The Analysis of the Chen Haiyan's Works - Essay Example

Chen Haiyan is a Chinese artist who has ranged widely within the painting world, doing a variety of but paintings that have a connecting thread, which can be considered to be her inclination to fantasy. Most of Chen’s work shows a great deal of ambition because he combines so many different elements which make his work unique. They tend to end up looking both mournful and magical, but this outcome is not usually guaranteed because there are some pieces of his work, which have not turned out so well. In fact, some combinations that she has made in her paintings evoke the feeling that they have been forced together and that it would have been better if the elements had been used separately. One would say that the most impressive of Chen’s paintings, which can be considered the centerpiece of her exhibition at the White Lotus Gallery, is Turtles Marching, put on display on July 27, 1997. Seemingly based on a variety of impressively designed, individual black and white colors can be said to be extremely exquisite and this is mainly because of the fact that it appears, from a distance, to have been made of wood block. One look at Turtles Marching and one comes to the conclusion that the painter is an accomplished ink painter who has specialized in two media, namely woodcuts and ink painting, and this can be seen to have become inextricably linked within the painting. What can be considered to be one of the best known artworks in the modern world is Chen Haiyan’s Turtles Marching. It can be said to be a depiction of how the ideal world would be; where human life and nature would coexist in harmony. This painting is deemed to be one of Chen’s supreme masterpieces whose proper meaning can be considered to be subject to speculation. While it can be said to be just a regular painting, there also seems to be a deeper meaning behind it, perhaps even a criticism of the way in which the China (being the artist’s home country) handles its environmental issues. The topic of the painting, namely the turtles, leaves the impression on the observer of struggling to get to their destination, namely, the water. It shows the sheer determination which the turtles have to make sure that they get to the water; the image of a man watching them is perhaps a symbol of how man interferes in the set course of nature. This scene can keep people interested in the painting for a long time, as each attempt to decipher its true meaning. Turtles Marching is a union of traditional elite artistic qualities with a uneven local quality, technique and means, which end up working seamlessly together as the artist, renders her subject matter. The most impressive factor concerning the painting is that it consists of dream images from the artist’s imagination that has an unparalleled sense of emotional directness. Turtles Marching shows a direct influence on the artist of the experience of growing up in China, which has invested in her art a distinctive mixture of earthiness and modification. In addition to this, the artwork also seems to display a since of great strength as well as grace. Despite the fact that the artist is a woman, she displays a kind of independence as well as daring in her work; an aspect which is normally seen in male artist but rarely among female artists. This works towards showing that despite the various stereotypes concerning art, it is a fact that women artists can be just as daring and independent as male artists. Chen seems to have been acutely aware of her environment and this can be seen through the constant depiction of plants and animals in her work. In the artwork, there also seems to be the influence of the Maoist propaganda of the 1970s as well as art pedagogy which were mainly focused on drawing from life to create basic solid forms. There also seems to be the influence of artists such as Huang Binhong, whose specialization in the gentle landscape and elegant literati painting might have been of massive influence on Chen. One of the most impressive ways through which Turtles Marching shows Chen’s worldview is how there seems to be an interaction between human beings and animals, in this case, the turtles. It can be said that because of her gender, Chen is more attuned to nature than some male artists and this is mainly because she is able to not only depict it in her art, but also through the way in which she blends human life with it. One would further state that because of her being aware of not only nature but also the physical environment, Chen is able to go out of her way to make as accurate a depiction of it as possible. Turtles Marching shows Chen’s preference to handle things physically, as this is the means through which she is able to make proper representations of what she wants her audience to see. When considered from a gender based point of view, one would say that Chen uses those sources that she trusts to get accurate but realistic representations, in this case nature, despite it getting limited because of environmental degradation. It can therefore be said that her preference of the use of aspects of nature in Turtles Marching can be attributed to the belief that women are less trusting in personality than men when it comes to dealing with practical issues. An aspect of Turtles Marching which is also impressive is the way in which the artist has made attempts to ensure that there is a melding of the use of ink and wood in her painting. One would say that the artist is extremely good at multitasking, so that she is able to deal with many artistic issues at the same time without any problem. This is not the case with most male artists, who more often than not prefers to work with materials of art one at a time. Turtles Marching, beginning as it does with an ink painting on wood, gives emphasis to the link concerning brushwork and statue, and it shows the significance of the sense of balance amongst figure and ground. Chen’s work involves the conversion of rice paper into log with the aid of the artist’s brush. There is evidence in Turtles Marching of the use of an extensive free-hand painting style on the piece of wood, which is later turned into the intended picture during the carving process where it is given shape. The physical heterogeneity of Turtles Marching attests to its substantial drive and although the combinations between timber and toner are enforced at times, these combinations are successful. This is because of the fact that it yields the imprint of a dominant and principal symbol. The idea of art neutrality, despite the fact that it puts plenty of restrictions on the exquisite works of art of many artists, has taken root in Europe and America. This is not the case with Chen Haiyan, who, through her work, Turtles Marching, has come to show a kind of artistic independence which has nearly become lost. While in other works shown in the White Lotus Gallery seem extremely influenced by the idea of art neutrality, Turtles Marching is a work which attests to not only the daring of its creator, but also to the way through which artwork should be conducted. It can therefore be said that individuals have come to guard their personal interests in the name of art neutrality as those artworks that are considered not neutral have come to be thrown out of public view. The statement which Chen Haiyan, through Turtles Marching makes is that the banishment of such artworks can be considered to be wrong, especially in the modern world where it is unacceptable to interfere in the artistic freedom of artists. In another context, Turtles Marching can be used to make a powerful political statement because it has a lingering and symbolic effect on those people who enjoy it. It can be used as a symbol of the need for environmental balance between human beings and animals as shown in the painting. This is mainly because art and objects of power have been used throughout history either as rallying points for political causes, or as means to dominate people who hold them in high regard. One would therefore say that Turtles Marching is an artwork which goes against the attempted suppression of some works of art while promoting others. It is a form of the artist’s rebellion against what can be considered to be the maintenance of the status quo through the use of self expression not normally seen in many artists today. The means through which the artist expresses herself in the painting is quite impressive considering the fact that in modern China, one has to be extremely careful concerning the way one expresses oneself. As a result, it can be said that Turtles Marching is one of the attempts towards a renaissance of Chinese art. Work Cited Haiyan, Chen..” Chen Haiyan White Lotus Gallery| Seattle 1997. Web. 4 February 2014. < http://www.wlotus.com/ChenHaiyan/chy008.htm> Read More