Zhu Qi/Painterly Spectacle with Electronic Screen
Painterly Spectacle with Electronic Screen
Zhu Qi
For a century since the introduction of figurative painting in China, its pictoriality is still basically under the rubric of the visual concept of the European painting before the 19th century, in other words, the physical appearance of the substantial object seen by the naked eyes. However, this misconception has been breached though for only a decade thanks to the fact that China has started entering the era of electronic screen.
The impact the electronic image has on traditional painting has been felt since the 18th century with the appearance of the camera obscura. In fact, the concept of “realism” of Western painting during the 20th century has transcended the boundary of physical appearance seen by the naked eyes, from Super-Realism to Gerhard Richter’s photography-like giddy figures, all have transcended “what the naked eyes can see”, expressing what “the naked eyes cannot seen”: details can only be legible with the assistance of electronic photography(Super-Realism)，the recombination of the substantial images “can be seen by the naked eyes”(imagery collage), or the electronic deformation of substantial entities due to photographic technology.
Up to the present days, not only paintings and photographic images are mutually attractive, video photography and 3D virtual images have become influential in the area of visual concepts and forms of painting. This, in effect has involved the reconstruction of a new relationship in contemporary art between pictoriality and images on electronic screens. In consideration of the future of pictoriality, the passage of imagery art history and cultural deconstruction have suspended, the intellectual priority now should be given to the painterly assimilation of electronic experience.
The three artists on the exhibition(Weng Yunpeng, Wang Yuhong and Lin Xin) are committed to the effects of electronic screens, the pictorial narratives of film, electronic installation, and the relation between 3D virtuality and traditional painting. Weng Yunpeng’s early experiments involve placing a TV set in the social space, thus he not only implanted an electronic pictorial screen in the physical world, but also made the light radiated from the screen a part of that of hotels, apartments, civilian workers’ communities, markets and night stores.
What Weng intends to show is the surprise made by the factual spectacle with electronic screen, as Marshell McLuhan suggested, the word view is dominated by TV, even a worker in city could have a sense of the problems of the world he has never been to through the screen. But the trick is, the imagery content provided and the values inscribed by the screens have been imagerily edited, a creation of news and culture, but are often accepted as the truth by most people.
Weng’s interest lies in what is true between the world spectacle constructed by the TV screen and the physical spectacle in which the TV is placed. Later, he paid more attention to the imagery narrative of the electronic screen itself, in recognizing tens of thousands of frames of the video and the film images as “words”, he found that the originality of realist images is not necessary any more, he only needed to “rewrite” in the ready images created by others. His artistic practice is legitimatized by the theory that an image has its own “grammar” logic, while contemporary men are used to imagery reading, the ways of thinking from book-reading era are being changed.
Wang Yuhong used to be devoted to the traditional “naked-eye-can-see” classical painting, her still life subjects include things from the Shanghai during the Koumintang era and stuff from the 1960s and 70s, like old furniture, comics and bird cage, the scene be understood not just a depiction of objects but also a nostalgic spectacle. Recently, she experimented with painterly spectacle by juxtaposing paintings and electronic screens thus installationalized these nostalgic objects. She also tried to cut a window on the picture, and filled in a small-scale electronic screen, this way, the interaction among the “naked-eye-can-see” painting, the “touchable” installation and a fleeting video can be established. Meanwhile, she tried touching interactional installation, making a site-specific electronic fluorescence experience, and inviting the participation of the audiences.
In the field of electronic imagery experiment, Lin Xin’s activities include electronic interaction and 3D virtuality. Her screens are not just TV, Video and interactional installation of electronic lights, but also include computer vituality and computer-game images. She reconstructed a virtual “female” with virtual technology and created a typical female daily life in the space on the computer screen, like cosmetology, afternoon tea and trance. Though these electronic “females” may feel like a robots, different from the “naked-eye-can-see” physical texture of the tradition painting. The computer-aided 3D virtual creation is not only an image of “semi-robot”, in fact the images on the electronic screen share the texture with the computer itself, this is not the imitation of physical entities, rather the “skin-like” and “light-like” texture of the computer screen itself.
The “skin” and “light” texture of the computer-created “robot” does not exist in the physical world. While working on the computer-aided virtual programs, Lin Xin is also committed in traditional painting practice. Her painting works are more like the representation of electronic virtual images，though she opted oil color and acrylic, her real intention is to create the very imagery characteristics only available on computer screen. In addition, she tried digital photo frames as a media of presenting virtual videos, bring the ordinary electronic screen into the artistic media.
The future of contemporary painting practice lies in the painterly absorbtion of electronic imagery experience, and a constant interaction with the electronic screen. This is not only the imitation of the electronic images, but also the screen has already become a crucial part of our daily life, and has a great impact on our world view and way of thinking. The three artists depicted the spectacle constructed by factories, communities, indoor and private things, they also probed the existence of electronic screen in the factual spectacle.
The exhibition is devoted to the linguistic and living experience formed by pictoriality and electronic screens, as well as how our aesthetic sense is being influenced by the ongoing mutual-penetration of the two.
Jan. 30th , 2010, 798 District, Beijing
Zhu Qi
For a century since the introduction of figurative painting in China, its pictoriality is still basically under the rubric of the visual concept of the European painting before the 19th century, in other words, the physical appearance of the substantial object seen by the naked eyes. However, this misconception has been breached though for only a decade thanks to the fact that China has started entering the era of electronic screen.
The impact the electronic image has on traditional painting has been felt since the 18th century with the appearance of the camera obscura. In fact, the concept of “realism” of Western painting during the 20th century has transcended the boundary of physical appearance seen by the naked eyes, from Super-Realism to Gerhard Richter’s photography-like giddy figures, all have transcended “what the naked eyes can see”, expressing what “the naked eyes cannot seen”: details can only be legible with the assistance of electronic photography(Super-Realism)，the recombination of the substantial images “can be seen by the naked eyes”(imagery collage), or the electronic deformation of substantial entities due to photographic technology.
Up to the present days, not only paintings and photographic images are mutually attractive, video photography and 3D virtual images have become influential in the area of visual concepts and forms of painting. This, in effect has involved the reconstruction of a new relationship in contemporary art between pictoriality and images on electronic screens. In consideration of the future of pictoriality, the passage of imagery art history and cultural deconstruction have suspended, the intellectual priority now should be given to the painterly assimilation of electronic experience.
The three artists on the exhibition(Weng Yunpeng, Wang Yuhong and Lin Xin) are committed to the effects of electronic screens, the pictorial narratives of film, electronic installation, and the relation between 3D virtuality and traditional painting. Weng Yunpeng’s early experiments involve placing a TV set in the social space, thus he not only implanted an electronic pictorial screen in the physical world, but also made the light radiated from the screen a part of that of hotels, apartments, civilian workers’ communities, markets and night stores.
What Weng intends to show is the surprise made by the factual spectacle with electronic screen, as Marshell McLuhan suggested, the word view is dominated by TV, even a worker in city could have a sense of the problems of the world he has never been to through the screen. But the trick is, the imagery content provided and the values inscribed by the screens have been imagerily edited, a creation of news and culture, but are often accepted as the truth by most people.
Weng’s interest lies in what is true between the world spectacle constructed by the TV screen and the physical spectacle in which the TV is placed. Later, he paid more attention to the imagery narrative of the electronic screen itself, in recognizing tens of thousands of frames of the video and the film images as “words”, he found that the originality of realist images is not necessary any more, he only needed to “rewrite” in the ready images created by others. His artistic practice is legitimatized by the theory that an image has its own “grammar” logic, while contemporary men are used to imagery reading, the ways of thinking from book-reading era are being changed.
Wang Yuhong used to be devoted to the traditional “naked-eye-can-see” classical painting, her still life subjects include things from the Shanghai during the Koumintang era and stuff from the 1960s and 70s, like old furniture, comics and bird cage, the scene be understood not just a depiction of objects but also a nostalgic spectacle. Recently, she experimented with painterly spectacle by juxtaposing paintings and electronic screens thus installationalized these nostalgic objects. She also tried to cut a window on the picture, and filled in a small-scale electronic screen, this way, the interaction among the “naked-eye-can-see” painting, the “touchable” installation and a fleeting video can be established. Meanwhile, she tried touching interactional installation, making a site-specific electronic fluorescence experience, and inviting the participation of the audiences.
In the field of electronic imagery experiment, Lin Xin’s activities include electronic interaction and 3D virtuality. Her screens are not just TV, Video and interactional installation of electronic lights, but also include computer vituality and computer-game images. She reconstructed a virtual “female” with virtual technology and created a typical female daily life in the space on the computer screen, like cosmetology, afternoon tea and trance. Though these electronic “females” may feel like a robots, different from the “naked-eye-can-see” physical texture of the tradition painting. The computer-aided 3D virtual creation is not only an image of “semi-robot”, in fact the images on the electronic screen share the texture with the computer itself, this is not the imitation of physical entities, rather the “skin-like” and “light-like” texture of the computer screen itself.
The “skin” and “light” texture of the computer-created “robot” does not exist in the physical world. While working on the computer-aided virtual programs, Lin Xin is also committed in traditional painting practice. Her painting works are more like the representation of electronic virtual images，though she opted oil color and acrylic, her real intention is to create the very imagery characteristics only available on computer screen. In addition, she tried digital photo frames as a media of presenting virtual videos, bring the ordinary electronic screen into the artistic media.
The future of contemporary painting practice lies in the painterly absorbtion of electronic imagery experience, and a constant interaction with the electronic screen. This is not only the imitation of the electronic images, but also the screen has already become a crucial part of our daily life, and has a great impact on our world view and way of thinking. The three artists depicted the spectacle constructed by factories, communities, indoor and private things, they also probed the existence of electronic screen in the factual spectacle.
The exhibition is devoted to the linguistic and living experience formed by pictoriality and electronic screens, as well as how our aesthetic sense is being influenced by the ongoing mutual-penetration of the two.
Jan. 30th , 2010, 798 District, Beijing
