- Jiang Ting
009
Thoughtful Alpine Stone Old Worker
12.5 x 8.5 x 4.3
Publication: This article was published in "Shoushi Yaji II", Fujian Fine Arts Publishing House, 2013 edition.
I often pay attention to all kinds of old Shoushan stone carvings, and when I encounter good products, I pursue them. In addition to exploring the historical context of Shoushan stone carving, the more important reason is that some subjects can only be seen in old works, such as "ladies". In fact, this is not surprising, let alone the current young sculptor, even I have never seen the "lady" (temperamental traditional Chinese beauty. Female) what it looks like. Not to mention that it can portray the charm of the lady's "gentle face" and "subtle elegance". Now the round sculptures of ladies that can be seen in the market, the kind of dull "routine work" that can be seen mostly, even if it is a famous work, it is common to wear Han costumes, but with a modern open face, and even a high-nosed and deep-eyed Western women's face. Maybe everyone has different preferences, but I always feel awkward. This is not a matter of sticking to tradition and opposing innovation, but a matter of coordination between the theme image and temperament.
This drum lady round sculpture, titled "Some Thoughts", is a very typical early "Dongmen" style work, whether it is the shape and knife technique, it can be seen that it is the master's work, especially the carving of the clothes and folds is extremely wonderful. Traditional Shoushan stone carving has a unique carving pleat knife method, depicting not the real clothes folds, but how many generations of artists summarize and refine the deformed folds, for the master a few knives can be carved out, very concise, after the repair of the light has both a soft cloth texture, but also a simple and elegant charm, which is one of the essence of the traditional techniques of Fuzhou stone carving artists, in the process does have its own unique features. I also like the cute little rabbit on the skirt of the lady, frugal with a knife, but the shape is vivid and cute, which makes the charm of the whole work lively a lot. An old artist who entered the Fuzhou carving factory from the "experimental workshop" period once told me that this drum lady is lin Youzhu's work, which has been collected in the factory for a long time, and many people have seen it, which is rarely preserved so far. Dafan fine stone carvings have their own characteristics of the craftsmanship of the times, and the old imitators are easy to imitate their shapes, but the carving language is actually very different.
Judging from the face of the lady, this form of open face is a routine popular in the late Qing Dynasty and the beginning of the People's Republic, which can still be seen in the works of Lin Youzhu and Huang Xinkai at the latest, and then Zhou Baoting, Guo Gongsen, and Wang Zuguang have changed into different carvings.
From the perspective of knife technique, this work fully shows the carving style of "round and thick with a knife", with thick and round lines of the knife. The sculptor is obviously very skilled in the use of the round knife, except for the final depiction, almost the entire use of the round knife, even the hair opening and other details are polished with a round knife (vortex knife) carving. In fact, different engraving knives have different uses and phase effects, and the completion of a work often requires the use of different tools, such as deepening the portrayal with a sharp knife in the parts that must be emphasized, which can obtain a delicate and exquisite effect. But I have always felt that the circular knife carving can best express the soft and simple sculptural language, and the lines that appear on the carving are particularly attractive to the light reflection.
I used to like the theme of women, but looking for the old pieces of the Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China, I have never seen any real works of women with superior charm, in contrast, there are many divine works of fairy Buddha figures, and the reasons for this need to be further studied. This "thoughtful", with my usual harsh vision to evaluate, is actually a routine worker, but because it is the early years of carving masters, the author can abide by the law, so the traditional shape, line and other forms of beauty are still there; the elegant temperament of the lady is still there. This lost classical beauty cannot be regained today!
Favorite sense:
Art is not the first priority, life is. Although the collection is precious, it is more important that the owner of the collection is you.
No matter how valuable the treasure is, when it comes to "that day", you can't take it away. In our short lives, this thing has become associated with you. How deep the karma can be depends on how deep your interaction, acquaintance, and affection are with it. This is what I understand in my collection of "delusions." Looking at a warm and condensed beautiful stone, in addition to seeing the value of money, if you can still be touched by the creation of heaven and earth; appreciate a masterpiece of craftsmanship, in addition to seeing the exquisite technique on the surface, if you can also receive the radiant humanistic spirit behind the creation, then you really step into the hall of collection. The return on investment, pleasure, fame that others can get from collecting..., you are also not short of it. But what you have is an infinity, an infinity.
When you often have this state of mind, you will find that the beauty of all things in heaven and earth is common. Erik Satie is not difficult to understand if you pay attention to the birds in the spring; if you look closely at the light on a leaf in spring, claude Monet understands it too. "Hug. stone. clear. The true purpose of the four words "Huai" lies in this.
——Jiangting 2013/4/24
Next issue of the preview: "Mother and Child Deer Button Fang Zhang" Alpine Stone Zhou Baoting