Artworks Celebrate Motherland

August 9, 2009 witnessed an art gala at Zhejiang Art Gallery. “The Moments of History”, a grand and ambitious exhibition to showcase the key events and figures Zhejiang has seen and experienced in its history and culture. 113 artworks were on display. At the opening ceremony, artists were honored for their brilliant contribution to a government program over the past 3 years and a half. High-ranking officials of the Zhejiang People’s Government attended the ceremony.

The August show of “The Moments of History” displayed the achievements of the first phase of the program. The 113 artworks touch upon a wide range of topics and figures such as the Hemudu Culture, the Mausoleum of Yu the Great, Marco Polo, Qiu Jin, and Lu Xun. The artworks were composed of 57 traditional Chinese painting, 27 oil paintings, 13 prints, and 16 sculptures. They were displayed in five exhibition halls and the open air.

It is said that the exhibition of the 113 artworks is a birthday gift to the 60th anniversary of the People’s Republic.

Zhejiang started the program in 2006, two years after the central government decided to launch a national program to reproduce big moments in China’s history and culture and revolution. Zhejiang is the first province in the country that has shown its own key events and figures from the provincial perspective.

In March, 2006, the publicity department of the CPC Zhejiang Provincial Committee decided upon this program to reproduce the representative events and figures that shaped Zhejiang over the past 7,000 years. With its purpose and objective clarified and organization in place, the program kicked off. The government allotted 40 million and three media groups in Zhejiang chipped in a total of 10 million as funds for expenses and awards for the best artworks.

The program is more than a celebration of China and Zhejiang in particular. It is also an artistic endeavor. Zhejiang needs artistic masterpieces to tell the brilliant stories of its 7,000-year history and people. They wanted to emulate their foreign predecessors’ masterpieces that recapture key events and figures in history.

The program has been a challenge to the artists in Zhejiang. All artworks are supposed to be huge. No artist had ever tried such a large size. Hua Jun, the artist who created “The PLA Soldiers and People in Zhejiang Combat the Typhoon”, had a real view of the whole painting for the first time at the opening day. It is nearly 4 meters tall and 6 meters wide. His studio is not tall enough. In order to examine the painting, He had to spread the painting in a horizontal position and then turn his head horizontally for an accurate view. He had to photograph the painting in parts and then put these pictures together in computer in order to find out what it looked like when it was fully displayed.

Another challenge to the artists is how to reproduce history. They need to examine their knowledge of history and their understanding of art. “The Beginning of a Great Voyage” depicts the first national congress of the CPC convened on a small pleasure boat on the South Lake in Jiaxing, Zhejiang in July, 1921. Sketches were examined and revised repeatedly until it best recaptured the significance of the historical event. “The Fundamental Law of the State” portrays Mao Zedong in Hangzhou in 1954, leading a committee in formulating the first constitution of the New China.

The artists in Zhejiang have given admirable answers to these challenges. They have not only successfully tried oversized artworks, but also successfully explored historical topics. And they have explored many artistic ways to best recapture historical events and figures. These masterpieces have combined to recount the history of Zhejiang and reproduce a key part of China’s history and people.