No. 049 Nanfang Daily Gaozhou Window, 04th edition.
"Grandpa Chen, do you see the force of the oblique knife like this?"
"Grandpa Chen, how can you make your eyes more divine when you carve them?"
"Grandpa Chen, why do I always brush the paint unevenly when I rub?"
……
On the afternoon of February 23, in the printmaking classroom of the junior high school of Gaozhou Middle School in Guangdong Province, more than 20 young painters surrounded Chen Yejing, as if they were excited to see an idol. Chen Yejing looked at the children who were full of enthusiasm and curiosity about Gaozhou printmaking, and it was difficult to hide their relief, "As long as everyone wants to learn, I will teach!" ”
Chen Yejing instructs the students to paint. Correspondent Liu Dong courtesy of the photo
Chen Yejing, who is now 86 years old, was one of the earliest batch of Peasant Printmakers in Gaozhou and has been creating for more than 60 years. "Woodblock prints are a delicate job that requires a lot of eye coordination. I'm getting older and the pace of portrayal is getting slower. Now while creating, while teaching children to carve and tell the story of the past of Gaozhou woodblock prints, everyone loves to listen to it, and I also love to tell it. "Mr. Chen is a special teacher at many schools in Gaozhou, and every month he will take time to walk around the campus and tell students the story of Gaozhou printmaking. More than 60 years of artistic career is enough for him to talk about the origin, development and inheritance of Gaozhou printmaking.
Originated from farmers, sent to the countryside
Gaozhou is a famous historical and cultural city in Guangdong and has a profound cultural heritage. Gaozhou prints, also known as Gaozhou peasant prints, can be traced back to the Tang Dynasty, when the folk carved the door gods, door officials, etc. on the woodblock, rubbing the door god paintings and then mounting or posting. Later, with the development of woodcut technology and the renewal of concepts, woodcut artists began to carve New Year paintings on woodblocks. These years of paintings were printed with red paper and ink, and the traditional art of Gaozhou woodcuts slowly spread.
The Gaozhou print "Oil City Baoxiao" was hung and collected by the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Courtesy of correspondent Lu Jinbo
Why are Gaozhou prints called peasant prints? This is because Gaozhou printmaking originated in the countryside, and the main woodcut artists in early Gaozhou printmaking were peasant groups, most of whom depicted figures, trees, fruits, animal husbandry and other themes of production and harvest through black and white. For example, lychees are red, rice ears are yellow, industrious old cattle, spring ploughing and autumn harvest, etc., the creative themes are closely related to local rural life and agricultural labor.
A high-state print by junior high school students. Correspondent Liu Dong courtesy of the photo
Peasants with cocoons on their hands use knives and pens, paper and ink to depict the scene of the working people being positive, working hard and creating a better life. Therefore, Gaozhou prints naturally have a strong atmosphere of rural life, reflecting a rough and thick artistic atmosphere, simple and touching. The reason why Gaozhou printmaking is called Gaozhou peasant printmaking is precisely because it is a traditional folk art originating from peasants and celebrating labor.
Take the international stage
In the 1980s, Gaozhou began to attach importance to the creation of traditional Gaozhou peasant prints, and successively opened more than ten woodcut creation classes, taught by Zhang Zongjun, Lu Xilin and other famous printmaking masters, established a creative team of nearly 100 people, and created more than 200 exquisite works. Among them, 2 national exhibitions, 57 provincial exhibitions, and a total of 8 works have gone abroad.
"Peasant paintings can also appear on the international stage, which we never expected." The artistry of Gaozhou peasant prints has been recognized nationally and even internationally, and the customs and cultural customs and humanistic history of Gaozhou have been known to more people. Chen Yejing said proudly.
"Song and Dance to the Field" has gone abroad to Participate in the exhibition in Moscow. Courtesy of correspondent Lu Jinbo
Under the leadership of Zhang Zongjun, Lu Xilin and other predecessors, Gaozhou printmaking, whether from carving skills or painting styles, has broken through the previous "rustic atmosphere" because of the infusion of the atmosphere of the times. According to statistics, during the "highlight" period of Gaozhou printmaking, more than 300 works such as "Manshan Red", "Bamboo Township Liucui", "Tianhua", and "Machine Cultivation Road" were created, of which 5 works participated in the joint exhibition of printmaking in Shanxi, Guangdong and Beijing; 11 in the joint exhibition of printmaking in Chongqing, Zhanjiang and Dalian; 11 in the national peasant printmaking exhibition; and 16 in the Peruvian, Canadian, Swiss and Belgian art exhibitions.
The colors of Gaozhou prints in the new era are more abundant and vivid. Correspondent Jiang Xuequn Courtesy photo
As a pilot figure in Gaozhou printmaking, Zhang Zongjun's "Song and Dance to the Field" participated in the "Exhibition of Plastic Arts in Socialist Countries" exhibited in Moscow, and his "Oil City Baoxiao" was hung and collected by the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, and many works went to the international exhibition stage. Originated from the peasants and rural Gaozhou woodcut prints, its artistic value has been fully affirmed.
The inheritance of the vernacular of printmaking
On February 19, the 2022 Gaozhou Printmaking Symposium was held. People from all walks of life and printmaking elites from all walks of life who care about and support the development of Gaozhou printmaking in the city gathered together to share their creative experience in the past year and discuss the promotion and development of Gaozhou printmaking.
Gaozhou printmaking with the theme of Gaozhou Burmese eggplant carving. Correspondent Jiang Xuequn Courtesy photo
"I think it is very important to hold more city-wide campus printmaking competitions, strengthen the basic education of printmaking, and create a strong educational atmosphere for the inheritance and development of printmaking." Jiang Xuequn, a junior high school printmaking teacher at Gaozhou Middle School in Guangdong Province, said. "As a provincial intangible cultural heritage, Gaozhou printmaking has no doubt about its artistic value. I wonder if we can launch cultural and creative products such as New Year paintings, spring swinging, and mounting paintings with Gaozhou printmaking as the carrier, so as to launch the Gaozhou printmaking brand and make Gaozhou printmaking more valuable. Cultural industry practitioner Zhang Tao said.
At the same time, the Gaozhou Printmaking Exhibition was also carried out in the Municipal Library, and the exhibition exhibited more than 60 Gaozhou prints, including the representative works of the "Generation Grandmaster" in the Gaozhou printmaking industry, as well as the new generation of Gaozhou printmaking works with a unique new era atmosphere. "In the past, farmers were simple and full of love for the land; now people live happily, and the countryside is gradually rising and rejuvenating. I have seen the changes of the times, the development of the city, and also seen the inheritance and promotion of woodblock prints, this print is like a long river of history, which makes me full of emotions. Citizen Zhang Junfeng said.
The ongoing Exhibition of High State Prints. Correspondent He Duolang Courtesy of photo
As the hometown of printmaking, peasant printmaking has always been regarded as a treasure by the people of Gaozhou, so every year an exhibition of Gaozhou prints and a symposium on Gaozhou printmaking are held. In order to promote Gaozhou printmaking, each campus in Gaozhou has set up a printmaking classroom and opened a printmaking class. Printmakers came to the children to tell the story of peasant printmaking, hand-in-hand to pass on the skills of knives and ink. Cultural and creative products of Gaozhou printmaking are being intensively prepared, and soon on the shelves of the store, you will see various paintings made with Gaozhou printmaking techniques. As the pace of Gaozhou's efforts to create a provincial-level civilized city continues to accelerate, the development of Gaozhou printmaking will also usher in the spring.
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The beauty of craftsmanship
The creation process of Gaozhou woodblock prints is complex and cumbersome, first of all, we must create a good flat painting, then copy the flat painting onto the woodblock, and then carefully carve. After that, the ink is rolled evenly onto the plate with an ink wheel, and then the drawing paper is covered on the plate, and the plate printing is repeated until the painting on the plate is perfectly rubbed onto the paper.
Gaozhou woodcuts focus on the subtle kung fu under the carving knife. Correspondent Liu Dong courtesy of the photo
In the engraving, it is very particular about the knife measure, if you are not careful, the force is slightly larger, the angle is slightly biased, which may cause irreparable mistakes, resulting in the invalidation of the engraving, and you can only start from scratch. Gaozhou prints also have monochromatic and chromatic woodcuts. Monochrome is black and white, and chromatic woodcuts are colored. This requires making multiple engravings according to color, accurately cutting the knife, accurately exerting force, and controlling the error between each engraving to a minimum, in order to ensure the rubbing effect. Even when it comes to the final rubbing, it takes two or three hours. Therefore, creating a woodblock print can be as short as a few days, and as long as it takes several months. Therefore, Gaozhou printmaking can be said to be a delicate work, which requires extreme patience and perseverance.
Roll the ink evenly on the engraving. Correspondent Liu Dong courtesy of the photo
In today's era of "fast food", when everything is fast, the creation of woodblock prints is so "clumsy". However, the beauty of printmaking lies in the beauty of its production. Calm down and carefully sculpt each stroke and painting, from the deep and shallow knife marks, from the ink wheel rolling over and over again, contains the beauty of production, the beauty of ingenuity.
【Written by】 Qiu Qian
【Author】 Qiu Qian
【Source】 Southern Press Media Group South + client