Chinese art from the 1920s to contemporary China - Essay Example

The first kind harmonized the goals of the government with those of the artists. The goal of the artists in this kind of art was to modernize their art but at the same time maintain some aspect of the Chinese culture. Artist Ong Schan Tchow who got his education in China and in France is an example of those who practiced this first kind of art. He subtly combined Western art elements especially realism and perspective with some aspects of traditional Chinese art such as calligraphy and minimal contrast using muted color tones.

However, there was a larger band of artists that used a different approach during this period. They attempted to reject the aspects of old Chinese culture and they created a culture which emulated the West. This movement was referred to as the New Culture movement.2 Apart from visual art, the movement touched on other aspects of culture such as literature and the government. The movement’s proponents advocated for a government that was based on Western democracy ideals. The movement drastically attempted to differentiate itself from the old form of Chinese art.

This was done through outright rejection of Chinese traditional culture and consciously copying ideas from Western art. An example was the introduction of low art forms such as cartoons and comic posters in their art works.3 The eruption of the Chinese war in 1949 abruptly ended the Republican Era. A new age of Chinese history in which the government played an even bigger role in the transformation of China’s art that the previous government came into being. All aspects of Chinese life including art came under government control.

The communist leadership tried to distance itself from the previous era. Entirely new art forms were encouraged while at the same time clamping down on traditional practices in Chinese life. The art in this era was characterized by a lot of propaganda.4 Artists had to be extremely careful with their works lest they found themselves being branded as being counter revolutionary. The use of socialist realism was encouraged by the Chinese government. Art that had been developed by the Soviet Union during previous decades was promoted by the Chinese government as a model by which Chinese artists were to develop their art.

In this era, art was seen as a tool which was to be produced in large volumes. Despite the stringent rules on art during this period, a few beautiful and original paintings were produced. These paintings were in forms that did not challenge the government either directly or indirectly. The paintings mainly depicted aspects of nature such as landscapes and still life.5 At the beginning of the 1980s’ another form of Chinese art developed. A new breed of Chinese artists also developed. At this time, China was increasingly growing restless.

The government was gradually losing its grip of control on the Chinese population. The New wave of 1985 was a critical juncture for the development of contemporary Chinese art. The wave referred to the vigorous modern art movement that was developing in China in the period around 1985. A new trend was launched after almost every few weeks. Artists began to draw greatly from various western modernism styles and schools. An exhibition held in 1985 entitled “progressing Chinese youth art exhibition” was among the most successful exhibitions during that