"Guo hua modernist {國畫型人]
"Contemporary Lingnan Style Chinese Painting" COURSE
presented by UC Berkeley Extension, San Francisco California
We are a group and art movement started by Prof.Anita Yan Wong, with the goal of preserving and pushing the limits of Lingnan style Guo hua and Guo hua in general; promoting it to the new generations of viewers and the modern minds.
"Guo hua modernist"– a contemporary art movement started by Prof. Anita Yan Wong, a Lingnan Guo hua painters with both western and eastern background in both modern and traditional training. Traditional training and Modern Eastern and Western art education are both important to Art Education as our World is getting smaller and smaller in the digital art age. Like brewing a good cup of tea, an art of controlling and mixing the elements, Art is being crafted with a mixture of modernness and traditions; a combination of unusual thoughts, modern ideas and striking visuals. Traditions are not forgotten, but enhanced by the artist. Guo hua –one of the oldest art form is speaking loud and alive again in this movement. This Art movement is a collaboration between Artist, Socialist, Scientist and Biologist from different Culture and Backgrounds. Please join me in this art movement! Be open and Be inspired!
Her goal of promoting the practice of traditional art form:
Yet guo hua and calligraphy were once practiced in everyday life among Chinese, the practice is no longer by many as the society rely more and more on computers in generating informations. Many believes perhaps the best way of preserving a tradition like guo hua is to make it adapt to the current time and Culture. Through this, it will be appreciated and communicated in the way that it was meant to be. However, as Chinese art becomes one of the leading role in World art trades, many has rushed it with trends without the daily practice to master the painting skills and understanding the core meaning and knowledge of the profound art form. Did Modern Chinese art inspired more to practice Guo hua or did we all jumped into the new pool of Modern Chinese art without much thinking of the original art form – an art form honoring and expressing the human appreciation and relation of nature.
Are we rushing into the Contemporary art world without much studying of its true value and beauty?
Anita's belief is simple: She believes it is important to take ones time to understand the root, the theory and true beauty in Guo hua, in particular Lingnan style Guo hua, master the brush and skill of this profound art form before attempting to transform and develop it into Modern art form. The artist believes the knowledge and true beauty in the art form takes effort to understand and master. It takes years of practice and research to master the art form. Her goal is to both keep the true beauty of this art form alive, encourage practice but at the same time move it forward with updated scientific and social meanings that communicate with the modern minds without giving up its root or blindly following some trends. Her goal is to push the limits of Lingnan Guo hua while keeping its elegance.
Lingnan style Guo hua was once considered the most lively and modernest of Guo hua in the early 19th century when three Chinese traditional Guo hua masters went to Tokyo Japan for with a open mind and wish for enlightenment during the Meiji period. They came back to China with a new style of Guo hua (Lingnan style) absorbing new knowledge in both Japanese Painting and Western Arts with open heart and mind– resulting in the birth of the New Guo hua. Techniques such as mood coloring, wet on wet, vivid/bright colors and perspectives from both Western and Japanese painters such as Takeuchi Seiho (竹内 栖鳳), William Turner (Joseph Mallord William Turner) and the influence from the Impressionist are noticeable in Lingnan Style Guo Hua. The beautiful art form quickly gained its reputation and was admired by many painters and scholars in cities like Shanghai and Beijing. Its success plays a key role in Modern Chinese painting. It was brought to Hong Kong by Master and World re-owned painter Chao Shao An. (A pupil of Gao, a second generation Lingnan master and my teacher's teacher) With his effort, the Lingnan style Guo hua was considered the most beautiful and lively Guo hua during the 19th century, described by scholars as "an art so beautiful and lively that is competing with the beauty of nature". Although Lingnan school of Art occupied a crucial role in history of Chinese painting and was considered the most modern of Guo hua with the efforts of the group "Tianfeng Seven" – The Tianfeng Seven are Zhou Yifeng (1890-1982), Zhang Kunyi (1895-1967), Ye Shaobing (1896-1968), He Qiyuan (1899-1970), Huang Shaoqiang (1901-1942), Rong Shushi (1903-1996) and Chao Shao-an (1905-1998).
Chinese painting is consider one of the most different art form to master, brushstrokes cannot be erased or corrected once it is on paper, a painter must have a complete mental concept, years of practice, confidence and speed with the brush before lifting the brush. These days with few pupils of practice, Lingnan Guo hua is considered by some as a rare art in the digital age with few pupils to push its boundary. My goal is to push it forward and keep it alive. Open its possibilities with the help of leading scientists and socialists and biologists. to update its message to us and let it speak again.
As technology grows, the World Wide Web has brought our World into one, we all influence each other and our World is getting smaller and smaller day by day. I lived in Beijing, Hong Kong, London and U.S. and I consider myself an "International artist" creating "traditional modern Arts" in the digital art age. Like me, Lingnan style Guo hua was a traditional Chinese art with open mind and heart, it has humbly opened its doors to western influence during the most difficult time. It showed us Art melts away boundaries and brought us together with its beauty. It is a non verbal language that speaks to the hearts and minds. I would like the art form to spread the words for Nature, Peace, Unity and Open minds.
"An art form that took thousands of years of development takes time to understand, we do not want to create art without understanding the root and not knowing the tools. Through research and practice, we are to appreciate its true beauty and the knowledge contained within it. It is important to build a good foundation before attempting to transform and develop this old and profound art form into Modern art. The goal is to move this art form forward and reach a young generation of viewers with modern taste and mind, while keeping the art form alive." – Anita Yan Wong
Director & Curator:
Prof. Anita Yan Wong, M.F.A.
https://www.anitayanwong.com/
Faculty member
UC Berkeley Extension, San Francisco
School of Visual Arts, NYC
The Art Institute, Philadelphia
Tyler School of Arts, Temple University
Maryland Institute College of Arts, MD, U.S.A.
