The Art of Resistance
IMAGES
Huang Yongyu, Winking Owl, 1978. Ink and color on paper.
Huang Yongyu, Red Lotus Honoring Zhou Enlai (painted on the day of Zhou’s passing, January 8, 1976). Huang painted the lotus stem with a perfectly straight line to show respect for Zhou, who had tried to shield artists. Like many intellectuals at the time, Huang believed that Zhou was taking China in a more positive direction than Mao had. Ink and color on paper, dimensions unknown. From Huang Yongyu (1988), n.p. Reproduced with permission of the artist, 2003.
Feng Zikai, The Sky Is Wide Enough to Allow a Bird to Fly as It Wishes (ca. 1938–46). Feng admired the innocent way children respond to their surroundings. Here a young girl heroically sets free a caged bird. Ink and color on paper. From Treasury of Feng Zikai’s Favorite Works (1988), 21. Photographed with permission of the artist’s family.
Li Keran, Double Waterfalls at Green Cliff (Mount Cangyan, Hebei) (1983). Controversy over the black tone of Li’s landscape paintings blinded many to his skillful use of voids and solids. Here Li created two shimmering waterfalls by omitting ink selectively. On ribbons of empty space, the bare paper shows through and creates a fluid feeling of water flowing. Next to the thickly applied ink, the plain surface looks luminous. Ink and color on paper, 26.8 x 17.7 in. Courtesy of Li Keran Academy of Painting.
Li Kuchan, White Eagle (1973). After 1970, Li secretly produced small-scale paintings of eagles like this one. According to art historian Sun Meilan, they are “sadly thinking giants” prevented from flying. Ink on paper, 13.4 x 18.1 in. Courtesy of the artist’s family.
Shi Lu, Old Horse, Absent a Saddle (ca. 1974). Here Shi Lu paints an unattended horse, a traditional symbol for a loyal official whose talents have been wasted. The horse has a void on its back and looks away. According to the inscription, the old thoroughbred cannot be saddled. Ink painting, 30.3 x 21.3 in. Courtesy of the artist’s family.
Pan Tianshou, Plum Tree and Moon (spring 1966). In the spring of 1966, Pan was aware of an impending crackdown on traditional Chinese painting. In protest, he painted a plum tree in winter, giving it strong human characteristics: a branch that resembles an arm, roots shaped like a knee and a shin, and a gnarled trunk mirroring the stooped posture and weathered complexion of an old man. He used his fingernail to create a dark cloud partially covering the moon, itself reminiscent of a person’s face. Ink and color on paper, finger painting, 6 x 5 feet. Courtesy of Pan Tianshou Memorial Museum.
Ding Cong, Statue of the Perfect Citizen (1945). In his early career, Ding boldly challenged Nationalist rule with cartoons like this one, showing a person with locked lips and ears stuffed with cash. Cartoon. From Li Hui, Ding Cong (2001), 29; photographed with permission of artist’s family.