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Lot Essay
Bloodline: The Big Family, Zhang Xiaogang, 2006
The onset of China's economic reform marked a period of cultural diversity wherein all manner of arts found acceptance. Local artists began by aggressively absorbing the essence of Western philosophy and art, which, when combined with China's unique cultural background, was transformed into an inimitable artwork reflecting the lifestyle, sentiments, and thoughts of that era. Beginning in the mid-1990s, Zhang Xiaogang, drawing upon old photographs for creative inspiration, initiated his Bloodline: The Big Family series, using the characteristics of human physiognomy in combination with the unique idiom of Western art, to awaken the collective consciousness of an entire generation. At first glance, the figures in this series may seem identical, but slight differences in detail attest to man's inimitable spirit of individuality and subjective na?vet?. The spots of light, symbolising different meanings in response to different circumstances, bespeak the diversity of human nature. Although influenced to some degree by outside factors and limitations, the distinctiveness of individual thought and emotions can never be completely obliterated.
In Bloodline: The Big Family Sseries (Lot 40), Zhang Xiaogang utilised the technique of the European academic school of realistic painting to create a collective, communal image, reflecting the changes in the inner world of that generation; image transformation of this nature reveals the psychological landscape of each individual. Although the themes selected for each work are quite similar, the aim of the artist is not to depict a true likeness in each painting, but to create a portrait expressive of the "human condition". Zhang Xiaogang's intention and purpose remind one of Rembrandt's series of self-portraits documenting the unexpected happenings and state of mind through the various stages of his life (fig. 1). Similar to the fixed image of a photograph, Zhang Xiaogang's recurring portraits are equivalent to the multiplicity of faces found throughout society. Through detailed depiction of the human faces in his painting, the artist reveals the changes wrought by time, as well as giving expression to that element which binds people of every possible persuasion into a cohesive social unit. Meticulously detailed compositions have been produced by means of Chinese charcoal drawing technique. This unique interpretation has caused the "privacy", belonging to every individual, to disappear into a collective image derived from memory, awakening the emotional empathy of viewers. The effect of this nostalgic painting style, like that of old photographs, allows viewer thoughts to dwell for a few moments on the chasm between the past and eternity, creating a bonding among them as they gaze upon the painting. The tightly closed lips hint at an unspoken knowledge tacitly shared by all, a silently guarded public secret. Through the application of an art idiom created by this classic, singular pattern, Zhang Xiaogang has provided a metaphor for a feeling shared in common throughout history.
This work has been arranged in an almost symmetrical fashion, being taken up entirely with a young couple displayed in the manner of a Chinese marriage photograph. The thin red lines in this work do not symbolize the same meaning seen in other paintings of the Bloodline series. They are not a metaphor for the ties between individual and society or guidelines joining them to obligation. What they symbolise are the subtle emotions between man and woman. The thought-provoking central theme of this painting is rendered in surrealistic form, like that of Frida Kahlo who used a vein to string together her double self-portrait. The vein that links two hearts, representing the emotional connection between people, has been cut and drips blood. It is an expression of the painter's misery at a time when part of her soul seemed to have been snatched away (fig. 2).
Zhang Xiaogang once observed: "On the surface, the faces in these portraits appear as calm as still water, but underneath there is great emotional turmoil." Indeed, the feeling the painter has projected into this portrait, in comparison with the explicit, emotionally charged, weeping accusations of Frida Kahlo, is one of reticence. Nevertheless, the effect created in the latter seems to be enhanced and more powerful than the former. During the Cultural Revolution, such concepts as "love" or "marriage" were regarded as the product of bourgeois free thinking. Clearly demarcated guidelines existed for relationship between the sexes which had to be strictly observed by young people shouldering responsibility for the revolution. Consequently, the stirring of youthful passion among young men and women remained largely locked within their hearts. In the painting, the cool, uncaring expressions and empty staring eyes, are an inarticulate indictment of a society that coerced them into suppressing their emotions. Those irregular spots of red light in the composition are like the flash of irresistible, natural passion between man and woman. Therefore this work is like a memento of a bygone age, bearing the ardent yet implied innocent affection between the sexes of that era, sealing it forever in people's memory.
The onset of China's economic reform marked a period of cultural diversity wherein all manner of arts found acceptance. Local artists began by aggressively absorbing the essence of Western philosophy and art, which, when combined with China's unique cultural background, was transformed into an inimitable artwork reflecting the lifestyle, sentiments, and thoughts of that era. Beginning in the mid-1990s, Zhang Xiaogang, drawing upon old photographs for creative inspiration, initiated his Bloodline: The Big Family series, using the characteristics of human physiognomy in combination with the unique idiom of Western art, to awaken the collective consciousness of an entire generation. At first glance, the figures in this series may seem identical, but slight differences in detail attest to man's inimitable spirit of individuality and subjective na?vet?. The spots of light, symbolising different meanings in response to different circumstances, bespeak the diversity of human nature. Although influenced to some degree by outside factors and limitations, the distinctiveness of individual thought and emotions can never be completely obliterated.
In Bloodline: The Big Family Sseries (Lot 40), Zhang Xiaogang utilised the technique of the European academic school of realistic painting to create a collective, communal image, reflecting the changes in the inner world of that generation; image transformation of this nature reveals the psychological landscape of each individual. Although the themes selected for each work are quite similar, the aim of the artist is not to depict a true likeness in each painting, but to create a portrait expressive of the "human condition". Zhang Xiaogang's intention and purpose remind one of Rembrandt's series of self-portraits documenting the unexpected happenings and state of mind through the various stages of his life (fig. 1). Similar to the fixed image of a photograph, Zhang Xiaogang's recurring portraits are equivalent to the multiplicity of faces found throughout society. Through detailed depiction of the human faces in his painting, the artist reveals the changes wrought by time, as well as giving expression to that element which binds people of every possible persuasion into a cohesive social unit. Meticulously detailed compositions have been produced by means of Chinese charcoal drawing technique. This unique interpretation has caused the "privacy", belonging to every individual, to disappear into a collective image derived from memory, awakening the emotional empathy of viewers. The effect of this nostalgic painting style, like that of old photographs, allows viewer thoughts to dwell for a few moments on the chasm between the past and eternity, creating a bonding among them as they gaze upon the painting. The tightly closed lips hint at an unspoken knowledge tacitly shared by all, a silently guarded public secret. Through the application of an art idiom created by this classic, singular pattern, Zhang Xiaogang has provided a metaphor for a feeling shared in common throughout history.
This work has been arranged in an almost symmetrical fashion, being taken up entirely with a young couple displayed in the manner of a Chinese marriage photograph. The thin red lines in this work do not symbolize the same meaning seen in other paintings of the Bloodline series. They are not a metaphor for the ties between individual and society or guidelines joining them to obligation. What they symbolise are the subtle emotions between man and woman. The thought-provoking central theme of this painting is rendered in surrealistic form, like that of Frida Kahlo who used a vein to string together her double self-portrait. The vein that links two hearts, representing the emotional connection between people, has been cut and drips blood. It is an expression of the painter's misery at a time when part of her soul seemed to have been snatched away (fig. 2).
Zhang Xiaogang once observed: "On the surface, the faces in these portraits appear as calm as still water, but underneath there is great emotional turmoil." Indeed, the feeling the painter has projected into this portrait, in comparison with the explicit, emotionally charged, weeping accusations of Frida Kahlo, is one of reticence. Nevertheless, the effect created in the latter seems to be enhanced and more powerful than the former. During the Cultural Revolution, such concepts as "love" or "marriage" were regarded as the product of bourgeois free thinking. Clearly demarcated guidelines existed for relationship between the sexes which had to be strictly observed by young people shouldering responsibility for the revolution. Consequently, the stirring of youthful passion among young men and women remained largely locked within their hearts. In the painting, the cool, uncaring expressions and empty staring eyes, are an inarticulate indictment of a society that coerced them into suppressing their emotions. Those irregular spots of red light in the composition are like the flash of irresistible, natural passion between man and woman. Therefore this work is like a memento of a bygone age, bearing the ardent yet implied innocent affection between the sexes of that era, sealing it forever in people's memory.