PROVENANCE:

ILLUSTRATED:

Not sketch, but creation

In summer of 2006, in the gal ler y established by the picture mounting artist with whom Wu Guanzhong has cooperated for half of his life, before the collector unrolled his "Mountain Bamboo", Wu Guanzhong, seated on the sofa, immediately raised his hand, "Faked! It is impossible to find my oil painting in Qin Huangdao." Without prudence, assistant of the collector raised the camera in hand but was refused sternly by the old gentleman. The previously planned meeting for 5 minutes seemed about to end in the first 2 minutes. The picture mounting artist, who has seen the works in advance and is the trustworthy friend of the artist, said, "Have a look anyway." The collector removed the picture frame and directly handed the works painted on the wooden plate to the artist and mentioned a name that enable to remind the artist of the work. "Oh, yes, I have given him the painting." It has been over 30 years since the works was given. If it is not on this occasion, the artist would even have forgotten the works. From the moment he remembered the painting, he took up the painting and then put it down, and he did it once and again. The previously set 5 minutes of meeting was extended for 2 hours due to his memory. The refused assistant then took up the camera. Even the shooting closed at hand was not impeded - Wu Guanzhong put his whole heart into the painting he had not seen for a long time, oblivious of persons and things around. That is the most respectable disposition of Wu Guanzhong as an artist. That is to forget anything for arts!

This nearly forgotten works is especially precious in the eye of Wu Guanzhong: "It is my creation rather than sketch!" Wu Guanzhong's works goes in various styles, but materials of the works are mostly derived from sketching. In this painting, the artist has integrated the paintings of landscapes in various places into one. Mountains and waters were set on the background of landscape. Mountain bamboos are in the front. There are meaningful layers on the painting. Viewing closely or at a distance, you can get various tastes and boundless interests.

The collector has been confused about the '723' on the painting. Whether it means the inscription of the month, namely, March 1972, the artist seldom marks month on the works. In fact, that is also a special point of the artist, '723' does not means March 1972, but 1975. He separated 5 into 2 and 3, in order to make the painting plentiful.

Texture of the mountain rock as well as straightness and elegance of the mountain bamboo have stirred the artist's endless reminiscence of those ages. As the painting has been on the wooden plate for a long time and due to quality of the oil pigment at that time, there are small cracks on the surface. The proposal for restoration has been stopped by the artist, "Don't repair it. It doesn't matter as it does not impact the painting." In the course of taking up and putting down, he got in trance for times without any utterance. Such reminiscence goes across over 30 years, almost 40 years.

Gathering of times

In 1970's, especially in mid-1970's, a considerable amount of Wu Guanzhong's works have wooden board as the base material for creation. It is not easy for artists at that time even to find a wood block.

In 1970, influenced by the Cultural Revolution, Wu Guanzhong, who taught in Central Craft and Fine Art Academy (present Fine Art Academy of Tsinghua University), and all teachers and students were transferred to Licun Village of Shijiazhuang in Hebei Province to labor in the fields. A life with planting paddy, carrying coal, criticizing, struggling, etc. had begun, but no painting anyway. Such time lasted for two years before he was allowed to paint on Sunday.

On these golden Sundays, Wu Guanzhong without tools for painting bought a makeshift backboard used in countryside. After pasting glue, he began to paint on it. For that period of life, Wu Guanzhong described in his own account, "In the house, there was pigment sometimes, wi thout paint ing board. There was blackboard on the farmland. It was portable and on it was Chairman Mao's Quotation. I bought a batch of the blackboard. I brushed glue on the board and made oi l painting. Without easel, I used pannier. The pannier had very high handle and was used to carry both vegetable and dung. I used it as easel and carried it to the field. For most of the time I was in the wheat field and no one saw me."

Tough no one has seen him, the fame and moral of Mr. Wu has influenced a little soldier who previously supervised over them. That is Wu Guiping mentioned by the collector and reminded Wu Guanzhong of the origins of the painting. Wu Guiping who in charge of supervision was at that time a lad from Tangshan of Hebei Province and he was ignorant about arts. Due to his respect to Mr. Wu, his relationship with Wu is deviated from supervision. He even saves his grain portion for Wu Guanzhong who was unable to realize the basic needs for life.

The emotion in time of plight is the most worthy emotion in life. In the four years of countryside life, Wu Guanzhong and Wu Guiping become the sworn friends. Wu Guiping is Wu Guanzhong's disciple in the field and began the painting class without classroom. Such relationship of teacher and student has lasted till Wu Guanzhong was assigned to Beijing to participate in fabrication of the hotel painting. When Wu Guanzhong accepted interview of the reporter in France, he especially mentioned about the period and Wu Guiping in person. Wu Guiping had not expected that his respect would give rise to so many stories. Wu Guanzhong had also not expected that his own response unilaterally would add a figure named Wu Guiping in the painting circle. The figure had added fine arts class in Qihuangdao where painting art had never been respected, and then Fine Arts School was established, laying further foundation for arts.

When leaving, Wu Guanzhong gave Wu Guiping two works as keepsake. Both works have nothing to do with "Mountain Bamboo", which was not yet created by then.

In 1976, Wu Guiping was demobilized and came to Qinhuangdao and began to be engaged in relevant works about fine arts, till he rose to the post of Chairman of Qinhuangdao Fine Arts Association. In that year, Wu Guiping and all other Chinese had not expected that two paintings presented by Wu Guanzhong would be bur i e s unde rground and disappeared for ever after the gigantic earthquake in Tangshan causing ruin of 15,886 households. After the disaster, the homestead became ruins and the entire city got dilapidated.

After the earthquake, Wu Guiping who happened to come into Beijing met Wu Guanzhong. Though it was a pity to lose two paintings, Mr. Wu presented another painting to Wu Guiping. In the artist' s house, Wu Guiping himself picked out this rare works of the teacher and collected for nearly 30 years. Meanwhile, Wu Guanzhong's value about affection and f r iendship has been evaluated affirmatively as personality or artistic cultivation.

Preciousness comes from creation

Over 30 years, among Wu Guanzhong's numerous painting albums and reports, there is no mention about the works. As Wu Guanzhong viewed the painting again, his complexity of emotion has, besides the creation itself, originated from the reminiscence stirred up by the works, and more from sign about great change in life and arts. 1975 is the year when Wu Guanzhong created his most excellent works, including the "famous Kilimanjaro Snow Mountain". Works created in the year have bright and airy features and go into many forms. 1975 is a key year for the artist. His color ink painting, "Beijing Pine" created in the year is a representative works for his entry into the field of ink painting. Thereafter, Jiangnan Water Town and Jiangnan Civil Residences with Wu Guanzhong's style are deeply rooted among the people. The year 1975 could be regarded as the demarcation point of the two styles.

"Mountain Bamboo" has depicted harmonious landscapes of mountain, water and bamboo. Expansion and depth of the composition have left people with fine expectation and imagination. Natural tranquility and vividness, cleanness of the color, sound environment, elaborated composition and fine-elaborated strokes enable you to feel fine mood of the artist when creating the works. It can be termed as the artist's works worthy of being proud of.

"I have researched into Monet's pond water lily and weeping willow as well as Sai Cézanne's green jungle. I love their works, but neither of their techniques can be used to present my weep willow and bamboo forest. Can the color and strong sense of the oil painting complement the smoothness and tune of Chinese painting? Yes, it should be able to complement. But how to solve the contradiction contained in it? You can only experience the feeling in practice!" (Wu Guanzhong from About Nationalization of Oil Painting: Local and Fashion)

Wu Guanzhong was transferred to countryside in Hebei. For every painting finished, Wu Guanzhong would present i t to sur rounding local people. Wu Guanzhong said: "That is very interesting. They came to view the painting and commented about it. I have learnt a lot from them, because I think that illiteracy is unnecessarily aesthetic illiteracy. For instance, a painting was very concrete. The wheat is wheat and the sorghum is sorghum. He said it was not good. I know that it is not good in this aspect, but it resembled the real thing very much. When I took it back, they evaluated that it resembled the real thing very much. Once I finished the painting, which has interest flavor and fine theme, they said it was beautiful. The response is simple, or resembling, or beautiful. That is reflected. Actually their criticism against me is not intentionally, but I feel it is negation. I feel it bad. They felt resembling and I felt good. They felt it beautiful, so I am convinced that they are not aesthetic illiteracy. They have their own opinion. Therefore, that is what I wanted to paint. I need nodding of both the experts and all Chinese. That is test of the local fellow villagers."

Emotion for life

What I owe to Painting is the title of the book written by Wu Guanzhong, in four characters the artists conveyed the artist's unfathomable "emotion". What is art for? What is creation for? These are the hard secular philosophical problem. However, as far as Wu Guanzhong is concerned, he has had his own definition.

At the beginning of 2006, Wu Guanzhong wrote such an inscription on the opening ceremony of the painting exhibition launched in Shanghai Art Museum: "At the beginning I studied arts, I blindly respected famous artists and works at all times and in all over the world. As times goes by, I gradually have my own discernment: Famous artist does not equal to the eminent figure and famous painting is unnecessarily the eminent works. Man will die. Only the works are the link communicating the cultures at all times and in all over the world. Large amount of fake deceiving the world have been treated as garbage by descendents. My opinion of the changing factors of famous painter and famous painting is that the trueness and quality of the emotion, rather than its extraordinary or weird skill. Emotion conveyance is the essence of art crafts. Depression in the art is in the same pace with emotional depression. I do not believe in ultimate death of emotion." As a viewer, it is not enough only to use achievement in painting to outline Wu Guanzhong's personality and art. In a sense, he is not only a famous painter with great contribution in integration of Chinese and western arts, but a figure with theoretic influence upon developmental course of contemporary Chinese fine arts as well as the spiritual mentor full of personality power.