Liu Youju angrily denounced the shady painting and calligraphy circles: at present, it is simply a pot of porridge.
A few days ago, Liu Youju, Dean of China Bookstore, Guangdong Province, bluntly exposed many shady scenes in today's painting and calligraphy circles when interviewed by the author.
When you are the chairman, you are worth a hundred times.
Author: At the beginning of the year, you published the article "The transformation of government-run associations is imperative" in Huaxia Calligraphy and Painting Newspaper, which caused great repercussions in the calligraphy and painting circles. Some time ago, I read your article "Cultural system reform must first be transformed into an association" in People's Digest. I was deeply moved. Do you think this kind of government-run association is still necessary?
Liu: It is still necessary, but it should be changed from government-run to private. Aren't there many such associations in Hong Kong? This is conducive to letting a hundred flowers blossom and a hundred schools of thought contend. Associations in Chinese mainland are different. This system has many disadvantages, and it is easy to form dictatorship and gangs. Nowadays, uneducated people desperately want to join the association, and some even become the leaders of the association. If you can't take the right path, you will engage in bad style, and this is how the "popular book style" is formed. Since the sixth national calligraphy exhibition, there have been many such drawbacks. By the ninth national calligraphy exhibition, this crooked thing reached its peak, called the spread of evil species.
The formalization of the association is only used by some speculative people. Many people who are very mediocre in artistic creation have tried their best to become the chairman and vice chairman of the association through various relationships. As long as they wear the aura of chairman and vice-chairman, they will become worth a hundred times, because these people control the power of the association and can make a lot of money through media operation. Some of us buy calligraphy and painting without asking about art, just asking about official titles. No wonder most people like the works of these so-called "hot" people now. No matter how good your calligraphy and painting are, not many people will be interested without these auras. However, if you really want to collect, the works of these "hot" people may become a pile of waste paper over time!
The exhibition door is open. Don't come in without money.
Author: Are there any hidden rules for joining and exhibition industry?
Liu: Of course. There are many shady works on display. Join the club. At present, some people who hold the power of the association have made a lot of money by trading power, money and fame. Do you want to join the club? Do you want to show your work? You have to buy my work. Of course, some people are also fishing volunteers in Jiang Taigong. Who told you to deliver the goods to your door? This is a "black interaction" and it is already an open secret. Many people get rich after working in the association for a few years, and there are all kinds of cars in the foreign building. Holding a national calligraphy exhibition now often costs a lot of public money. The 9th National Calligraphy Exhibition cost more than13 million, and it was also boasted in major media. At the beginning of the establishment of China Calligraphers Association, the national exhibition cost only 50,000 yuan, and many talents were discovered and trained through this exhibition. How shocking this contrast is. Where did all this money go? Why is there no supervision mechanism and audit unit to manage these "Asian public finances"? Some associations have produced a surprising number of titles through cascading exhibitions. The "Ninth National Exhibition" put two million yuan into the pocket of China Book Association at one time. Does the exhibition itself need so much money? This seriously trite exhibition is shocking!
Some painters and painters who hold the power of the association are already rich, but they rarely contribute to public welfare and social welfare. Although there are some public welfare titles, they are actually performing in groups. Some people's works have little market at all, but they seek fame for themselves through so-called "public welfare". Some entrepreneurs who donated money for public welfare gave a work. If an entrepreneur donates 1 million yuan, the calligrapher who sent the calligraphy and painting will say that his works sold 1 million yuan, then take a photo with the donor and blow it in major media. Why are some of our entrepreneurs willing to pave the way for these people? Which of these showmen really took out real money from their pockets and donated it to public welfare undertakings? These people boast that their works are hundreds of thousands of yuan each and their annual income is tens of millions of yuan, but how much personal income tax do they pay?
At present, the painting and calligraphy world is simply "a pot of porridge"
Author: You worked in Guangdong Book Association in your early years and served as a judge of the 5th National Book Fair. Recently, you were hired as a visiting professor by South China Normal University. In recent years, you have held individual calligraphy exhibitions in China National Museum, Guangzhou Art Museum, Hangzhou West Lake Art Museum and Xi 'an Liangbao Building, which have been widely praised by the calligraphy circle. In 2006, you were named "Top Ten Wonderful People in China" by china national radio, and recently, you were included in the "Five Excellent Books" compiled by the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles and the Chinese and Foreign Celebrity Culture Research Association. In addition to honor and praise, I also heard different comments on you. What do you think of this?
Liu: Recently, I went to South China Normal University to give a lecture to students of the Academy of Fine Arts, and a student asked me a similar question. I told them that all the honors should come naturally. As the saying goes, "When the fruit is ripe, it will come naturally". Don't ask too much. Nowadays, many people in the painting and calligraphy circles do whatever it takes for fame and fortune. Some Jianghu "artists" specialize in making profits in society. Because many people lack aesthetic and discriminating ability, they are fooled again and again. In the simplest terms, the current painting and calligraphy world is simply "a pot of porridge".
(What needs to be corrected is that the article "Liu Youju's Anger" mentioned that the cost of the ninth national exhibition was 1000 million yuan, which should be changed to 23 million yuan to be accurate. )
As soon as the literary works came out, the internet was overwhelming, and more than 90% of the opinions supported and agreed with Mr. Liu Youju's point of view, denouncing the corruption in the book world. Abstract, Hainan Daily and other more than 80 newspapers across the country reprinted. At the same time, it also aroused the panic and anger of some people who benefited from the nine national exhibitions, and even organized forces to besiege Mr. Liu.
As early as four years ago, Mr. Liu Youju saw the disadvantages of the "one-meeting system" and published the article "Cultural system reform must first be transformed into an association". Later, Mr. Wu Guanzhong was interviewed by Southern Weekend and criticized the corruption of the American Association. The harmony between the north and the south became a passionate symphony for a while. After a few years, the reform of the association has not progressed, but has become more severe, leading to more and more corruption in the cultural circle. In particular, the two associations of "Beauty and Calligraphy" are the hardest hit areas of cultural corruption. The main reason is the serious defects in the system, and more importantly, the association has become a corrupt chain of collusion between the powerful and the capital. In the market economy controlled by power, culture has become a hot spot of corruption. According to Mr. Liu's "Angry Expose", as long as he becomes an important position in this "two sessions", his works will generate sky-high prices. China people lack the concept of right and wrong. Coupled with the influence of slavery culture for thousands of years, people's status has always been determined by official positions. This concept is undoubtedly full of powerful "associations". The official position of the Association is even more attractive than that of the Party and government in other places, because once it becomes a full-time and vice-chairman, it can be dubbed as "herdsman with high fame and handsome", and then a large amount of money keeps flowing into his pocket. There are many interests without corruption, fame and fortune, unlike other officials who work hard and take risks. As a result of cultural corruption, no one really wants to learn. Even those who have learned a certain degree go to these associations to "rub the heat", and some officials get some pen and ink and work in the associations, becoming "big experts". Real scholars have to sit on the bench without the care of power, let alone the help of powerful people. They live a lonely and miserable life, and such people are almost unique. Cultural degradation and corruption have brought serious sequelae to society, and countless people want to be calligraphers, so various trade associations and folk associations emerge one after another. The so-called "literati" who have no knowledge and skills have become public hazards, and some even cheat. There are many reasons, which are difficult to explain at the moment.
Mr. Liu Youju withdrew from the China Book Association, which I think was an accident in the cultural circle. We lost an anti-corruption fighter. We can't predict whether Mr. Liu will learn from the ancient literati and retire, or continue to stand in the forefront of cultural anti-corruption. I feel extremely sad to write here. When will our cultural field return to its pure land? Are you willing to reverse this ugly social ecology for those in power?