|
Oriental goods, Chinese Culture, Chinese goods...
|
Blog For Free!
Archives
Home
2005 May
2005 February
2004 May
2004 April
2004 March
2004 February
My Links
Chinese clothing, Chinese cultural shop
Teen apparel
Inline Skating, Inline Skates
Modern Oriental
New information Blog
Sports Weblog
Chinese Culture, Chinese Goods
轮滑，单排轮滑
轮滑，单排轮滑，轮滑商城
Chinese, Chinese heritage
Made in China, Modern and Traditional Chinese
网上开店，网上商店系统，自助建站，网站设计
Chinese Dress
Chinese Prom Dresses
Vintage Dresses
Oriental Clothing
Asian Clothing
Chinese auspicious symbol
Chinese dresses
Freerider's home
Inline Skating World
google排名
网站设计
tBlog
My Profile
Send tMail
My tFriends
My Images
Sponsored
Blog
|
| Cross Cultural Explorations |
| 03.24.04 (7:10 pm) [edit] |
[b]Saving Chinese art on the cross[/b]
This second feature in our Shanghai Artists Series focusses on the work of abstract painter Ding Yi.
Ding Yi is literally an artist working at cross-purposes. But if that sounds a bit unproductive, consider this: in just over 15 years, Ding's produced hundreds of variations on one elementary theme - the intersection of the vertical and horizontal line. And all in the pursuit of one elusive goal.
"There are no restrictions when you paint a cross," says Ding, "it's so simple and gives so much freedom." The artist compares his efforts to an ongoing "scientific experiment" in pursuit of "absolute art" - art that is freed of its cultural baggage.
Ding's quest for freedom began in 1983 as a student at the Shanghai Arts and Crafts Institute. There he sought insight into his own cultural heritage through the medium of Chinese traditional painting. Instead of release, though, he found restriction.
"Creativity is not allowed in traditional Chinese art," Ding insists. "You have to study for at least ten years before you are allowed to go your own way. For me, the imposition of artificial boundaries in art doesn't encourage inspiration, rather it destroys it. Art must be liberated from tradition."
That Ding chose the cross as his symbol of rebellion against conformity may, at first, seem paradoxical. In the West, the cross and its religious associations are forever fixed. Yet it appeals to the artist, in an altogether different context, one that carries no Christian allusions at all. In 1988, Ding unveiled his first series of paintings, titled Shishi (Cross), referring to the technical term used in colour printing, which divides paper into quadrants.
Fifteen years later, this fundamental symbol has become Ding's trademark, the one constant key to his creative works. "The only way to express art," he says, "is to express everything without leaving out the most simple thing."
At first glance, Ding's repetitive use of the cross might strike the viewer as monotonous. Especially in contrast to the artist's environment - the ever-changing Shanghai. Yet there are parallels between Ding's art and the city: in the early 1990s, before Shanghai's economic boom, Ding's crosses were painted in sombre tones and designed with ruler and tape. Changing along with the skyline, his latest series features free-hand painting and neon hues that dance across the canvas.
It's difficult to see where Ding can carry the cross next, but he insists there's plenty of life yet in the theme. "This experiment won't stop until my inspiration ends," he says, "when I've explored all its variations. I don't see that happening any time soon."
DING YI (b. 1962)
1983, Shanghai Arts & Crafts Institute
1990, Shanghai University
Selected exhibitions:
Appearance of Crosses (Berlin 2003)
Paris-Pekin (Paris 2002)
The First Triennial of Chinese Arts (Guangzhou 2002)
Ding Yi: Fluorescence on Tartan (2000 Beijing)
Ding YI: Crosses '97 (1998 Shanghai)
Yokohama Triennale (2000)
China! (1996 Bonn)
China Avant-Garde (Touring Exhibition 1993)
Exhibition of Today's Art (Shanghai 1988)
|
|
|
| |
|
|
