The Chronicle of the Spirit: The Thematic Exhibition for the 100th Anniversary of the Founding of the Communist Party of China
Since the Communist Party of China was established a century ago, it has formed a series of great mentalities including: “Red Boat Spirit”, the Jinggangshan Spirit, the Long March Spirit, the Yan’an Spirit, the Xibaipo Spirit, the Daqing Spirit, the Spirit Demonstrated in the War to Resist U.S.A. Aggression and Aid Korea, “Star-Bombs Spirit”, the Anti-Pandemic Spirit, the Poverty Alleviation Spirit and so on. They jointly construct the spiritual chronicle for the members of the Communist Party of China while also forming good traditions for the sublime, heritage, and promotion of revolutionary mentalities. As General Secretary Xi pointed out, “The rejuvenation of the Chinese nation has been the greatest dream of the Chinese people since the beginning of modern times; we call this the Chinese Dream. A great undertaking needs great mentalities. To realize this great cause, the role of literature and art cannot be replaced, and literary and artistic practitioners have a bright future. They should recognize the position and function of literary and art from such a perspective and realize their historical mission and responsibility.”General Secretary Xi hopes that literary and art practitioners would assume their mission of recording, portraying and praising the new epoch, and they can reply to the epochal issues, find the themes of their creations from the great inventions of contemporary China and get their inspiration for invention from this area, so that they will profoundly reflect the tremendous changes that have happened within this epoch and portray a spiritual chronicle. They make portraits, write history and glorify virtues for the epoch.
Exhibition View
As the earliest national academy of fine arts founded in China, National School of Fine Arts in Beijing as the predecessor of the Central Academy of Fine Arts was born at a crucial moment of national survival in the early 1900s. During various periods of CAFA development, the faculty members and students of the Central Academy of Fine Arts have tried to present the undertaking of the Communist Party of China with art expressions, and they have created many excellent works, some of the masterpieces have become classic pieces in history, and all of them portray a “chronicle” of the mentality of the achievements made by the Communist Party of China.
On the basis of the classic collection from CAFA Art Museum, this exhibition showcases over 300 works featuring excellent creations by teachers from various sections of CAFA and it is the largest exhibition themed on art by the Central Academy of Fine Arts.
Li Hua, Roar, China, 1938, Monochrome woodcut, 27.5×18.7cm
Wu Zuoren, Portrait of Top Grade Labor Hero Li Yong, 1950, Oil on canvas, 128x160cm
Hou Yimin, Underground Workers, 1957, Oil on canvas, 210×176cm
Jiang Zhaohe, A Decade since the Founding of New China, 1959, Ink and color on paper, 75×53cm
It is divided into four chapters: “Revolution—Spirit”, “A Construction—Spirit”, “Reform—Mentality”, “A New Epoch—Mentality”. On the one hand, they reflect the centennial journey of the Communist Party of China; on the other hand, they reflect an image of the great spirit of the Communist Party of China and showcase the impressive strength of a chronicle of mentality. As a gift for the 100th Anniversary of the Founding of the Communist Party of China, the exhibition comprehensively shows a great mentality of the Communist Party of China from the perspectives of artists from the Central Academy of Fine Arts.
Yang Li: The Enlightenment of Revolution
Yang Li is an old Communist. In 1948, he went to Yan’an and was enrolled in Yan’an College, and then participated in the propaganda work to welcome liberation. After graduating from the Central Academy of Fine Arts as the first class of the Printmaking Department in 1958, Yang Li successively served as a faculty member, Deputy Director, Secretary of the Party Branch of the Printmaking Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, and Deputy Secretary and Secretary of the Party Committee of CAFA. After 1986, he was transferred to the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles as a member of the Party Leadership Group. During his work in CAFA, he focused on the development of disciplines and construction as well as talent training from the perspective of the Party, and he completed detailed work on the moral education of the Central Academy of Fine Arts. During the period that he worked at the Federation of Literary and Art Circles, he obeyed the arrangements, actively prepared for the literary congress and contributed a lot to the organization of the Chinese Literary and Art Circles.
Exhibition ViewYang Li is also a veteran artist who continues to create art besides being busy with work. He still carries his sketchbook at the age of ninety-one. He combines his artistic pursuits, artistic creations and beliefs, while incorporating the Yan’an mental attitude into it. His representative works are engraved with the epochal imprint and the red gene which reflect his loyalty and love to the Chinese Communist Party.
Yang Li, East Side of the Midstream Pillar Rock in Yellow River around Sanmenxia, 1956, Watercolor on paper, 26.3x19.5cm
Yang Li, Portrait of Mr. Zhang Minxin, 1986, Pencil on paper, 37x27cm
Yang Li, Kitty and Ball of String, 1998, Ink and wash on paper, 45x59.5cm
Yang Li, Home, 2005, Ink and color on paper, 39.5x64.5cm
On 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, this exhibition features three sections: “Light of Hope”, “An Art Student”, and “The Colorful World” which feature Yang Li’s various artistic creations from the late 1940s to the present day. Interview videos and physical documents enrich the exhibition, and they jointly reflect the teaching ideas and educational achievements of the Central Academy of Fine Arts in the 1950s, they also present the noble idealism and creative enthusiasm of a Communist artist full of revolutionary beliefs.
Carving History with Woodcuts: Yan Han Revolutionary Woodcuts Literature Exhibition
Yan Han is one of the founders of the Printmaking Department of the Central Academy of Fine Arts. Inspiration from the revolution and a strong belief in national salvation remained important motivation for his woodcuts throughout his art career. While making great achievements in modern Chinese revolutionary art, he also contributed a lot to the generation of revolutionary genes in modern Chinese prints. When we sort through the classic woodcuts by Yan Han which are aesthetically impressive and endowed with a disseminating strength, we find that each of his works implicitly or explicitly points on a specific historical event, which makes us experience the national liberation under the leadership of the Communist Party of China and has been a baptism of fire and gradually melted all the efforts into a monument of victory.
Exhibition View
The exhibition is composed of three chapters: “Proofs of History”, “Praise of Images” and “Continuous Struggles”, and by using a documentary exhibition, the artistic attributes of woodcuts by Yan Han at various historical periods are well showcased. This is the evidence left by an individual who has experienced wars, and they are also hymns eulogizing the people. They are endowed with the aspiring revolutionary mentality, the enthusiasm of “persisting printmaking” as well as courageous enthusiasm for creation. They reflect the unremitting mentality of life in the older generation of Chinese artists as well as their strong artistic ideas for the masses.
Yan Han, General Peng Dehuai at the Frontline, Monochrome woodcut, 1941, 22x16cm
Yan Han, When Enemies Are Searching the Mountain, Monochrome woodcut, 1943, 22x19cm
Yan Han, Bean Voting, Monochrome woodcut, 1948, 37x29cm
Yan Han, Illustration for Lu Xun's Novel New Year's Sacrifice, 1973, 28x21cm
About the exhibitions
The Chronicle of the Spirit: The Thematic Exhibition for the 100th Anniversary of the Founding of the Communist Party of China
Dates: June 28-September 5, 2021
Venue: Gallery 2B & 3B, Ground Floor of CAFA Art Museum
Chief Consultant: Gao Hong
Chief Curator: Fan Di’an
Academic Director: Su Xinping
Exhibition Directors: Qin Jianping, Zhang Zikang, Han Wenchao
Exhibition Coordinator: Wang Chunchen, Gao Gao
Yang Li: The Enlightenment of Revolution
Dates: June 28-September 5, 2021
Venue: Gallery 2A, CAFA Art Museum
Carving History with Woodcuts: Yan Han Revolutionary Woodcuts Literature Exhibition
Dates: June 28-September 5, 2021
Venue: Gallery 3A, CAFA Art Museum
Courtesy of CAFA Art Museum, edited by CAFA ART INFO
