?National Exhibition? Specifically refers to the largest, highest level, most universal and influential exhibition in the country hosted by the China Calligraphy Association (except for the first session). Since the first national calligraphy exhibition in 1980, the "National Exhibition" has become an important part of contemporary calligraphy activities. For more than thirty years, the "National Exhibition" has promoted the vigorous development of calligraphy and achieved certain results. What I will bring to you below is the appreciation of calligraphy works at the 11th National Exhibition. I hope you like it. Appreciation of calligraphy works at the 11th National Exhibition
Appreciation of calligraphy works at the 11th National Exhibition 1
Appreciation of calligraphy works at the 11th National Exhibition 2
Appreciation of calligraphy works at the 11th National Exhibition 3
Appreciation of calligraphy works at the 11th National Exhibition 4
Appreciation of calligraphy works at the 11th National Exhibition 5
In Contemporary Chinese Calligraphy Forum, "National Exhibition" specifically refers to the largest, highest-level, most universal and influential exhibition in the country hosted by the China Calligraphy Association (except for the first session). In a sense, the "National Exhibition" is the epitome of the development of contemporary calligraphy. Therefore, a brief review of the development process of the "National Exhibition" is undoubtedly of practical significance for correctly grasping the trend and characteristics of contemporary Chinese calligraphy art.
The road to the "National Exhibition" blends passion and ideals
The "National Exhibition" in contemporary Chinese calligraphy circles benefits from the birth of reform and opening up, and the "National Exhibition" continues to move towards Pushing forward is itself a concrete manifestation of the spirit of reform. It has gone through more than 30 years since the first national calligraphy and seal cutting exhibition was held in Shenyang, Liaoning Province in May 1980. During this period, along with the great development of politics, economy, culture and society and the pace of reform and opening up, contemporary calligraphy has undergone amazing changes. From the perspective of creation alone, whether it is the aesthetic style or the composition of the creative subject, whether it is the grasp of traditional classics or the understanding of innovation and change, whether it is the organization of exhibitions, the methods of soliciting submissions, or the mechanisms of review and awards, etc. There is a historic breakthrough.
In May 1980, the first national calligraphy and seal cutting exhibition opened in Shenyang City, Liaoning Province. The exhibition was jointly sponsored by 13 units including the Beijing Calligraphy Research Association and Shanghai Calligraphy and Painting Publishing House. At that time, Chinese calligraphy The association has not yet been established. At the time of this exhibition, people were generally in a state of extreme spiritual emptiness and had a great desire for culture and traditional art. This exhibition displays the calligraphy works of many late famous calligraphers, such as Guo Moruo, Shen Yinmo, Qi Yanming, Ye Gongchuo, Pan Boying, Bai Jiao, Hu Xiaoshi, Gao Ershi, Pan Tianshou, Zhang Zongxiang and others. Other participating authors are obviously divided into two categories. One category is old calligraphers and respected social celebrities. They have profound skills and represent the height of creation in the calligraphy world at that time. The other category is middle-aged authors and a small number of young authors. Because their skills are not as good as those of their predecessors, their works have not reached a high level, and many of them are only at the level of copying the ancients.
In September 1984, the Second National Calligraphy and Seal Engraving Exhibition opened at the National Art Museum of China. It was the first large-scale national book exhibition held after the establishment of the Chinese Calligraphy Association. Similar to the first edition, the old calligraphers are still impressive and form the backbone of the exhibition, including Shu Tong, Zhao Puchu, Qi Gong, Lin Sanzhi, Sha Menghai, Xiao Xian, Fei Xinwo, Wang Quchang, Qin Jisheng, Xie Ruijie, etc. There are works on display. There is also a dedicated "Veteran Comrade Works Room" where some old painters and cadres have their works on display, such as Sun Mofo, Li Yimeng, Xu Deheng, Hu Juewen, Chu Tunan, Huang Miaozi, Lai Shaoqi, Li Keran, etc. The exquisite calligraphy skills and profound knowledge of the older generation provide young and middle-aged authors with a good opportunity to learn. Generally speaking, the first and second "National Exhibition" were dominated by old calligraphers, and the calligraphy style followed the line of calligraphy in the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, appearing peaceful and steady.
Since the Third National Calligraphy and Seal Engraving Exhibition in 1987, the "National Exhibition" has entered a new stage of development and realm. Its remarkable signs are: a large number of outstanding young and middle-aged calligraphers with active ideas come to the fore, newcomers continue to emerge, regional calligraphy styles gradually emerge, the formal beauty and "exhibition hall effect" of calligraphy are increasingly favored, and the review mechanism is continuously improved. This "National Exhibition" presents distinctive features. The review of the Third National Exhibition advocates the need for both profound and solid traditional skills and innovative works with personal style. Therefore, most of the selected works show a combination of traditional connotation and innovation and change. At the same time, this exhibition changes the previous mixed exhibition method and adopts a regional display method, so that the audience can clearly feel the characteristics and charm of regional calligraphy styles. The power of Henan, the elegance of Jiangsu and Zhejiang, the exquisiteness of Liaoning, and the diversity of Sichuan? The emergence of young and middle-aged calligraphers represented by the above provinces marks the beginning of the momentum of group competition in the calligraphy world. The fourth "National Exhibition" has two most outstanding contributions to the contemporary calligraphy world: first, it allows authors to freely submit manuscripts; second, it conducts calligraphy awards for the first time and establishes a national award. These two reforms greatly mobilized the creativity and participation enthusiasm of calligraphers. Due to changes in the composition of the jury at the 5th National Exhibition, the majority of the final selected authors were young and middle-aged. The number of works participating in this exhibition has increased significantly, reflecting the author's strong desire to expand the space of his works in pursuit of the "exhibition hall effect". Interestingly, in the 6th National Youth Exhibition held in 1995, except for two award-winning authors, Shi Enbo and Liu Xinde, who won awards at the same time in this "National Exhibition", all the other award-winning authors lost their names.
This reflects the difference in review orientation and review methods between the National Exhibition and the China Youth Exhibition. It is generally believed in the book circles that the China Youth Exhibition emphasizes innovation and exploration, while the National Exhibition emphasizes inheritance and skill. The China Youth Exhibition takes a more personalized path, while the National Exhibition is obviously more rational and peaceful. In the seventh, eighth, and ninth "National Exhibition", with the advancement of contemporary calligraphy, calligraphy styles have become increasingly diverse, and the forms of calligraphy works have been constantly renovated. In line with this trend, the reform of the "National Exhibition" review mechanism and organizational form has also been further intensified. The eighth edition began to implement separate book selections, and the selection of judges also drew more opinions from all aspects of the calligraphy community. By the ninth session, the number of judges has reached an unprecedented 53. The judging is conducted independently in six groups: seal cutting, seal script, official script, regular script, cursive writing and paper. The judges participating in the selection are all representative figures in related fields. This This ensures the professional authority of the selection.
Along with the "National Exhibition" and the revival of contemporary calligraphy creation, the calligraphy community has never stopped thinking about the "National Exhibition" and the survival status and future destiny of calligraphy in contemporary social life: About calligraphy Aesthetics, about calligraphers becoming scholars, about returning to tradition, about modern calligraphy, about calligraphy, about neoclassicism, about popular calligraphy styles, about representative works, about academic calligraphy, about artistic calligraphy, about proud works? These thoughts It embodies contemporary people's understanding of calligraphy and witnesses the changes in calligraphy in this era.
People can list the brilliant achievements in many fields of contemporary Chinese calligraphy, but the influence and popularity of the "National Exhibition" are beyond the reach of others. The craze for calligraphy in the past 30 years has been largely guided by the National Exhibition. The ebb and flow of the National Exhibition directly affects the changes in the calligraphy world. Undoubtedly, the successful holding and continuous continuity of the "National Exhibition" are inseparable from the enthusiastic participation and full support of the majority of calligraphers. It also benefits from the correct grasp of the aesthetic orientation of the "National Exhibition": 1. The traditional, Respect for classics; second, respect for creation and individuality. The former is the foundation of calligraphy. Respecting tradition and classics means respecting the art of calligraphy itself; the latter is the driving force for the development of calligraphy. Respecting creativity and individuality means respecting the laws of artistic development. It is worth summarizing that the National Exhibition does not grasp the above issues in an isolated and one-sided manner, but adopts a dialectical attitude, which reflects the tolerant and profound aesthetic pursuit of the National Exhibition. For this reason, people see a variety of styles, genres, forms, etc. in the "National Exhibition" that both stir up each other and coexist harmoniously.
However, on the other side of the glory, the "National Exhibition" faces the same severe challenges as contemporary calligraphy.
First, since the beginning of the last century, the launch of the May 4th New Culture Movement and the fierce collision of Chinese and Western cultures have had a fatal impact on traditional calligraphy, which has been in a relatively closed and stable state for thousands of years. The practicality of the brush Function is gradually lost. In the second half of the last century, the arrival of the computer age completely turned calligraphy into a pure art.
Secondly, since the 1970s, with the opening of the country, foreign exchanges have increased dramatically, and the continuous influx of Japanese modern calligraphy, European and American modern art and ideological trends has exerted influence on China's local traditional calligraphy. Strong influence. The visual and artistic tendencies of calligraphy are increasing day by day, and there is even a phenomenon that the writing is separated from the text content and the "writing quality" is diluted in the creation.
Thirdly, with the promotion of the discipline and professionalization of calligraphy, contemporary higher calligraphy education has undergone a clear transformation: from a cultural standpoint of cultivation to a professional standpoint, and the direct result is that contemporary higher education Too much regard of calligraphy as a purely technical level, such as paying more attention to the brushwork, shape, and composition of calligraphy art, while paying less attention to the spiritual connotation closely related to traditional calligraphy.
Fourth, after contemporary calligraphy creation has entered an era centered on exhibitions, the "exhibition hall effect" has become a beauty that creators long for, and the alluring competition platform of the "National Exhibition" has made it even more Thousands of calligraphers enjoy it. In this almost fanatical pursuit, creators are most concerned about whether their works can be included in exhibitions, win awards, and become famous overnight. As a result, the negative impact of the "exhibition hall effect" has emerged. The assertion of "form first", the intensification of the tendency of "production" and even the popularity of "ugly calligraphy" all reveal the extreme, impetuous and utilitarian mentality caused by contemporary exhibition culture. Many people say that the "National Exhibition" of calligraphy is like the Olympic Games, where each province (municipality) shows off its talents for the sake of gold medals and rankings. Ever since, we have seen numerous pieces of information about the "National Exhibition" sprint classes, intensive classes, and training classes in various professional media; at the opening ceremony of the "National Exhibition", we can see an astonishing scene of tens of thousands of people going to the market and crowded together; In the densely arranged exhibition hall, we can see the colorful and patchwork new fashion of contemporary calligraphy, and even the trend that is staggering, fragmented and almost identical? Regarding the shortcomings of the exhibition, some commentators have pointedly pointed out: Contemporary calligraphy exhibitions have been It is rampant and tramples calligraphy in the name of calligraphy.
There is no doubt that contemporary China is in a period of social transformation. Along with the changes in social life, the art of calligraphy is also undergoing profound changes.
On the one hand, the national calligraphy activities centered on the "National Exhibition" have pushed calligraphy from study rooms to society and from individuals to groups. Exhibitions have become the most important and direct way for calligraphy to connect calligraphy enthusiasts. The original artistic individual Behaviors or salon-style gatherings have transformed into artistic public behaviors, and the "exhibition hall effect" has directly led to the transformation of calligraphy aesthetics and values. On the other hand, after nearly 20 years of "calligraphy craze", contemporary calligraphy has gradually matured, and the development laws of the art itself also require calligraphy to actively respond and change with the times. The further development and improvement of contemporary calligraphy art must respect the laws of art, be people-oriented, and maximize the creativity of calligraphers as the main body of calligraphy creation and calligraphy associations at all levels and various calligraphy societies as a group. The organization of contemporary calligraphy creation and activities should have a broader vision and ideas, higher goals and pursuits, and more practical measures and carriers. Emphasizing personalization, diversification, academicization, and quality has become an inevitable choice for contemporary calligraphy creation and activities.
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