging up. In my opinion, method of touching seems a little hypocritical as they treat woman like a stunner, implying more overbearing male chauvinism. In fact, woman, as human in society and nature, would be peered and imagined by man forever, just like man by woman. In the art works of woman made by male painter, trace exists for male's prying about and imaging. This shows an overall character of human. Apart from characteristics displayed for regions and times, mental characteristics of artists are more important, even if this personality is distorted, he is true after all. As a human living in society, woman demonstrates and is wrapped at same time and demonstrates in wrapping, like fresh and like fresh and helpless in gray hided behind flamboyance. Opposite woman's self-pity, self-maltreat and self- love is male. Times and social life are ruthless to woman.
I try to display, under the subject of "Dreaming Image" and "As Time Goes By", intense full of confrontation, wrapping, restrict, rush, struggle in contradictions. I clear up and reconstruct this feeling. This deconstruction is true and is my understanding of contemporary woman. I always think that to display myself truly means to display the world truly.
In your works, there is sign of button or even ready-made article. What dose it imply?
The use of ready-made article means expanding of modern art language. Using ready-made button in my paintings of abstract and semi-abstract expressionism is to make direct link and thinking switch between art expression and reality though this sign. In all my works with this subject, intensify the sign of button. As an important component in modern garment civilization changing from practical use to aesthetical factor, button has long evolved as a cultural sign for morality and psychology, and even a sort of psychological sign. It is of course due to my mental factor. Many woman garments in my painting look neutral or even virile. This shows unique mental sediment of my generation.
As an artist of independent thinking, your works seem never following the so called mainstream art in China.
The life style of an artist is closely related with his art form. I was born reserved and peaceful with character of resignation. Nevertheless, I am discontent and bolshy in art expression. The mixed characters get entangled in my life and art creation, full of variables. This is my character and also character of our times. As I did not have any glorious educational background, nor any master or school for relying on, I could not enter the circles formed by modern educational systems or masters and schools, though the mainstream judging systems nowadays become diversified, which cause forming more circles and factions fighting for benefits in society, My character of resignation and uncertainty of my art form make it impossible for me to enter those circles or views of mainstream judging system. The western pattern of thinking takes the lead in living order of this society, and people with character of aggressiveness can gain an upper hand compared with those with character of resignation. Nevertheless, I believe the saying "When you are nobody, you are yourself.” Lone Rangers have reasons for existing because of dangers in society and numerous factions.
As a traditional Chinese painter, you have gone long way exploring oil painting and sculpture and have formed your own unique art language and sign, which shocked the artist circle.
The word "shock" is unacceptable. I am unable to shock anyone. The right words should be "Let those who know your past feel weird".
In recent two years all my works of ink and wash painting, oil painting, and sculpture are created in a natural way, which means express what I want and the way I like. I have no intention be sculpturer and oil painter, and there is on one to stop me to do so. All my works of any form the past two years are inner-related First, Dreaming Image and As Time Goes By have same subject of contemporary woman, Secondly, their technique expressions are traditional spiritual expression of Chinese style, and no matter they are ink and wash painting, sculpture or oil painting. My oil painting and sculpture feel like Chinese brush drawing. To me, they are different just in tools and materials. Fortunately, the current art ecology has changed significantly. With constant expanding of art concept and its marginal ambiguity, no one can easily crush you. My art has its space and reason for living, if do not care that anyone plays with me or not, buys my paintings or not and even comments me or not. "Following one's own way without transgressing what is right" My baseline is to display a true ego and display contemporary consciousness and traditional spirit of a local Chinese artist.
We know that you are a senior art editor. How much does this professional working experience influence your art creation?
My life was full of frustrations and thus gained rich experience. Being an editor is the most important experience for my art improvement. You had to read more books for the job. This position an art press is comparatively marginal, with which the editor shall be comprehensive and pioneering as well. It let me have more contacts with artists of all levels and fields, broadening my outlook. In addition, I enjoyed advantage for collecting art information, which for sure would affect way of thinking. It is somewhat like post-modernism "Nowhere can not be reached and nothing is possible", "All rivers run into the sea".
What is your view on post-modernism?
I've read some books on it, but did not fully understand it. And now post-modernism and post-colonialism is put forward. I think even the western people who put forward it could not make it clear and it seems out of date now. I could see clearly some of reasons for that. It concerns the fast development of social information transmission and liberation of humanity, Humanity includes personality and the liberation of humanity promotes to develop personality freely. We can do what we could not do in the past. We can re-interpreter something, for example, re-interpreter tradition from artist point of view, knowledge information (including knowledge consulting information) especially image information is monopolistic(no public access) in the past. And people are targeted and narrow-minded for information receiving. Emperor owned most of image resource and if he wishes to go thought all of them, eunuch would die of carrying Dong Qichang's rich collection plus his colleagues's collection only accounted to small part of the total. And one had to image though books and other written materials for what you could not see. Dong Qichang built up his appreciation system owning to possession of image information and lost it because of limitation of image information. At that time it was hard for every scholar to learn painting because one could not get image information of higher level. What was means for transmission then? There was no first-hand copy materials. For those paintings of Huang Gongwang, Wang Meng and Nizhan, one could only copy the 5th hand things. One might even feel proud for copying second-hand thing, No surpassing is possible as they just followed their masters.
With development of techniques for modern image information copying and transmission, acquisition of it becomes more popular. This progress has changed the whole art and cultural pattern when it lost "static determinacy" context of culture in Dong Qichang times. Now, one could feel convenient in some cities of economic and cultural importance like Beijing, Shanghai, let alone the popularity of medium like album of painting, CD, and internet. There are all kinds of exhibitions to see including important international exhibitions and top exhibits from museums and art galleries in western countries could be seen at home. A few years ago, top paintings from the four Chinese museums were displayed in Shanghai Museum and one could appreciate closely those classic collections just with one train ticket to Shanghai. And some could even go Europe or America for close appreciation of western classic originals. The Chinese could not finish its localization in such short time without this social environment, let alone building up own academic and market judging system and value system. With gradual supplying a gap for 30 years in publishing and changing of way of transmission for image information in past 10 years, we can now experience in image the world civilization survival, including the image survival in whole art history both east and west.
How does liberation of humanity influence art development?
In the past 30 years, the Chinese society has undertaken tremendous reform and progress, I feel it deeply as I experienced period of cultural Imprisonment and trampling of personality, In addition to fast economical development, harmonious society is promoted, which means a great progress. Harmony needs to build up a people's jointly living order of tolerance and balance, which of course comprises respect to personality and tolerance. The base line of tolerance is no harm to other people and society. "Harmonious but Diverse", an old Chinese philosophy thinking, meets developing trend of contemporary society. Personality was restricted and fettered in the time before the industrialization, in middle ages and in China then. So, what the society needs to develop? It is liberation of personality and freedom of personality. With this premise, man's creation can be brought into full play. Let personality be liberated in your works and art expressions. The relaxing environment for respect and tolerance to artist personality is gradually built up in today's society. This personality comprise personality of art, personality of artist's art and personality of artist's life. Here, I am not against function of edification, which shall be tolerated though it is a powerful social group. "Perfect penetration without obstruction" and "Care one way or another" are the essence for building up harmony order of contemporary art.
The current art ecological environment is good for my creation, good for me, who is always restless for art even if getting old. It promotes diversity of my art expression and expressive capability.
