"Whether it is now or in the future, I have only one goal, to throw my name in the purple sand and continue the beauty of our oriental era."
The artist who set this goal for himself is Ge Jun, a master of Chinese arts and crafts, a master of Chinese ceramic art, and the director of the Purple Sand Culture Research Center of the China Ceramic Culture Research Institute, and as of now, he has won more than 460 national patents and more than 30 national gold medals in the purple sand art cause.
Ge Jun at work
In recent years, entering Douyin has made his works spread faster and more widely, and has also opened up a new online market. He said that he wanted to let more people know about purple sand and understand purple sand through vibrato.
Since I was a child, I liked to draw, but I didn't expect that I would like the art of purple sand
Ge Jun was born in the 1960s to a military father and a teacher to a mother. His parents hoped that he could "inherit his father's business" and become a soldier, so they named him Ge Jun.
As a child, Ge Jun liked to draw and write with a brush. In addition to studying, he either picked up a paintbrush to learn to draw carefully, or picked up a brush to copy celebrity calligraphy. Affected by this, in the year of the college entrance examination, Ge Jun applied for the Jiangxi Jingdezhen Ceramics Institute (now Jingdezhen Ceramic University).
"I wanted to learn painting, so I applied for the ceramic art major, but after going to college, I found that the major was not painting, but ceramic art." Although the major he studied was not painting, he came to be at ease, and with his in-depth understanding of ceramic art, Ge Jun's understanding also changed greatly.
During his university internship, Ge Jun was arranged to yixing jun pottery factory. Here, he was exposed to purple sand for the first time, and soon fell in love with purple sand. "Purple sand is very malleable, and I feel that it suits me very well." Since then, Ge Jun and Zisha have formed an indissoluble relationship.
Ge Jun in his work strives for excellence and is meticulous
It's hard at first. Ge Jun frankly said that at the beginning of the purple sand art work, there was neither a craft foundation nor a lack of professional support, and everything was started from scratch. Fortunately, he has a lot of friends and teachers around him. "Where I don't understand, I humbly ask for advice, they are not conservative, they guide me carefully, and they are the noble people in my life, a good teacher and a friend."
Even so, due to the very hard work and the huge pressure to survive, Ge Jun's purple sand art road is not smooth. At the most difficult time, Ge Jun once had the idea of giving up. "But what can I do by giving up this job?" In the end, Ge Jun decided to do what he knew and liked.
He did not hesitate to spend 200,000 yuan to set up a personal purple sand works exhibition, and his life achieved an important turning point
After seven or eight years of exploration and study, with his diligence and understanding, Ge Jun slowly broke through the world in the field of purple sand art. The decorative technique of "color decoration method" created by him has made the purple sand art achieve a breakthrough from tradition to modernity.
In 1998, Ge Jun produced the world's largest purple sand pot "Hundred Tiger Kettle", which was recorded in the Shanghai Guinness Book of Records. Just five years later, this record was broken by himself - in 2003, Ge Jun's "Tenghuan Today Flower and Fruit Mountain" for the Lianyungang municipal government became the world's largest purple sand pot and was once again recorded in the Guinness Book of World Records.
Diligent study is the "secret weapon" for Ge Jun to succeed. In 1997, after nearly 10 years of hard work, Ge Jun accumulated a wealth of 200,000 yuan. At that time, there were two major things for him to decide: either to go to the National Art Museum of China in Beijing for a solo exhibition, or to buy a dragon kiln in Yixing, Jiangsu Province. Both things are important, but 200,000 yuan can only do one of them.
After repeated thinking, Ge Jun finally chose to go to the National Art Museum of China to hold a personal exhibition of purple sand works. "I thought at the time, if I buy a dragon kiln, I will go around the dragon kiln for the rest of my life." The world is so big, if I go to Beijing to hold a solo exhibition, I recognize myself and understand myself, there will be unlimited space. ”
Ge Jun said that the purpose of holding the exhibition is actually to learn and seek the direction of the future. At that time, his works were not very mature, and through exhibitions, he could know his shortcomings and make a lot of friends. "There are too many high people in the world, and everyone is worth learning from me." No exhibitions, no friends, where is the channel to learn? With friends, I can consult them; through exhibitions, I can find ways and channels to learn. ”
It is reported that ge jun was the first person in the purple sand industry to create a personal purple sand work exhibition at the National Art Museum of China that year. "It turns out that I made the right choice, and the solo exhibition in Beijing was a very important turning point in my life."
There is no "most satisfying" work, and I hope that the "next one" will be more exciting
Based on tradition and striving for innovation, It is Ge Jun's creative philosophy. In his view, good works must first have tradition, second, they must have nationality, third, they must have the characteristics of the times, and fourth, they must have their own personality. How to make the characteristics of the times on the basis of tradition and make purple sand art works with their own characteristics has always been a problem that Ge Jun thinks about. His works "Han Feng", "Golden Leopard", "Seven Sages of the Bamboo Forest" and so on highlight the above characteristics.
Ge Jun's classic work "Golden Leopard"
Ge Jun believes that thought is the soul of the work. "The purple sand pot cannot be viewed only as an object, a tool for pouring water, a vessel, the creator should give it connotation, and each work must have its own thoughts." He said that as a creator, you not only need the craftsmanship spirit day after day, but also need a steady stream of creative desire.
Ge Jun's creation is not limited to tradition, and he has his own exploration in decoration and shape, forming a unique personal style. "I'm always looking to incorporate what I've learned, including some foreign elemental forms, into my own creations."
An old gentleman commented on Ge Jun's works: Foreigners see that his works are oriental, and Chinese see that his works are the world. This fully shows that Ge Jun's works combine tradition and the world very well.
Over the years, Ge Jun has designed and produced the purple sand door cover "Wugu Fengdeng" for the new conference building of the Great Hall of the People in Beijing; in order to wish the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games a complete success, he joined hands with 2008 members of the Chinese Calligraphers Association to create the "Fuman Shenzhou" purple sand pot; designed the purple sand gift "Yufeng Chengxiang" for the image of Wuxi City; created the head of state and ministerial purple sand gifts for the 2009 China-ASEAN Expo; and designed the purple sand gift for the 2009 INTERNATIONAL SHOOTING FEDERATION World Cup Finals Designed and produced purple sand gifts for the 13th World I Ching Congress "The Source of the Avenue"...
When talking about his most satisfied purple sand works, Ge Jun said that none of them can be said to be "the most satisfied", because each period has its own satisfactory works, "still hope that the next one is more exciting." ”
Although he has made extraordinary achievements in the field of purple sand art, Ge Jun has always had a clear understanding of himself. In the industry for 30 years, he has been encouraging himself to be "on the road". He said that the road of art never ends, and only by continuous efforts can we create more wonderful works.
"Whether it is now or in the future, I have only one goal, to throw my name in the purple sand and continue the beauty of our oriental era." Some people say that Ge Jun's goal has long been achieved and he can enjoy life, but he stubbornly said: "My goal is far from being achieved, and my purple sand art career is still 'on the road'." ”
Ge Jun's classic work "Walker"
It is precisely because of Ge Jun's persistence and persistence that in the past 30 years, he has taken root in tradition and insisted on innovation, and as of now, Ge Jun has won 460 patents and more than 30 national gold awards in purple sand art creation.
Products are innovative, and there are successors to inherit them. In recent years, Ge Jun has not only led graduate students in many universities, but also given lectures in more than 30 colleges and universities to publicize the traditional crafts and culture of purple sand, and at the same time, with 70 or 80 apprentices, making greater contributions to the inheritance of purple sand art.
Keeping up with the pulse of the times, we actively use vibrato to promote purple sand culture
The revitalization of traditional crafts and the promotion and development of traditional culture not only require strong support from policies, but also need to be recognized by the market. Recently, Douyin e-commerce "looking for peers" has also paid attention to Ge Jun's story. "Looking for Peers" is the growth base camp of the creators of Douyin E-commerce, which is committed to discovering high-quality talents and merchants, and helping them achieve longer-term development on the platform through special support plans. Among them, the "See Craft Project" will continue to focus on non-hereditary heirs and craftsmen, helping them to get more attention and development opportunities.
According to the "Douyin Intangible Cultural Heritage Data Report" released in June 2021, in 2020, through the "See Craft Plan", 85 craftsmen achieved annual income of more than one million yuan through Douyin e-commerce, and the total turnover of non-genetic heirs on the platform increased by 15 times compared with the previous year.
Ge Jun and his team deeply felt the huge role of vibrato in promoting traditional crafts. After entering Douyin, Ge Jun often communicates with netizens through short videos and live broadcasts, or shows the production process of purple sand art works, or shares his feelings and views on traditional crafts and traditional culture, so that more people can understand purple sand. The team leader said: "Through the interaction with young fans, the works designed by Teacher Ge Jun are more in line with the aesthetics of young people, more novel and younger. ”
At the beginning, Ge Jun and the team just used Douyin as a publicity window, and to their surprise, Douyin e-commerce opened up a new online market for the traditional craft of zisha. With the strong support of Ge Jun, the young people in the team opened an account @ Ge Jun Pottery on Douyin, and for more than a year, whether it is brand promotion or online sales, they have achieved the desired results. "Teacher Ge asked us to let go in Douyin e-commerce, and he said that he was our strong backing."
From April 23 to May 4, Douyin E-commerce launched the "Douyin Trend Oriental Season", inviting a number of craftsmen to participate in the activities, aiming to help the development of domestic products and promote traditional culture. On April 26, Ge Jun was invited to start the live broadcast, and the enthusiasm of users was high, and the cumulative number of viewers was 3 times more than usual. The live broadcast was based on sharing culture, but it also led to a 260% increase in sales. "It was a bonus for us." The relevant person in charge of Ge Jun's team said.
The positive feedback from users has allowed the online team to see the great potential of Douyin e-commerce. "The Douyin platform is very large, sometimes a live broadcast, thousands of people or even tens of thousands of people participate. Through this platform, we can understand the feedback of the market on the product, listen to the market's criticism of us, and bring better products to everyone, which is both a spur and an encouragement for us. Ge Jun said that they will make full use of the advantages of douyin e-commerce to better publicize the purple sand process and purple sand culture, so that more people can understand the purple sand and understand the purple sand, "continuing the beauty of our oriental era."
Huashang Daily reporter Chen Youmou editor Yang Dehe