Master: It is worthy of being "the first person to carve porcelain in China"
The master showed me a small green carved porcelain vase with a golden plum blossom engraved on it and the word "Yongmei" written by Chairman Mao on the back, which was also golden. The whole work is exquisite, ingenious and interesting. The master said that this was his first work of carving porcelain, and it was also the first work of carving porcelain in Zibo. Then he recalled the experience.
/kloc-in the winter of 0/974, Zhang Mingwen first saw the morning glory carved on a small porcelain bottle. Porcelain carving painting is both like Chinese painting and stone painting. That is the work of Zheng Huimin from Qingdao. After reading it, he was fascinated. After returning home, he designed and carved it on a porcelain vase, so a plum blossom and Mao Zedong's "symbol?" The word "Yongmei" was born under his command. Unexpectedly, this carved porcelain plum blossom bottle was spotted by the Director of Protocol Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and immediately ordered 300 pieces. In order to finish this task as soon as possible, the following summer, he went to Qingdao to learn from Shi Ke and Zheng Huimin, and since then, he has entered a new world of porcelain carving art.
At the host's house, I saw a foreign book with Marx's head on the cover. Master said this is Carl? Marx. He turned to a portrait of Marx in the book and said it was his carved porcelain work. He showed me this passage recorded in German with his finger: "Since then, China's diplomatic gift has been replaced by a carved porcelain plate." Mr. Wang proudly said that this was an affirmation of the international status of Zibo ceramics, and it was also a high evaluation of China traditional art by western developed countries at that time.
198 1 June, China carved porcelain abroad for the first time-Zhang Mingwen was selected as an artist of the China National Pavilion to perform live porcelain carving in Germany. Under the eyes of the public, under the "focus" of countless blue eyes, with the rhythm of tinkling, he calmly carved the heads of famous German figures. Stay there for 30 days. He successfully completed the brilliant image creation of five philosophers and artists, including Marx and Beethoven, on the porcelain plate. People are really impressed by the amazing skills of this China native from the hometown of "China", and their admiration and surprise are endless.
Master Zhang's trip not only earned back 1 1000 marks (equivalent to 40,000 RMB) in foreign exchange for the motherland, but also made it gratifying that China's porcelain carving art shocked the western world and entered the eyes of the international media and the global public.
According to the data, from June 5438 to June 5438, 0983, Popular Daily reported Mr. Zhang Mingwen's porcelain sculpture performance at the 14th World Expo in the United States, which caused a sensation in the international art world. Former US President Jimmy Carter, his wife, US government officials, visiting Philippine President imelda and American astronauts all watched Zhang Mingwen's live performance and praised him as a "real artist". The New York Daily ran for five days and published a special article entitled "Zhang Mingwen, the wizard of the World Expo and the porcelain sculptor of the China Pavilion". Many newspapers, radio stations and TV stations have reported Zhang Mingwen's exquisite porcelain carving art, and this performance abroad directly created 49,970 US dollars of foreign exchange for the country. In China at that time, it was a miracle!
What is more commendable is that he is good at summing up and thinking about the practice of porcelain carving art and rising to the theoretical level. He summed up his artistic opinions and practical experience in his writing many times. In the article "The Art of Carving Porcelain and the Interest of Reasoning", he has accumulated many years of experience, and made a detailed discussion on the origin of carving porcelain, the relationship between carving porcelain and painting, seal cutting and calligraphy, and the application of knife cutting and coloring. It was the earliest paper on porcelain carving in the province and became an important study material for many students later. Zhang Mingwen also compiled the Outline of Porcelain Carving, which popularized the techniques and techniques of porcelain carving throughout the country.
Master: "Masterpiece of Porcelain Carving"
In the owner's house, there is a jade-colored celadon deer head bottle with many ladies carved on it. The figures are lifelike and beautiful, just like the carved porcelain transplantation of Dunhuang murals. The whole picture gives people a yearning for peace and tranquility. Mr. Zhang Mingwen pointed to this precious work and said, This is my favorite "child". I don't agree to foreign investment of 500 thousand to buy my original work. This is a proof of my work as a national player. He introduced that I used fine porcelain from Jingdezhen and natural diamonds as pens, and I tried my best to finish the carving to comfort the ancestors who protected and developed Dunhuang Grottoes, because this is a collection of materials I have sketched many times in Dunhuang. I exaggerated my figure ratio from six to eight. In the process of making, a special diamond cutter is used, line by line, focused and calm, with ten fingers exerting force, and sweat flows through the back of the bottle. In particular, carving people's faces is a foregone conclusion and cannot be modified. It's even harder if you're around.
This work shows the Dunhuang frescoes deposited on porcelain 1600 years in the form of porcelain carving, which can be said to be a bold artistic innovation.
Not long ago, Xiao Lianqiang, an art critic, wrote an article "Masterpiece of Porcelain Carving" in Art Mirror, praising Zhang Mingwen's works. He said that Zhang Mingwen separated carved porcelain from the decorative accessories of ceramics, making it a real art form, which was recognized by the serious domestic art circles. He has trained a large number of top-notch porcelain carving talents for the country, and the industrialization of porcelain carving has become a bright spot of local culture and economy. He said that the aesthetic interest in Chinese and western modeling can be perfectly expressed in the form of carved porcelain, and the aesthetic interest is rich and colorful. Zhang Mingwen's porcelain sculpture "Dunhuang Return to the Truth" is the pinnacle of porcelain sculpture. The equipment is a solemn and quiet deer head bottle. The work is a single line sketch, a group of dancing dancers, squatting, standing, playing or playing. There is quietness in lightness and richness in elegance. This is a rare porcelain carving art and Zhang Mingwen's painstaking efforts. Zhang Mingwen went to Dunhuang Mogao Grottoes many times to copy murals. Standing in front of the artistic treasures left by his predecessors, he was moved, pursuing the immortal flying spirit and the soul of China's art that shocked people.
Carving porcelain is a highly skilled artistic style. In the process of its development, artists have mastered rich expressive skills and superb skills. It is not enough for a porcelain sculptor to have good ideas, but also to have skilled porcelain carving skills, and to exhaust his life's energy and tempering in practice in order to achieve the perfect position of palm and back. Among them, drawing lines and lines is the most difficult, because porcelain is one of the hardest man-made objects in the world, and its glaze is as smooth as a mirror. If the transportation capacity is unbalanced or careless, it is easy to fail and collapse. To achieve smooth lines, the role of heaven is. Zhang Mingwen's works promote the expressive function of lines to an unparalleled height.
The artistic information conveyed by Zhang Mingwen's works shows the artistic beauty of cultural modernity everywhere, first of all, his emphasis on the theme of "people". For example, although the dancers in Dunhuang Return to Reality are still dressed in ancient costumes and nepotism, the graceful posture of the waist has conveyed a trace of fresh vitality from modern people; Their height is more beautiful because of proper handling, their backs are exposed, their gestures are different, they echo left and right, and they open and close vertically and horizontally. The reappearance of the world of singing and dancing, which plays music for dancers, has also become a display of people's attitude and interest in beautiful women in China. What he shows in his works is the perfect combination of superb skills and good artistic accomplishment, which is worthy of being a classic for depicting characters.
In fact, no matter what works of art, depicting characters is the most difficult, and art has its own special laws. Mr. Zhang Mingwen told me that after years of experience in carving porcelain, I think there are three difficulties in carving people: it is difficult to carve people's faces, it is difficult to carve people's faces and it is difficult to carve people's hands. The master also emphasized that facets and eyes are difficult. Yes, the eyes are "vivid", but the characters written by Zhang Ming and under the knife are recognized by everyone. You see, whether it's the dancer in Dunhuang Returning to the Truth or the ladies in Xiangyun Waking Up and The Story of the Stone, their expressions are elegant and smart, or they are gentle and charming, and their eyes are lovely. It can be said that "if she just turns her head and smiles, she will have a hundred spells"; For Confucius or Baishi, it is both form and spirit, and the logistics of people reveals the elegance, honesty and wisdom of the elderly or the demeanor of everyone; Li Qingzhao, the talented woman he carved, seems to have glimpsed from the "doors and windows of the soul", or Chun Qing, a shy and budding girl who was guessed when she embroidered her face, or the sadness she experienced when she was a young woman. Through the expression of "Qiao Qian, beautiful eyes and longing for happiness", with the help of characters' dress language, poetry and calligraphy, the image of an excellent ancient female writer with unique personality and longing for a better life is vividly highlighted in front of the audience.
Master: tireless pursuit and exploration
In the field of porcelain carving art, Mr. Zhang Mingwen is recognized as the most representative and famous porcelain carving artist. Mention the teacher's name, people will always associate him with the development history of porcelain carving art. It can be said that Master Zhang is one of the main witnesses of the development history of porcelain carving art. It can also be said that talking about Master Zhang means talking about the development history of porcelain carving.
In fact, just like the works in Zhang Mingwen's "Under the Sword", "It's not the bitter cold that wins the plum blossom fragrance". It is no accident that Mr. Wang became the first person to carve porcelain in Zibo and even in contemporary China. He was smart since he was a child and loved to learn. My uncle and I are studying in a private school and are particularly interested in China's classical literature. When I was a little older, I fell in love with painting and started painting as soon as I had time. 1958 Entered Zibo Porcelain Factory to study porcelain making technology. He is a talent in the factory. 1960 was sent to Jinan Shandong industrial cadre school to study in the ceramic class of arts and crafts major. Two years after graduation, I was sent to Jingdezhen to study pastel. After coming back, I engaged in painting design and later became a teacher. After studying in Qingdao from 65438 to 0974, Zhang Mingwen specialized in describing gift porcelain and porcelain used in the Great Hall of the People. Together with his colleagues, he devoted himself to exploring new porcelain carving techniques, and gradually explored freehand brushwork, painting, micro-carving and other methods, so that this new art was gradually improved. For decades, his personal creation has been persistent in striving for perfection, and finally reached the realm of perfection.
Mr. Zhang Mingwen said that in the ancient and splendid civilization of mankind, nothing can match the charm of China ceramics and become the leader of world civilization, and nothing can tell the problem better than foreigners using China to symbolize China and interpret China. However, although porcelain carving has been in China for at least 200 years, there is little experience left by predecessors. "During the Kangxi period of the Qing Dynasty, although it was quite difficult for artists to carve patterns on the surface of porcelain with a drill knife, they did not leave any information on writing techniques, so there are only a handful of carved porcelain treasures passed down from generation to generation." Zhang Mingwen said with regret. Yes, among the traditional carving arts in China, porcelain carving is the most difficult. How easy is it to carve out your own path? !
In his groundbreaking paper "The Art and Interest of Carving Porcelain" written by 1988, he pointed out with great foresight that how to introduce the seemingly lonely national cultural heritage of carving porcelain into the runway of modern civilization depends entirely on the predecessors and indomitable successors who are unwilling to forget the past. China ceramics are towering trees, and porcelain carving art is tender leaves. He said that there is no fixed pattern in art, and the emergence of new art forms is summarized from the continuous practice of closely related principles.
Twenty years later, on June 5438+February 65438+February 2008, Zhang Mingwen reviewed and summarized the art of Zibo porcelain carving from a very high angle, covering four aspects: porcelain carving, sculpture, internal painting and painting, when he prefaced the magazine "Dialogue Master: Zibo China Arts and Crafts Master, China Ceramics Master and Provincial Arts and Crafts Master" edited by Contemporary Ink and Wash Magazine. Zibo's porcelain carving art, in particular, has been passed down bit by bit, flourished in the contemporary era, wandered in the international art world, and was dubbed by the media as an art with "music", which played a role that diplomats could not play, and so on. Porcelain carving art was formally incorporated into a new category of arts and crafts by the National Development and Reform Commission in 2006.
Mao Dun once said, "The more elements you create, the more beautiful you are." Zhang Mingwen's works are almost full of creative spirit, because he closely combines learning, inheritance, creation and development. He felt that in those years, the process was really difficult. As the saying goes, one minute on stage, ten years off stage, you can't get the sweetness without suffering. He told reporters that porcelain carving should not only achieve watertight effect, but also pursue the bold taste of stones, which is not easy. But there are several big steps in life, which make me more practical and more focused on my career. He knows that "learning is like sailing against the current, if you don't advance, you will retreat", so until today, he has not been shrouded and suppressed by the aura of "master". He is still studying, pondering and innovating as always, striving to break through and surpass himself, and at the same time teaching skills with his disciples, hoping that shine on you will be better than Blue. He said that among the students who studied with him at the beginning, more than a dozen have become provincial-level porcelain carving masters, and one still studies with him. His wife, eldest daughter, second daughter and third son-in-law are all engaged in painting creation, and now Zhang Mingwen's two daughters are among the best in porcelain carving among their contemporaries. Master Zhang said that how to combine traditional art with ceramic materials and utensils skillfully and how to bring forth the old and bring forth the new are topics that need to be explored constantly, and I am still making unremitting efforts. He is used to getting up at 4 in the morning to write. He said that in the middle of the night, he had an epiphany and immediately got up to catch it.
A master is a master, not only to marvel at his achievements, but also to make people respect his spirit and character. Mr. Zhang Mingwen has made such impressive achievements, but he is still learning and exploring as always, still so simple and humble, still so persistent and calm. Probably his comprehensive cultivation made him what he is today.
Some people say that a master's character should be a ruler, which not only guides the direction of art, but also marks the height of cultivation and morality. The master's character lies in self-cultivation, self-cultivation, spiritual independence, freedom of thought, fraternity and tolerance, sincerity and openness, which makes people stop at the top of the mountain. Mr Zhang Mingwen is worthy of such a master. Please look at his "Blessed Donkey" drawing disc: two donkeys, one big and one small, one gray and one black, echo each other and are full of fun. The author expresses the simplicity and complexity of printmaking, the dripping ink color of Chinese painting, the freehand charm of flying white, the interest of stone carving and the application of point, line and surface of sketch with changeable carving knife method, which is indeed an ideal work to find the unique language of carving porcelain. The icing on the cake is the artistic connotation of the work. Please look at the running script above and write a poem: "There is a sea in your chest, but it is clear in your eyes. Fame is also outside, and profit is also outside. How comfortable it is for the people to prosper the country! " While appreciating the concise picture, we can savor the author's broad mind and extraordinary and valuable mentality of "enriching the people and rejuvenating the country" in the first place.
2009 is the ugly year of the lunar calendar, the year of the ox. The master specially painted Niu Fu's prints as a gift. The picture highlights the dripping ink and stone carving interest of Chinese painting; The bold traces of porcelain carving show the unique cultural heritage of the Chinese nation, which makes people fondle it. The master wrote on the top of Niu Fu's statue: "Cows are also powerful, bow their heads and obey without trying to be brave, take no credit for farming, and are tame and stubborn." Steady progress without stepping on the air, described as unpretentious! "Isn't a few words a vivid portrayal of the author's own spiritual character? !
On the artistic level, the quality of personality is also the key to determine the quality of his creative style. Guo of the Northern Song Dynasty put it well: "The character is already high, and the charm is still high; The charm is already high, and the vividness is still coming. The so-called god is both god and essence. " Einstein once said: "The significance of first-class figures to the times and historical process, in terms of their moral quality, may be greater than their pure intellectual achievements." A master is like a mountain. A mountain becomes a mountain because there must be a peak for people to look up to. This peak is his character.
I looked up what a "master" is. In Modern Chinese Dictionary, it is defined as a person who has profound knowledge or art and is respected by everyone. A master refers to a person with high knowledge and deep attainments in a certain academic field or technical field, and is the most respected person in the world. Especially in today's impetuous era, I can have an approachable heart, not tired of fame and fortune, and I have long been a master. Some people say that it is never his academic research that moves the master, but more importantly his attitude towards life. Just like Li Bai, what touched us was not his image of flying a kite in the sky, but his vision of things. Masters like Mr. Zhang Mingwen, their superb academic attainments are precisely the spiritual achievements of being eager to learn and the style and quality of treating people, which they have cultivated since childhood.
The role played by top experts is undoubtedly the most important at the moment. It has been said that the continuation of a culture lies not only in inheritance, but also in continuous innovation in inheritance in order to maintain its vigorous vitality. A master is often a person who can create a generation of cultural atmosphere and create a new cultural atmosphere. More importantly, the academic achievements and spirit of real masters can often transcend the limitations of the times, not only enlightening the present, but also guiding the future.
CCTV Special Topic: On March 8th, 20 15, the column "Unlimited Popularity" of CCTV International Channel introduced the legendary life experience of Master Zhang Mingwen: from an ordinary kiln worker, after decades of artistic exploration and life accumulation, he became a generation of arts and crafts masters with international influence. Its profound humanistic quality, exquisite to breathtaking artistic attainments, humble and peaceful, indifferent personal character, let us feel the elegance of a generation of masters in all directions. Master Zhang Mingwen has made an extremely important contribution to the excavation, promotion and inheritance of China carved porcelain, which is itself a history of China carved porcelain and worthy of the honorary title of "the first person to carve porcelain in China"!