This is a great question. I happen to work in Yuzi Paradise, and I have an explanation of the park’s works on my computer.
The company’s website: www.yuzile.com
Hello friends, everyone! Welcome to the art kingdom where natural landscapes and humanistic arts meet - Guilin Yuzi Paradise.
I am XXX, the No. 1 tour guide of the park, and I am very honored to serve you.
Let me give you a brief introduction to Yuzi Paradise. Yuzi Paradise is a national 4A scenic spot, one of the national cultural industry demonstration bases, and a tourist attraction recommended by the World Tourism Organization.
Yuzi Paradise was officially founded on April 1, 1998. It is an international fashion art park focusing on contemporary sculptures and cave art. Its ultimate goal and ideal is: to create a "fairyland on earth, a beautiful paradise" for all mankind with the integration of humanities and nature and the eternal power of culture and art, and to serve future generations with the achievements of "pure and beautiful landscapes" and "artistic perfection" Leave behind the best cultural assets of contemporary art, so that all future construction achievements of Guilin Yuzi Paradise can be owned and enjoyed by all mankind.
You may not understand the meaning of the name of Yuzi Paradise. In fact, the name is related to the story of our establishment. It originated from Mr. Cao Rizhang, an old man who was obsessed with art. He spent his life savings to create an artistic dream paradise. Such persistent efforts regardless of returns were considered by many people to be a fool's behavior, so he compared himself to a fool. And simply named the park Yuzi Paradise, which means fools entertain themselves and enjoy themselves. At the same time, the happy fool also hopes that all tourists today will have fun with him and enjoy this transcendent dream paradise between mountains and rivers.
The original intention of building Yuzi Paradise is to coordinate with Guilin’s picturesque landscape and create an artistic landscape project that highly integrates nature and humanity. We call on all outstanding artists from all over the world to participate in the construction, and jointly build the most distinctive The art park integrates Chinese and Western cultures, leaving a valuable cultural heritage to China and the future.
Introduction to the main works
1. Living world arena (living world arena) Ju Ming Taiwan
This work is the art consultant of Yuzi Paradise, Mr. Ju Ming Mr. Ju Ming is a well-known Taiwanese sculpture master at home and abroad. The gift given to President Hu Jintao by Kuomintang Chairman Lien Chan when he visited the mainland in 2005 was Ju Ming's work. It is said that it is an arch from Ju Ming's famous Tai Chi series. The set of works we are looking at now is another series of Ju Ming's "Human World" works. The Human World series focuses on all living beings living in the world, and the artist depicts the various aspects of life as a bystander. This group of works is also filled with the interest of earthly life. More than twenty human-sized statues are scattered in the quiet pine forest. Among them are people of various skin colors, people of different nationalities, and people of different identities. However, whether they are people at work or people at play, You can hold hands with them, put their shoulders around each other, and chat in a friendly manner. They are in groups of two or three, sitting or standing, sad or happy, showing us the various aspects of life in the world. Perhaps the face is filled with confusion and a desolate atmosphere of alienation, but in the heaviness of the cold world, Ju Ming still did not forget to add a layer of color, bright and humorous, which is a layer of colorful hope laid on reality. The artist's "one-cut carving" carves the gods but not the shapes. When visitors walk into the sculpture group, the real person and the sculpture merge into one.
The artist compares life to a wonderful drama. Each person in the sculpture faithfully plays his or her role. They are both a sculpture and a visitor, both a participant and an outsider. Together with the visitors, they It depicts all living beings belonging to this era.
2. Night of Evolution - Night of Evolution Xiao Li China
A work from the Chinese artist Xiao Li. The original intention of the work is to emphasize the similarities and differences between humans and nature.
The work contrasts the finely carved limbs and head with the rough and mottled body. The strong limbs contain the material power that humans have used to transform nature over a long period of time, while the well-developed head represents the accumulated spiritual power. These parts appear to grow out of natural stone. Where do these powers come from? Therefore, it should be said that it comes from nature. When man transforms nature, he also transforms himself. There is a harmonious relationship between man and nature.
3. Women and the landscape Richard Lawrence, England
The great writer Su Shi once said, "If you want to compare the West Lake to the West, light makeup and heavy makeup are always suitable." Famous quotes. The British artist Richard Lawrence seems to have a close connection with Su Dawenhao, comparing the beautiful landscape of Guilin to a beautiful woman with hibiscus growing out of clear water. The beautiful Guilin landscape also nurtures all living things on this land, like a loving mother.
4. Flying on the water Givoj Filin Bulgaria
This is a work from the Bulgarian artist Filin. At first glance, this work looks like a sail on the water. When you walk in and look at it when the lake is calm, you will see that the sail has turned into a beautiful wing. A pair of wings, one virtual and one real, has turned into a fluttering wing ready to fly. Butterfly. So here, I would also like to take this opportunity to express our best wishes to everyone, and wish you all great success in your future work and smooth sailing in your life.
5. Between fire and water Barbara Farrand Poland
Just like the Statue of Liberty is a symbol of New York, this work is a paradise for fools. The most symbolic work in the series. The work was created by a female artist from Poland. She named the work Between Fire and Water. Because the dynamic shape of the work resembles both standing water patterns and burning flames, water and fire symbolize opposing elements in nature. There are also many oppositions in the work between hard and soft, virtual and solid, curved and straight. These opposing elements constantly interact and change with each other as the viewer's viewing angle changes. The viewer will have different effects when looking at it from different angles. It is really "different from near to high". If you are interested, you can surround the circular pool at the bottom of the work to appreciate this peculiar effect.
The artist also expressed his understanding of the universe and life through this work. The artist believes that all things are in constant change, and that opposition and unity are the essence of things. Regarding this point, we can also use a famous saying in Laozi's "Tao Te Ching" as an annotation: "The existence and non-existence are mutually produced, the difficult and easy are complementary to each other, the long and short are punishing each other, the high and low are complementary to each other, and the sounds are harmonious to each other. , successively follow each other, and they are constant."
6. A new reading for the story of Eden (a new reading for the story of Eden) Ye Chen China
The English name of Yuzi Paradise is YUZIPARADISE. This paradise and paradise are reminiscent of the Garden of Eden. There is a forbidden fruit in there, and there is also a work with this theme in Yu Zi Paradise, which is the one you see, called a new study of the story of the Garden of Eden.
Chinese word games are very interesting. To separate a pear is to separate, and to separate an apple is to divide it equally. Similarly, when you see the empty shell apple split in two in front of you, when you hear the meaning of this work, When you think of the name, what do you think of? Are these people eating forbidden fruit? This is the artist's way of thinking. We all originally came from here, and we will return here in the future. The continuation of life comes from this forbidden fruit. It goes back and forth, endlessly, and the return and regeneration of spirit and body is an eternal topic.
7. Wind in the forest Claire Aishkenay France
This French artist is an environmentalist, so she pays attention to the environment and nature. What she left to Guilin this time was this artistic forest composed of eighteen white marble pillars. Each stone pillar is a tree, pointing straight to the sky. The blue lines are beautiful melody, just like the mist generated by the mountains in Guilin.
At the same time, she also used this work to witness Guilin’s environmental protection work: This work should be placed in a place with natural wind. When there is a strong wind, you can hear different wind sounds in the work. When there is a breeze, you can see the wind in the work. Stone pillars swaying in the ripples in the wind. With the rays of the sun and moon shining, light and shadow, water shadow, and solid shadow become three people... Therefore, this work must be surrounded by wind, water, light, and air, and it must be in a natural environment, as an environmental milestone. And we hope that everyone will join Laifengzhilin’s environmental protection action: don’t smoke and take care of your body. In addition, if you have things that need to be discarded, we have many unique trash cans, please take care of them.
8. Passover (passover) Taiji Tianbiao Japan
These three heads symbolize a suffering nation-the Hebrew nation. The town-like sculpture in the middle represents the home they think about day and night—Jerusalem. This work tells us about this suffering.
Passover is an important Jewish festival. This festival comes from a story in the Bible about getting rid of slavery and pursuing freedom. The Jews are a wandering nation. Legend has it that the Jews were enslaved in Egypt to build the pyramids for the Pharaoh and were tortured. So Moses, the leader of the Jews, decided to lead the Jews out of Egypt and continue to search for their desired homeland. But the Egyptians did not agree to Moses' request because the Jews considered themselves God's people, so Moses told God what had happened, which angered God and God wanted to punish the Egyptians. One night, God told Moses in advance to ask the Jews to smear the blood of a lamb on the lintel and door beam, so that the death god would not harm the people in the house when it passed. On this night, the eldest sons and firstborn animals of the Egyptians died, but the Jews had a brush with death, and under the leadership of Moses, they successfully left Egypt. From then on, the Jews designated July 14th of the Jewish calendar as Passover.
9. Banquet Alan Jones UK
The works of Alan Jones, one of the top ten living pop art masters in the world. Its creation is inspired by the Chinese art of calligraphy. Chinese characters are a kind of pictographic characters, which are not only pictographic but also expressive. For example, the Chinese Seal, the logo of the 2008 Beijing Olympics, is a good example. The logo is a dancing person and is also the Chinese character for Beijing. The artist here is not writing, but painting. There are paintings in the words, and hidden words in the paintings. Together with the surrounding picturesque scenery, it can be said to be beautiful and delicious. Do you recognize these three words?
10. I left my shoes in GuiLin (I left my shoes in GuiLin) Cai Gen Taiwan
When the artist was in elementary school, he read an article about the landscape of Guilin in a textbook I have longed for Guilin since I was a child. However, due to various reasons, the artist never came to the place that haunted him. After forty years like this, his dream finally came true and he came to Guilin. At that time, the artist was wearing the pair of shoes in front of him to visit the mountains and rivers here. These shoes were the testimony of his dream coming true.
11. The door of life (the door of life) Fabrizio Dieci Fabrizio Dieci
The "door" in the work consists of two marble columns and their upper parts The spatial composition formed by the lintel is a symbol of human will and the highest state of thought.
The lintel is strong and straight, showing a kind of "tension". Pillars are very similar in shape, but they are divided into "yin and yang". The "Yin Pillar" is light and soft, showing endless changes and traces of what preceded its formation. Raindrops are constantly dripping from the sky above the work, and it is constantly eroding, concentrating all the power on one point, thus showing the miracle of water and promoting the birth of life.
The formation of the artistic image of the entire work is due to the action of water. The collection of water is a symbol of life. Water creates a miracle of life and silently composes a hymn of harmony in life.
12. The Chinese woman carrying the water (the Chinese woman carrying the water) Marta Francis Spain
Five sculptures are combined together, and each sculpture is designed with The time difference is so like watching a movie, the constantly moving pictures create a motion effect. This work is also interactive. You can sit on it and bask in the sun with your friends or climb on it and look into the distance. The work is carved from white marble. It is particularly eye-catching against the green mountains of Guilin. However, as time goes by, the color of the marble will gradually dim, and eventually it will become one with the mountains and rivers. As we all know, China is the most populous country in the world. The artist created this work to express her own impression of China and this team that has created great energy.
13. Hanzhang (Vined land) Sui Jianguo China
Before creating the work, the artist saw a piece of land in the Ming Tombs that was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution and was later repaired with cement. The artist was moved by the changes and vicissitudes soaked in the stone tablets, and then he put them together and used iron curlers to carve them up. In this process, the artist first imitated God or some destructive force to break the rock, and then Then, imitating the builders, he pieced the pieces together again and reinforced them with a special facility. When the work was completed, the boulder looked untouched. Just because of these cracks and hundreds of iron nails, it looks like it has experienced a lot of wind and frost, and contains traces of some habitual human behaviors, such as destruction and repair, showing an appearance that has gone through many vicissitudes of life.
The name of "Han Zhang" is taken from the sixth chapter of Kun Gua in the "Book of Changes". Chapter: Beautiful lines. In the Kun hexagram, the chapter contains a metaphor for the earth full of literary splendor. Rocks come from the earth, called kun. The artist named this rock that symbolizes the earth "Hanzhang", firstly because of the patterns formed by the criss-crossing cracks on the rock; secondly because these patterns are caused by humans. These cracks and the repaired and reinforced iron curium are precisely these man-made traces or symbols. The humanistic connotation contained in the process of first breaking, then closing, and finally being strengthened makes this rock become a work of art.
14. Public case - Nan Quan killing the cat (Nan Quan killing the cat) Zheng Zaidong, China
Background information 1.
Monk Nan Quan was fighting over the cat between the east and west halls , but mentioned the following: "If you can find the way, you can save it. If you don't know the way, you can kill it." If the people are wrong, Quan will kill them. When I returned from Zhaozhou in the late evening, the spring lifted up like the state, and the state took off my shoes and put it on my head. Quan said: If you are here, you can save the cat.
Background Information 2.
Nanquan Killing the Cat
In the Tang Dynasty, there was an eminent monk named Zen Master Puyuan on Nanquan Mountain in Chizhou. The world called him Nanquan Monk. One day, the monk in the temple caught a beautiful white cat. Everyone wanted to own it, which caused a dispute. So Monk Nanquan put a sickle on the cat's neck and said: "If all living beings gain enlightenment, they will be saved. If they do not gain enlightenment, they will be beheaded." No one answered, so Monk Nanquan cut the cat in one stroke and beheaded it. Later, when his apprentice Zhao Zhou found out, he immediately took off his straw sandals, put the shoes on his head and walked out. Monk Nanquan immediately sighed and said: "If you were here today, the cat would be saved."
Why did Zhaozhou put straw sandals on his head? What is the Zen meaning in this?
Beheading a cat in Nanquan and wearing a shoe in Zhaozhou are two Zen koans. In fact, both incidents were caused by a cat. Two temples were next to each other, and a cat shuttled between them. It seems a bit like Qi's second marriage. Fortunately, the cat not only eats and drinks, but also catches mice.
One day, monks from two monasteries suddenly discussed the ownership of cats. Possessiveness is human nature. Monks are embarrassed to possess women, so they should possess cats. According to Freud’s subconscious theory, cats Similar to women, a cat's hair is like a woman's hair, both a token and a hint. The cat's cuteness is like a woman's gentleness and virtuousness. The cat's fur is like a woman's curvaceous shape. The cat's lazy posture is like a woman's charming eyes. Confused, cats are sometimes sweet and pleasant, and sometimes hide murderous intent, just like women, sometimes gentle and lovely, and sometimes full of female power. . . . . Men are like dogs and women are like cats, so beating a dog depends on the owner's favor, and hitting a cat depends on the housewife's favor.
The monks from the two temples were quarreling over this charming cat. Zen Master Nanquan Puyuan came back from wandering outside - Nanquan refers to the Nanquan Temple where he is located, and Puyuan is him. dharma name. We look at the names of ancient Zen masters just like we look at the names of Japanese people. For example, Mazu Dao - Mazu is the honorific title given to him by later generations. This person's common surname is Ma, and Tao - is his Buddhist name. This person's status is too high, so he rarely He entered the Dharma name with a common surname; Heze Shenhui - Heze refers to the fact that he is from Heze, and the Dharma name Shenhui; and Zhaozhou Congzhen (shen), that is, the Zen master who will wear the robe later, comes from Zhao As a branch of the Zen sect outside the five sects, Zhaozhou Congjian, the master of Congzhen, can be said to be the origin.
Zen Master Nanquan Puyuan saw monks from two monasteries quarreling over a cat, and without saying a word, he cut the cat in half with a knife. Okay, one half of the family, no need to quarrel.
Not long after Mao Pi was born, Zhaozhou came back from a stroll outside. He had studied under Yu Puyuan. Zhaozhou had heard about this from Jiezhen, and without saying a word, he took off his shoes and put them on his head like a hat - as the saying goes, a young man is better than a blue man. From then on, this fox completely agreed with this sentence, Zhaozhou From the perspective of the Taoist practice, it is higher than Nanquan Puyuan.
These two public cases are related to cause and effect. The cat is a phase, and the shoes are also a phase. Don’t just see the appearance of these two things and ignore their connotations----Don’t just see them. Specific behaviors while ignoring the meaning behind the behaviors.
These things are a bit advanced, so let’s put them aside for now. Let’s start with the physical signs—seeing one’s true nature and becoming a Buddha. How can one understand one’s nature without grasping the physical signs? Seeing form due to emotion, seeing form enters the form, enters the form to clarify the nature, and the enlightened nature realizes the emptiness.
From the superficial point of view, these two public cases are closely related. For the monk, the value of cat’s existence is reflected in its ability to catch mice. Arguing about the cat’s ownership is tantamount to obliterating the value of the cat. So Nanquan simply split it in half. Anyway, you only care about the ownership of the cat and ignore the value of the cat. That's fine, half of the family is fair and reasonable - monks fighting for cats are putting the cart before the horse.
Zhaozhou naturally knows Nanquan’s intention, but Nanquan’s killing of the cat has already violated the precept of killing. He ruined his own practice in order to persuade others, which is quite a bit like if I don’t go to hell, who will go to hell, but! There is a better way, why not get the best of both worlds? For example, wearing shoes as hats - what a wonderful performance art, vividly showing the monk's putting the cart before the horse.
Zhaozhou’s performance art is not only directed at the monks fighting over the cat, but also at Nanquan who beheads the cat. There is no doubt that Nanquan in a rage, like the quarreling monks, has put the cart before the horse.
Nanquan and Zhaozhou were both famous monks in the Tang Dynasty. At that time, they saw the absurdity of the world putting the cart before the horse. Unfortunately, thousands of years later, the world is still so absurd---After the pre-Qin scholars, China has There is no longer philosophy, but only the internalization of authoritarian civilization. Sovereignty is greater than human rights, false reputation is greater than life, artificial high moral standards and ideologies have become the mainstream, and natural humanity and rights are suppressed... Isn't this all putting the cart before the horse?
Cultivating yourself, harmonizing your family, and bringing peace to the world. Confucius has long said that there is a sequential relationship among people, family, and society. However, some people prefer to put the country above the individual, and the group above the people... …It’s ridiculous to put the cart before the horse.
Today, we have put the cart before the horse and finally begun to rectify the source. Where can we rectify this? When they put the end on the foundation, what we have to do is restore the original foundation.
Start there and end there. They started from people and reversed it (the internalization of five thousand years of autocratic civilization), so we will start from people and return.
Restore normalcy and subvert authority. You are an individual. All people are the same, equal, and free. Everyone has figured it out, everyone has done it, and the ideology of this society has returned. ----Ideology determines the superstructure, and the superstructure reacts on ideology. The relationship should be clear at a glance.
I hope that the phenomenon of putting the cart before the horse will not appear again, as if building a house requires laying a foundation. A house without a foundation is a mirage, and a house with a weak foundation is a dangerous house, which will collapse and twist at any time.
15. Sedimentation Joseph Vichy Hungary
The long river of time has left many elements behind, like continuous waves, shaping our land into various The endless changes in appearance bring various charming endings. The same long river of time has interpreted so many human stories and created so many cultures, and it continues like waves and has a long history. From generation to generation, human beings survive on the continuous accumulation of materials and make their future inheritance more abundant.
16. One line tower
A work by Japanese artist Kenichi Hiratsuka. He is a stone fan and has liked stones since he was a child. All his works are a line, a line that has a beginning and an end. The idea first started when he carved whorls on the pavement. Later, he simply regarded the entire earth's surface as a huge rock. He worked tirelessly and endlessly to write his whorls in many countries. Many people admire this oriental, ecstasy-like line.
In the author's mind, this infinitely extending thread symbolizes the mystery of the universe and his grasp of the ultimate spirit of the universe. He believes that no matter how the lifestyle changes, the human self Always consistent. He believed that in his art there were no social, economic, cultural or political distinctions.
17. Two realms Colin Feig UK
The works of Colin Feig, an artist from the UK. Like many thoughts or religions, he believes that everything in the world and even the entire world are composed of different opportunities and different things: in India, people believe that the world is composed of the four distant elements of water, fire, wind, and electricity. In ancient China, there were also metal, wood, water, fire, and earth. The Five Elements Theory, but in short it comes down to the differentiation of Yin and Yang. In this work, the two poles represent heaven and earth, positive and negative, emptiness and color, which are cause and effect and complement each other. The smooth arcs in the work extend outwards into the void of space, thus returning to the eternal cycle.
18. Working hard
This is a record of the founder’s journey of creating the park. Looking at this garden, there are thorns everywhere, but there are winding roads in the garden. Mr. Lu Xun said that there is no road on the ground. If there are more people walking on it, it will become a road. This is the road taken by the pioneers. The layers on both sides of the road are a reflection of the arduous construction process of Yuzi Paradise. The cacti on both sides of the road are covered with thorns and seem inaccessible. In fact, they are full of water. Although they are in a difficult and harsh environment, they still grow tenaciously. This is a symbol of the spirit of these pioneers. The Buddha's belly tree in the center of the garden comes from the distant southern hemisphere and lives in the dry and hot desert of Australia. It also has tenacious vitality. Its huge trunk is like a sponge, storing abundant water. When a thirsty desert traveler sees it, it is like seeing a savior.
19. Creation Workshop
The large building in front of us is the creation workshop of the park. It is the birthplace of every sculpture in the park and is the largest sculpture in Asia. The largest art production and creation base. The creative workshop has seven studios including stone carving, wood carving, metalworking, copper casting, printmaking, ceramics, and colored glaze, equipped with world-class mechanical equipment. Artists can use different materials to make some innovations without being restricted by objective conditions. It provides artists with the best conditions, the best equipment, the best technology, the best assistants, the best living environment, creative environment, and the most inspiring natural environment, making Yuzi Paradise a dream for sculpture creators. of paradise.