From the 1980's, a new technique appears, people called it "the waste-block prints" or "the reduction woodblock prints". Woodcuts of this technique were widely exhibited at all kinds of art exposition of China at that time and they won prize constantly, the professional art magazine began also to be introduced this technique; all these attracted the interests of international media who reported this technique and the artists. Also fine arts academies can't avoid its influence; some of them began to establish this technique as necessary subject of the art cultivation. We can say, "The waste-block prints" is not something of fashionable and disappeared at once, but very solid, and it gained an important place of Chinese fine arts.
Why the waste-block technique can convulse this profession so intensely in a short time? It doesn't come from Jiangnan (lower reaches of Yangtze River) which has a long art history, or Beijing, the art center of China, but at Simao, young artist from the south-west border of China created this technique, that's why people feel more supernatural. Simao city is far away from the center of China, border on Burma, Vietnam and Laos, 18 minorities live there, who make a special but very splendid culture. But why people can advance the traditional woodcut technique and improve the creative effect, it's really an enigma.
In the last 10 years, I'm thinking about this question, and want to show you here what I has leant. Of cause, the waste-block prints can influence Chinese fine art because of its powerful creation and special art expression. But if we stop at this simple answer, people can't see the real features of waste-block prints. In order to explain this well, I want to introduce what is the creation power of waste-block technique during the woodblock history, then to discuss the influence that the natural conditions and social customs of Simao can make to waste-block prints.
Get rid of the stale and bring forth the fresh-the place of waste-block prints
The waste-block technique is brought back by Zheng Xu (Cheng Hsu) in 1982 who was graduated from Yunnan Fine Arts Academy. In 1984, his artwork "La-ku romantic feelings" won the golden prize of the 6th National Fine Art Exposition, only at that time; this technique began to be known by Chinese artists. Then, some young artists of Simao come into this technique, they were: He Kun, Wei Qichong, Zhang Xiaochun and Ma Li, but they influenced each other and quested for different styles. In 1987, "Rain passing the mountain" by Zheng Xu and "The running lights" by He Kun won the outstanding prize at the 9th National Print Exposition, that bestirred the creative passion of artists from Simao. After that, the waste-block prints won constantly prize at national expositions. In 1989, "Village" by Wei Qichong, "autumn song-whitish land" by He Kun won the golden and silver prize at the 7th National Fine Art Exposition. In 1990, "The last propitiate for victim" by Zhang Xiaochun, "Evening flute" by Zhang Xiaochun and "Green fruit" by Wei Qichong won the outstanding prize at the first National Young Artist Print Exposition. In 1994, "spring light" by He Kun won the silver prize at the 12th National Print Exposition. And in 2001, "Big Mountains" by Ma Li won the silver prize at the 15th National Print Exposition. These artworks could get a high appraisement by Chinese art profession that was because of the special cutting technique and the vivid colors.
Seeing so many prized prints, it's easy to know the deep influence that waste-block prints brought to Chinese art. But maybe it's not clear what the technique indeed of waste-block is? What's the difference with the other prints? In brief, waste-block prints are printed by multicolor, but artist uses only one block. This technique is obviously different from the traditional Chinese woodblock technique, and it's more free and creative when artist uses the waste-block technique.
What place that waste-block technique occupied in the history of Chinese woodblock? Chinese printmaking is a crystal of Chinese traditional culture, it originated from the art of printing from engraved wooden blocks, well known by its long history, the influence it took to us is not only for China, but also for the world. Scholars insist always the contribution of printing technique, which is very important to diffuse knowledge of science, philosophy and history, but people forgot easily its important influences to art. For the publication, besides the words, there are many books with illustrations, that's how the art of woodcut be formed, and we can sort the technique for 3 categories:
1. Monochrome print (black and white print)
The technique is used: first prepare a design, cut on a wooden block, and then print with ink on paper. Because this only used one block, and print with single-color (usually the ink is black, but other colors are used too), artists call it "the printing of one color from a single wooden block". Although it's more difficult to cut images than words, there are already publications with illustrations at Tang Dynasty. The first publication "Commentaries on the Diamond Sutra" printed in read and black in 1341, now collected by The British Library, and this technique is used till now.
2.Multicolour woodblocks print
With this technique, artist cuts the images at first on several wooden blocks of same size, and each block only can bring one color, then artist prints the images on a same paper. But one time, only one color can be printed on, and the second color can be printed only till the old one is dried. So the fundamental of this technique is cutting and coloring on different blocks, then printing for several times, so it's more complex then monochrome print. The researchers think that multicolor woodblock print appeared the first time at Yuan Dynasty and developed quickly at Ming Dynasty, the representative publication of this technique is "The painting book of Ten Bamboo Room" by artist Hu Zhengyan (1581-1674) of Ming Dynasty in 1633 and "The painting book of Jiezi Garden" at Qing Dynasty in 1701 published in Nan Jing. The appearance of this technique enlarged the expression field of woodblock prints, and influenced a lot the development of Japanese woodblock prints of Yamato-e.
3. The waste-block print
The technique is printed by multicolor on a piece of paper but only using a single-block. Because with this technique, artist doesn't print on different blocks, so every time when he finished printing one color, he should cut again on this same block for the new image, and then fill the new color on the recut block in order to finish the second printing. So if the image is combined with 10 colors, artist should cut and print 10 times on a same block. When the artwork is finished, the image on the block is the last image for printing, the block is also wasted, and it can?t be used to print more copies. This is different with multicolor woodblock print which can be used to print more copies, that's also why we called this technique as "the waste-block print".
If we said that Zheng Xu and the other young artists chose this technique at the beginning is to save material, but they always use this technique after that, that's because this special making process bring them more freedom to create. When they cut and print, artists can change their expression way according the unimaginable effects that they got during the creation. We also can say, the appearance of "the waste-block print" broke the chains of expression and printing technique that Chinese traditional woodblock technique fixed for long time, and create a new field for woodblock art. Creating on a single block, released the artists, that also leads them to go into a new free creation field from the old limited expression way. As to the freedom of creation, the composition of a print is completely different between "the waste-block print" and "the multicolor woodblock print". The improvement of imagination, gives printmaking artists a new opportunity to imagine as possible as they can. We can say the appearance of "waste-block print" is just like an innovation, as it gives the same meaning to print as the single painting artwork.
The soil of "waste-block print" at Simao- landscape of the south-west of China and the minority custom
The outstanding characteristic of waste-block at Simao is: the composition of artwork is not limited by city culture and academy art. The representative artists: Zheng Xu, He Kun, Wei Qichong, Zhang Xiaochun and Ma Li created their artworks freely on using fully the waste-block technique. What they quested for was different from the artists of the center of China, from the abundant subjects to the violent color; people could understand the source of their creation was from the south-west of China. The theme that they chose was almost all taken from Simao and Xishuangbanna, the subtropical zone landscape and the custom of the minorities lived there, supplied them a good fodder and influenced a lot their aesthetic taste.
The landscape and the custom of the south-west of China give people a deep impression. The bleak ridges, mysterious rain forest, the setting sun of crepuscular, the unpretending local people, and the flute song from the woods, are well expressed by the printmaking artists. But in their artworks, they don't seek for the realistic or photographic effect, whatever the subject is landscape, characters or animals, what they express is very numinous, is what they have in their hearts. Printmaking artists show their experiences and dreams in the cockles of the hearts with their special aesthetic taste. After 1980, many artists from the center of China were potty about the minorities of the south-west of China, and went to there to collect fodder, but there were few artworks can show so well the spiritual world like artists of Simao. In this regard, the natural description that Simao artists can reach is from their special feeling to the subject.
Their aesthetic taste has a consanguineous relationship with the minorities at Simao which is still regarded as uncultured border region, it was the residence of minorities, and the Han nationality immigrate there not long ago, the period that the printmaking artists began to meet the minority culture is different, some are because the calling by Mao Zedong, the chairman of China, "Chinese young intellectual should go to village"; some are because of their parents. But after 1980, Zheng Xu, He Kun, Wei Qichong, Zhang Xiaochun and Ma Li voyaged to Lan Cang River, Men Lian and Xishuangbannan, they climbed the mountains paddled the rivers, and live at minorities' villages to experienced their life. This activity does not belong to the folklore research, and their motive is not for recording the custom for their offspring but for observing the aesthetics of the minorities' life. For the young printmaking artists, the minority culture is very different from the Han nationality, they can't help feeling the strong shocks, and this culture differences give them so many illuminations, and endue their art with inspirations. The symbol of country hill minority, the design of totem and their dress, the color, and their different way to pursue aesthetic feeling, all this attracts artists' attention. And what influenced most the artists is the natural living way of minorities, so their central subject for the artists is to be shown the harmony between human being and the nature. The minorities of the south-west like to keep dogs, cattle and chickens, so it's not strange if there are some beasts in the artworks of Simao artists. In the extensive China, there is few artist who can deeply influenced by national culture like Simao artists, but for avoiding misunderstanding, I still want to make clear that Simao artists don't regard minority culture as an object of realism. We understand them at once when we saw their artworks, they aren't limited in one special nation, and the used way for them is abstraction as they have sublimed all the minorities there, how to express them is just like to show the abstruse world of every common person.
I researched the Simao print for several years, and I know that Simao College gives a course of Fine Arts this year, and retained He Kun, Zhang Xiaochun and Ma li as professors. They decide to teach waste-block technique as their education emphases, I can't help feeling happy for them. Because I believe that's the right way to promote the local Fine Arts education, and to train creative students. I hope also that the students can do better than before, and improve the waste-block print.
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