From September 65438 to September 0943, Kirk came to Binjiang Youth Middle School in Yichun County as a teacher and organized a woodcut group. This is the first printmaking institution in Yichun County. From June, 5438+that year 10, Yichun county newspaper published a column of "half moon woodcut", and published 34 issues, each accounting for a quarter of the page, and published a number of prints with the theme of anti-Japanese war. At the beginning of 1945, Yichun County published the magazine Friends of Youth, in which the woodcut in the column "Poetry and Woodcut" was edited by Kirk, and most of the works came from woodcut groups. In June of the same year, the woodcut group was renamed as the "White Blade Woodcut Research Association", and its members expanded from the school to the off-campus and from Yichun County to Wanzai, Pingxiang, Xinyu and Fenyi counties. Woodcut art was once surging in northwest Jiangxi.
/kloc-in the autumn of 0/945, Kirk transferred to Yichun Normal School. After War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression's victory, Kirk founded "Pen and Knife Club" with students in Yichun Normal School, and published "Pen and Knife" weekly. Speaking of pens and knives, Kirk is still excited. "At that time, the Pen and Knife Club developed rapidly, with more than 100 members." A large number of printmaking works expressed the people's admiration for the China * * * production party and their yearning for the new society with their distinctive fighting posture and strong demands of the times. Kirk even sold his gold ring to print pens and knives.
1in the first half of 946, because of the great influence of the sword and pencil, the reactionary government thought Kirk was doing party member and began to arrest him. Pen and Knife was forced to stop publishing and Kirk was forced to flee to his hometown of Ningbo. However, the fire of fighting and art sown by pens and knives has not been extinguished. Kirk's student Liu Xiping returned to Pingxiang after graduation and published a column "Pen and Knife" in Pingxiang Qunbao. Another student, Lu, started a bimonthly magazine, Wenhua, in Gao 'an People's Daily.
1948 In the second half of the year, Kirk returned to Jiangxi from Ningbo and taught in Wanzai Longgang Middle School, Poyang Middle School, Xiushui Middle School and Yichun Middle School. Later, he was transferred to the first vice chairman of Yichun District Federation of Literary and Art Circles, responsible for the formation of Pingxiang, Xinyu, Shanggao, Wanzai, Gao 'an and Anyi Federation of Literary and Art Circles. 1February, 954, Kirk was transferred to Zhangshu Middle School and worked until he retired. In the educational work, Kirk constantly teaches students the knowledge of printmaking art.
Kirk trained a large number of printmakers, including many famous artists. Chen, the first person admitted to the printmaking department of Zhejiang Academy of Fine Arts in Jiangxi Province, Li, the former professor of Jingdezhen Ceramic Institute, Zhou Xinru and Pi, printmakers, are all Kirk's students. They are the first members of China Printmakers Association, among which Chen and Zhou Xinru are directors of China Printmakers Association. Now, Zhangshu Middle School still retains printmaking teaching and continues to train a new generation of printmaking talents.
Because of the persistence of Kirk and other printmakers, Yichun became the most active place for Jiangxi printmaking in the 1950s and 1980s. 198 1 year, Jiangxi printmaking research society (now Jiangxi printmaking art Committee) was established in Yichun city. In China Printmakers Association, Yichun members account for more than half of Jiangxi members. Thanks to Kirk's efforts, in 2003, Zhangshu City was also named as "the hometown of printmaking in China" by the Ministry of Culture.
2011/February 23rd, "Mr Kirk's 90th birthday and 70th anniversary as an artist" was held in Zhangshu Art Museum, which made people appreciate the charm of this artist again. In the campus of Zhangshu Middle School surrounded by green trees, we met the old man. Kirk has been living in the dormitory of the school since 1983 retired from Zhangshu Middle School. From his talk, an artist who regards printmaking as his life and always integrates printmaking into the times appears in front of us.
Kirk said that he has a heartfelt love for printmaking. He has been engaged in woodcarving since 1940, and his pen and knife never leave. Until 2009, he was still creating prints. In 20 10, 89-year-old Kirk suffered from eye disease, and the effect after cataract surgery was still not good. In addition, woodcut requires a lot of physical strength, so he had to put down the woodcut knife. But he didn't put down his pen. He focused on China's paintings.