Hosted by CAFA, Sculpture Art Committee of China Artists Association, Taiyuan Government Municipal, 2015 “Summer of Iron and Steel” Taiyuan-China International Youth Metal Sculpture Creative Camp was inspected by the experts and scholars from the universities and colleges of art across the country on August 20. The Creative Camp opened in Taiyuan Chemical Engineering Creative Industrial Park on July 20, lasting for one month. The works by the students will remain in the park, after the sketches have been developed, spot welding, welding, sandblasting, coloring, etc., all of which echo the breath of the place.

40 students from the top 10 academies in China and famous international academies participated in the events and the love of metal sculpture encourages friends from all over the world to gather in Taiyuan, to exchange experiences of technology together. Following on from the previous four metal sculpture creative camps, this camp pays more attention to the depth of innovation of the works, the Chinese and foreign students communicate and study together, to widen academic vision and promote international communication. The Metal Sculpture Creative Camp is held in Taiyuan as a deep cultural root has been established there. Taiyuan has a long industrial history, using equipment that was taken apart in the industrial age for creation which has both the need of urban development and the maintenance of memories of the industrial age and the city. Behind the brilliance a lot of industrial legacies were left, how to use, treat and retain industrial historical civilization is an important issue which we are now confronting with.

At 2:00 pm on August 20, the students, experts and scholars gathered together to hold a “meeting to share the work”. Wang Aiqin, the Vice-Mayor of Taiyuan city, Yue Jieqiong, Director of the Collaborative Innovation Office, CAFA, Lv Pinchang, Deputy Director and Secretary-General of the Sculpture Art Committee of China Artists Association, Director of the Department of Sculpture, CAFA, Yu Fan and Zhang Wei, Deputy Directors of the Department of Sculpture, CAFA, Sun Lu and Huang Zhen, teachers of the creative camp, Zhu Shangxi, Professor of Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, Sun Zhenhua, Editor-in-Chief of “Chinese Sculpture” magazine and critic, Executive Editor-in-Chief and curator Tan Xiao, Zeng Yue, Director of International Cooperation Department at Sichuan Fine Arts Institute, He Guiyan, Director of the Department of Fine Arts, Tan Xun, Deputy Director of the Department of Sculpture, Tan Xun, Deputy Director of Tianjin Academy of Fine Arts, Chen Hui, Deputy Director of the Department of Sculpture at Academy of Arts & Design of Tsinghua University, Zhang Songtao, Director of the Department of Sculpture, Hubei Institute of Fine Arts, Wang Zhigang, Director of the Department of Sculpture, Xi’an Academy of Fine Arts, Bao Haining, Deputy Director of the Department of Sculpture at Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts, Huang Yuexin, Director of the Department of Sculpture at Guangxi Arts Institute attended the conference, which was hosted by Professor Lv Pinchang, and Associate Professor Liu Libin from the Fine Art Institute, CAFA served as the academic chair.

At the conference, Sun Lu briefly reported on the creative camp activities on behalf of the teaching team of the Metal Sculpture Creative Camp, reviewed the history of the camp activities, it was a combination of creative ideas and accidental bursts of inspiration, from looking for materials to drawing sketches and creating. He thought the works of sculpture were more complete this year, and they could be divided into three categories: integrating ready-made articles to create a new order; transforming ready-made articles to traditional shapes; using sectional materials to make an abstract structure or a representational transformation. In addition, every student introduced his/her creative process, feelings and experiences: it was the first time for some of the students to participate in the creative camp, faced with the material they boldly designed and created, although encountering some difficulties, they overcame them step by step; some of the students participated in the camp many times, constantly challenged themselves to try a new style. They didn’t only improve their skills in the creative camp, but also make friends and improved on their ability to communicate with people.

The Metal Sculpture Creative Camp activities realize the “three wins” of the students, enterprise and society, the works present a variety of appearances, showing the diversified teaching of thinking which is useful to strengthen the communication between the schools and the growth of the young artists, and it will continue to explore and march forward.

Text by Sun Jie, translated by Chen Peihua and edited by Sue/CAFA ART INFO