In daily teaching, we often use a mechanism of creation and research, while the teaching and practice is actually inseparable. Our research is to study, going into life to study brush and ink and different customs. The School of Chinese Painting organizes annual events so that teachers together with students go to the countryside to sketch in the spring and autumn. I hope that the sketching and inspection will be able to continue to practice this new mechanism in future, this research, creation and teaching are all closely integrated.

The Central Academy of Fine Arts has spent more than one year preparing for the exhibition of the “Long March of Art”, which reveals that the academy attaches great importance to the event. All faculties also positively responded to it, and presented thematic creations with different forms. The collision of a variety of materials, the expression of a variety of techniques, the intersection of multiple disciplines… I believe that the final presentation of the exhibition will be very exciting.

If we use a new artistic form to interpret the Long March, the only way is to start from the general direction of the “spirit of the Long March” to find visual methods and an understanding of the Long March becomes more important. We must understand that the Long March is not only the inevitable process of history, but also the inevitable development of human nature, so that the creators need to do a lot of work. For my part, I mainly created abstract works in this period, so I think of the abstract use of the language in the expression of the Long March. In fact, when seeing foreign creations we would find that the works by many abstract artists are the performance of major themes. In their works, we see not only the expression of personal emotions but also the accumulation on the usual spiritual level of human beings. The so-called abstraction pulls the spirit away from the concrete and it is a more macro feeling, becoming a more direct and pure visual presentation. Rather than making the object become more easily identifiable, it leads to it being more clearly expressed and the audience can feel it.

When one enters the “Scene of History”, he will have a perception of symbolism, which is the best creative state. It is not a training of technology, but considers technology as a performance to be converted and then forms a work. So that, when we paint any piece of work, such as a bed, or a grenade, they should be treated as monuments, because it is a creation. The so-called difference between sketch and creation is the difference between understanding and emotion. Creation requires the performance of individual understanding and emotion, rather than simply and accurately reproducing the object. Therefore, students are required to have a meaningful discussion after drawing including an exchange with seniors from the Red Army. It trains the perceptions of the students from a variety of perspectives thus enriching the experience of the Long March.

With a specific set of teaching traditions, print is a type of artistic expression full of tension. But with the rise of contemporary art, this tradition has been diluted in recent years. “Relay Series of Exhibitions in the Second Round: Long March of Art” gives us an opportunity to revisit the history and allows us to review the traditions belonging to the print once again. For us, the finally engraved print is only a result, while the conception of the events and the creative process is more valuable.

Print is a traditional category of art, with a long history of development. With the progress of society and the changing of the times, print is also constantly innovative and improves by itself. Through the series of aesthetic educational activities planned by the Department of Printmaking, we can find that the objects and methods of the education of printmaking have quietly changed. Based on the traditional prints, our creation is a combination of the concept and performance of conceptual art and performance art, and ultimately shows adiversified, multi-dimensional work. In the past, the form of print was relatively fixed and single, but this time we find the point of convergence between traditional prints and contemporary art. The enduring charm of traditional painting still exists and a small print can release huge energy, being able to lead the Chinese nation to this revitalization. In a contemporary context, artists need to think of how to combine traditional and contemporary, so as to inject fresh vitality into works.

Going deep into life, experiencing life, which is the necessary prerequisite for us to carry out artistic creation. Creators can be immersive, closing to the life of local people as far as possible, closing to that period of history as far as possible, which will certainly produce some unusual feelings. It is impossible to get this feeling in the studio and it will play a guiding role in the direction of future creations. The statue is our most basic professional form, but through the process of shaping a statue, we have deepened a lot of new creative ideas, such as the finishing of a large portrait of the Red Army in the scene, while the audience is accessible to interact with and participate in. We hope to use this form of expression to further increase the charm of the work. If it is able to impress you, it is certain that it is able to impress others.

Although there is a close relationship between a sketch and creation, a sketch is not equivalent to creation, which is the reason why we explore the difference and relationship between the two. If the creation is considered as the ultimate goal, it is particularly important to know how to draw material from sketches. In addition, when the creators select the sketching material, it might have some improvisation and thought which are also very important for the determination ofthe direction of the future creation.

Translated by Chen Peihua and edited by Sue/CAFA ART INFO