By Sun Zhenhua, Translated by Hu Yuduo
The construction of Wuhu Sculpture Park in Shenshan Mountain, which called “Wuhu model” by sculpture world, is relying on three “Liu Kaiqu Award” International Sculpture Exhibitions. Currently, the park is celebrating its third phase of sculptures. With increasingly apparent environmental effects of the former two phases of sculptures and with horticultural workers’ carefully cultivating, the Sculpture Park has begun to take shape, presenting sculptures blending in the natural environment, showing an overall effect of cultural and ecological combination. It is no surprise that Wuhu Sculpture Park is the best park of its kind in the country that combines humanities (sculpture) with ecologies (natural environment).
Wuhu Sculpture Park in many ways, represents the significant change the Chinese outdoor sculptures have occurred in recent years, for instance: the focus on the number of sculptures has shifted to pursue the artistic quality of sculptures; the sculpture making process has changed from the past extensive form to nowadays sophisticated process way; the space sculptures located has become more close to people and life than its past ritualized space. From practice of the Wuhu Sculpture Park, it is found that clearer “Wuhu model” demonstrates that today''''''''s sculpture has been walking to humanities and natural ecologies with the most prominent original changes present.
The earliest sculptures human made was not created for nature, but for human being themselves. The early time sculptures express the awakening of human self-consciousness; this awakening process shows a gradual separation from nature, reflecting the respect for life, worship and admiration. This can be confirmed by the early primal sculptures from China and foreign countries.
In terms of the relationship between man and nature, Marx once said, nature is the inorganic body of human. With the development of human society, human beings themselves keep expanding their artistic boundaries. In fact, we could see the evolution of the relationship between man and nature from the evolution of the relationship between sculptural art and nature.
Sculptures of this period exist in places of worship in the wild and nature. The sculptures and nature of this time still remain a natural link as human and nature haven’t separated completely.
The next is a long historical stage that deities become the main performance target of sculptural art. In human history, the golden age of different nationalities’ sculptural art mostly created in the times of theology. People indirectly expressed their understanding of themselves in the religious theme sculptures. From the worship and praise to deities, people upgrade themselves with the power of deities.
The placement sculptures at this period have gone to artificial buildings and architectural spaces. They can be installed in the squares, shrines, churches, caves and temples.
From the beginning of the Renaissance, especially after the 17th and 18th century, sculptures have came out of the theology era to an age emphasized on human, and become a form of space art to convey communication and to express people’s thoughts and feelings. The consciousness the sculpture in art makes it get rid of religion, and become an independent humanism art.
The placement location of sculpture of this era has changed. It began to walk into museums, galleries and art salons, to go to city streets, squares and public buildings as a way to decorate human being’s living space. At this time, there is some sculptures started showing up in the garden, patio as part of the landscape.
When the sculptural art becomes more independent and purer, it gets farther away from nature. Especially after the emergence of the so-called conceptual shelf sculpture, it becomes an art style separated from outdoor environment and space, and can be installed in the artists’ studio, exhibition halls, as a result, its relation with nature severed.
With the rise of modernist sculpture movement, sculptures begin to return to nature since Henry Moore, while sculptors also begin to get inspiration from nature.
Since the 60s of the 20th century, the boundaries of sculptures and non sculptures, artificial and natural boundaries started to be broken. This trend significantly manifested in the creation of sculptures, at this time, the relationship between sculpture and nature came across a turning point. We found more and more sculptures emphasis on integration of nature and communicating with environment, emerging a variety of new ways, such as land art, landscape art and ecological art.
In the history of Chinese sculpture, there has been a tradition to express and get close to nature in ancient sculptures. For example, ancient environmental sculptures, cowherd and girl weaver sculptures in Han Dynasty, sculptures at the tomb of Huo-Qubing, figurines in the Tang Dynasty, landscape wall sculptures, Cliffside stone sculptures, etc., all have shown the ancient Chinese view of nature, and these are important cultural heritages.
Walking towards natural ecology is the common direction of Chinese and foreign sculptors, take Professor Hong Shiqing in China Academy of Art for example, he has adopted natural sea reefs in Dalu Island in Yuhuan, Zhejiang Province and Chongwu coast, Fujian Province to create interesting and lifelike marine life sculptures by slight transforming; there are many other sculptors using natural and waste materials to create sculptures, which embodies a new artistic view. From the international point of view, currently, land art and eco-art demonstrate an ascendant trend, sculptures have become a way to love and respect nature for people.
The so called “Wuhu model” construction of Sculpture Park, following the mainstream trend of international sculpture development, is a successful attempt to combine China''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''s national conditions with main trend. It is the role of government support, contribution from experts, respecting the laws of art, geographical characteristics, and people’s participation among other factors together, thus to have the success of Wuhu.
Natural-ecology oriented sculpture art is the trend in the future, as well as human beginning to learn to respect nature and revere for nature''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''''s performance. Returning to nature gives new possibilities to the art of sculpture. In the new cultural context, sculpture is in great need of a new form to step into a realm to create harmony between human and nature, and to create a form of ecological landscape sculpture.
|
