Summary of Work

二〇一六 Saskia Gilmour | 吉思洁

二〇一六 Saskia Gilmour | 吉思洁

www.saskia-mariet.com

摄影

PHOTOG

艺术 A

影

GRAPHY

中国 C H I N A

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Qianmen | 前门 （2015）

ART PRACTICE 艺术作品 Cinema of Dreams: Interpreting Chinese Landscape Painting in a Contemporary Context Much of my arts practice has been influenced by expounding the rich philosophies and aesthetics relating to Chinese art, most particularly Chinese painting and the representation of the landscape.

Most particularly my work has drawn influence from the Chinese concept of landscape, ‘Shanshui’ (山 水), which literally means ‘mountain’ and ‘water’.

By playfully exploring the relationship between language, text, body and culture, my work aims to bring new insights and appreciation of Chinese art.

These explorations pave the way for new understandings and the development of a new and alternate relationship between ourselves and the landscape, transforming the our understanding of the self in relation to the external world.

(left) Coming Home Saskia Gilmour 3-channel projection, 2015

Drifting Saskia Gilmour 2-channel projection, 2014

TRANSLATION | 翻译 By the Principle of the West, Identify the Essence of the Chinese: Exploring Chinese Landscape Painting from a Western Eye This article has been translated from an article published in the first edition of Chinese Magazine Zhi China (知中). Published in October 2015, this special edition of the magazine focuses on the Chinese concept of Shanshui (山水 – lit. meaning ‘mountains and water’) and its significance to Chinese identity.

The article, ‘By the Principle of the West, Identify the Essence of the Chinese: Exploring Chinese Landscape from a Western Eye’ consists of an interview between Zhi China and Michelle C. Wang, Assistant Professor in Asian art history at Georgetown University. Her research specialisation is Chinese Buddhist art, most particularly from the Tang Dynasty. In the interview she shares her enlightening thoughts on Shanshui painting, and her insightful knowledge of its prevalence and understanding through the Western eye.

The article begins with a small anecdote – an exchange between Song Dynasty writer and calligrapher, Su Shi, and a friend in Chibi. In order to allow understanding of this anecdote, the reader must be aware of a small part of China’s rich history – the Battle of Red Cliffs (as Chibi is otherwise known in English). The battle was fought at the end of the Han dynasty (around 208/9 AD), about twelve years prior to the beginning of the Three King-

doms period in Chinese history. As the emperor of that time began to lose control, the empire started crumbling; the greatest powers of China were grasped by warlords of various territories across the country – one of the most powerful warlords of which was Cao Cao. It was in Chibi that Cao Cao fought his campaign against allied warlords of southern territories – a campaign for power and control of a fragmenting China. It was here that enemy forces, in a horrid rage, left throngs of men and horses to burn alive or drown; it was here that retreating men were ambushed, trampled to death, diseased and left to die. So it has come to be that Chibi, this place, cannot be mentioned without conjuring visions of these past evils and bloodsheds. And so it is here, in Chibi, that our story, and the unravelling of Shanshui’s mystery begins…

Sleepless Wonderland Yang Yongliang | 杨泳梁 Lightbox, 2012

On an Autumn night in 1082, Su Shi and a friend bask in the sights of Chibi, along the banks of the Yangtze river. The breeze is blowing softly, whisking the water into slight ripples and swirls. His friend’s gaze extends up to the whiteness and grace of the moon on this splendid evening, and he becomes consumed by lament of regrets of the past. How is it so that a place once consumed by such horrors, such violence, could exist today in a spirit so still, so sublime? He thought of the greatness of Cao Cao, and how time was even greater than him still; he became fearful of time’s slipping away, aware that he too may slip away with it, lost without a name.

And so it is that Chinese literati, generally speaking, all aspire for immortality, afraid that their name too will be lost with the destiny of all great eras.

However, Su Shi knows that “the cool breeze above the river”, “the moon between the mountains”, these parts of nature’s beauty never change, never fade away. Though even one so perspicacious as Su Shi could never have imagined that until this day, it is not just nature, but art that speaks of nature – Chinese Shanshui painting – that has also been preserved until now, never withering away. And for cases like Su Shi, this kind of literati and artist, not only have they obtained immortality, but they have also gained a greater reputation abroad – being

Autumn Colors on the Que and Hua Mountains Zhao Mengfu | 趙孟頫 (Yuan Dynasty)

researched by industrious and enthusiastic Western students seeking to gain a sense of appreciation for this elusive art form.

In English, Chinese Shanshui painting (normally in English translated as ‘Chinese landscape painting’) can be directly translated as “Mountain and Water” – which is an independently existing concept. Every year there are numerous Western students with an interest in Eastern cultures who, full of enthusiasm and vision for nature, study this kind of ancient and unique art at foreign universities. Furthermore, Western scholars are not only studying Chinese art, but contributing myriad new research pathways

not studied by Chinese scholars, therefore initiating new fields within the study of Chinese art. Included among the most commonly utilised methodologies is the use of aspects such as Buddhism and Daoism to appreciate the concept of Chinese landscape painting.

In the West, ‘China’ and ‘nature’ are inseparable.

In the time of the Qing dynasty, more Westerners began fabricating their own Chinese art, mimicking Chinese forms of blue and white porcelain. To mention China, there must be nature; to mention nature, there must be Shanshui (lit. mountains and water). As a matter of fact, to the West, Chinese

Shanshui is the symbol of Chinese landscape.

No matter if it’s from the businessman’s early misunderstanding of this special art, or the research of it today, all Westerners have a deep interest in Chinese Shanshui painting. If the great masters of past, who have endured until today, knew that at shores across the distant ocean, existed those who knew them with such familiarity, they must feel truly cherished.

Zhi China: When we talk about Shanshui painting, we are used to translating this to English as ‘Landscape Painting’.

Are these two things able to equate to the same concept?

Michelle C. Wang: Yes, I think that the ‘Chinese style of landscape painting’ and ‘Shanshui painting’ are interchangeable.

But really, in Western art, landscape painting can embody a lot more content, for example rural areas, villages, interiors – these things can all be classified as landscape painting. However, in Chinese art, landscape painting’s content becomes very specific, centralising on mountains and water.

The most accurate explanation for why these terms can then still be interchangeable, is that when we mention Chinese landscape painting, we know that we are explicitly discussing Shanshui paintings, so we accept translating the term Shanshui painting to landscape painting as being reasonable.

Zhi China: ‘Shanshui’ has become a specific concept. Although

it can be successfully translated, can the meaning behind it be effectively communicated? For example, there are often foreign cultures that think Japanese Wabi-Sabi has concepts that are difficult to teach; so when it comes to communicating the meaning of Shanshui paintings, do you think there are any dilemmas?

Michelle: From my point of view, most students that come to China to study art all know the importance of Shanshui painting. They know the weight that nature bears in Chinese thinking, so for them conveying the significance of Chinese Shanshui painting is not difficult. For example, in the discourse of Western painting, history paintings are the most important type of painting. History paintings contain figures, historical events, war and God – these things are all history paintings. Furthermore, history painting has only just in the modern age spread to Asian painting, so Chinese painting before modernity have no history paintings at all. Scholars also all know that, compared to history painting in Western art, Shanshui painting in Chinese painting is the main genre. So in my opinion, to convey to students the importance of Shanshui painting is not a difficult task at all. However, to teach them how to study Shanshui paintings accurately has a few difficulties, but these are not impossible to overcome.

Zhi China: In teaching Shanshui painting, what difficulties have you come across? What kind of methods do you usually use to teach Shanshui painting?

Michelle: The difficulty of teaching Shanshui Painting varies depending on the different dynasties. I personally most like teaching Yuan dynasty Shanshui painting.

This is also students’ most favourite period to study. On the other hand, Ming and Qing Dynasty Shanshui paintings can become relatively difficult to teach. The most important reason for this is because of the importance Chinese artists attach to ‘cultural transmission’. In Chinese painting tradition, painters are more likely to follow the example of their earlier masters. For Chinese painters of writers, from who they study from and which styles they inherit – these are all very important factors. There are also a lot of Chinese Shanshui painters who, more innovative than those before them, sought perfection from the style of painting practiced by the masters of much earlier times. This has also led to a similarity between many Chinese paintings.

Zhi China: What kind of Shanshui paintings are foreign students most interested in? Are their points of interest the same as those of Chinese students?

Michelle: In general, everyone has an interest in the concept of ‘Secluded Shanshui Painting’. In the Yuan dynasty, there were a lot of so-called hermits, who through Shanshui painting, expressed their longing for the previous dynasty – feelings which could not be talked about openly – as well as also expressing the existing situation of melancholy. These types of painting can appropriately provide a background to the dynasties; the figure’s experience allows us to

interpret the paintings and this can better and more quickly resonate with students. During the Yuan dynasty, the Han Chinese were not ruled by Han people, so the cultural conflicts and other factors that invoked these paintings are of most interest to students. In this way, everyone can better understand why Chinese scholars would use Shanshui painting to express the hermits’ desires. Their using Shanshui painting was a way to escape reality. This is because in the real world they were helpless and passive.

There is also another dynasty’s Shanshui Paintings which everyone is particularly interested in – those from the Tang Dynasty. The emergence of the Tang Dynasty’s blue-green Shanshui Paintings and the rise of Taoism are closely related. Blue, green – these two colours were discovered by accident during the Taoists’ developments in pharmacy. Mountains in Taoism also have an important significance. In the Han dynasty, there was also early Shanshui Painting. For example, the carving of the Queen Mother of the West (a significant Daoist figure) in Kunlun Mountains. These early periods are greatly influential, and together with religious paintings, also often bring forth the interest of students.

Zhi China: Talking about the use of Buddhism and Taoism to understand Shanshui painting – this kind of approach is actually more prevalent in the West, whilst Chinese scholars are more inclined to use a different point of view to analyse it. Why is this so?

As for using religion to study Shanshui painting, one reason is because in the past these two things were mentioned as being closely related. Another important reason is that Westerners are from a foreign culture; they think that they don’t have a

Emperor Ming-huang’s Flight to Sichuan Li Zhaodao | 李昭道 good enough understanding of China. Therefore, they are also more inclined to borrow Buddhist and Taoist concepts to better understand Eastern culture, also giving them a background and foundation for understanding Chinese Shanshui painting. For Chinese people, Buddhist, Taoist and Confucian ideologies are already second-hand knowledge.

Therefore, when Chinese scholars study and analyse

Shanshui painting, they are not that inclined to use Buddhist or Taoist ideologies, but rather focus on other aspects, such as the use of scenery to express emotions, or the use of paintings to express the hidden desires or the painter.

Zhi China: From your observations, are Western scholars’ and Chinese scholars’ favourite type of Shanshui paintings from the Yuan Dynasty?

Michelle: From my experience, the Song and Yuan dynasties are both very popular. Especially for the Yuan dynasty; it was a short but culturally prosperous period. Zhao Meng-fu, Ni Zan and Huang Gong-wang are all examples of famous painters from this time. Each artist has their own unique style and ideas; they are not just repeating the classics and history, and they are a lot more innovative. Every painting has a story; compared with common Shanshui paintings, Shanshui paintings of the Yuan dynasty are more like a biography of the artist that painted them.

For example, Zhao Mengfu’s Xie Youyu Rolling Hills Picture (谢幼舆丘壑图) is just about Xie Youyu’s ideal circumstances, expressing his own ideas of spiritual belonging. There is also another type of popular Shanshui painting which is literati painting, which can be distinguished from early court paintings, as well as paintings expressing desires, which are generally appreciated by everyone.

When it comes to the Ming and Qing dynasties, painters start to pay attention to the passing on of culture, becoming repeatedly imitated and remodelled. For example Dong Qichang, although he clearly pointed out the difference between literati and court painting, established the independence of literati painting, which has always imitated court painting of the early periods, except for a few new ideas. By the late Qing dynasty, artists studied Dong Qichang a lot more. So in the Ming and Qing dynasties, Shanshui painting was lacking specificity,

and is also not really of interest to foreign students.

For painters of the Ming and Qing dynasties, they no longer focussed on how to emphasise the landscape (Shanshui), rather they cared more about how to preserve the tradition of Shanshui painting.

Zhi China: According to Western scholars, what kind of paintings are Shanshui paintings?

Michelle: In fact, when we are in the process of learning, we will involve all paintings of mountains and water, taking them to research and explain. Some of these are from Shanshui’s earlier periods, for example Buddhist paintings; some are from other art forms that are affected by the concept of Shanshui, for example Ming dynasty gardens – these all form part of the research into Shanshui.

Scholars generally believe that Shanshui painting, this kind of category, becomes in regards to the Tang dynasty blue-green Shanshui paintings.

Starting from the Tang dynasty, mountains became the most important subject in paintings, with people becoming really insignificant. For example, Emperor Ming-huang’s Flight to Sichuan (明皇幸蜀图), although the characterising theme is the emperor’s journey to Sichuan to seek refuge, the painting is dominated by mountains, with the emperor only occupying one small part. Before the Tang dynasty, the subject of landscape (Shanshui) was a sideon view, appearing in paintings as a background only. For example, in many Buddhist paintings of Dunhuang, beings following the path of Buddha, landscape (mountains and water) is always depicted.

In the Tang dynasty scholar Zhang Yanyuan’s “Notes of Past Famous Paintings” (历代名画记), landscape (mountains and water) became an independent point of discussion; from here we can see that the topic of Shanshui matured. It needs not be said that the Song and Yuan dynasties, when we’re lecturing, and also new Chinese paintings, are all attributed to Shanshui painting.

Contemporary Chinese Shanshui paintings are extremely distinctive. Chinese Shanshui paintings are mostly black and white; only blue-green Tang Dynasty paintings have a specific colour, and also the red Shanshui paintings of Mao Zedong’s era, for example The Land is so Rich in Beauty (江山如此多 娇) hanging in the Great Hall of the People. ­At that time, the fundamental colour of Shanshui paintings was red. The concept of Shanshui paintings has also from hermit literati arrived now at the landscape (the motherland), the whole of China, with a clear political significance. Foreign students also have interest in this, and think that it is a really important part of Chinese Shanshui painting.

Zhi China: In the Qing dynasty, Western missionaries came to China and taught Chinese court painters a lot of Western painting methods such as perspective, light and shadow, and so on. This had a great influence on the production of proceeding Shanshui Chinese paintings. Did Western art also receive influence from aspects of Chinese Shanshui painting?

Michelle: Some. Especially in 1950, not long after the Second World War, all the sins and sufferings of the war,

the depression and confusion, lead a lot of people to turn to the art of the East – especially Zen Buddhism. As previously mentioned, Zen landscape paintings and Southern Song dynasty paintings are closely related. A lot of Westerners were attracted to these artworks that conveyed peaceful feelings as a means to seek spiritual solace – and at that time Eastern art was well-respected. Additionally, English gardens actually received the most influence from Chinese gardens. With the rise of the British art scene during the 18th century, concepts were borrowed from classical Chinese gardens. The beauty of the gardens was passed to England by travellers of that time who journeyed between those two countries, setting off a trend.

Zhi China: Which Chinese Shanshui paintings and painters that aren’t really popular in China are more popular abroad?

Michelle: In history, southern Song dynasty court paintings are a category which is lacking attention. An important reason is because the Song dynasty moved south to Hangzhou, which was the result of cowardice and unorthodoxy, so the later scholars were not publicised at all. Additionally, the composition of southern Song dynasty paintings is small, and the ones that are liked carry an allegory of a destroyed landscape and diminishing China, so it’s not respected by later generations.

Both southern Song dynasty paintings and Zen landscapes (Shanshui) also received a lot of attention in Japan, and have become more of a characteristic of Japan. Most southern Song dynasty

court paintings’ and Zen paintings’ originals are conserved in Japan. For example, Mu Chi’s paintings are highly regarded in Japan, and different from China’s general awareness of Buddhism, Japan has a very detailed classification of Buddhism, with Zen becoming a special faction of attention. Additionally, in the old times in Japan, famous Chinese painters were difficult to come by, therefore there is a select group of paintings that appear to be very precious, and that were collected. These paintings are consistent with the ideas of Japanese aesthetics.

Zhi China: When it comes to modern or more contemporary times, what do you think is the situation of Shanshui painting?

Michelle: Modern China has a lot of interesting Shanshui Paintings. Contemporary Chinese painters are also not simply imitating tradition, but have also innovated a lot of new forms of painting. For example, Cai Guo-Qiang uses gunpowder to depict landscapes, Xu Bing develops his own Chinese characters, and Yang Yongliang uses photography and architecture to reveal landscapes, along with that there are artists that focus on environmental problems. These are all sorts of interesting contemporary extensions of Shanshui painting. Contemporary Chinese artists are also not confined to China. With a lot of them developing themselves internationally, these Chinese artists integrate aspects of globalisation into their practice, all of which are fields worth researching.

Sichuan | 四川 （2015）

WRITING | 文章 Michael Lindeman’s ‘Two Magnificent Oil Paintings’: Catalogue Entry, 2016 Pawing through the pages of a catalogue, you read the title of one of Michael Lindeman’s latest artworks, Two magnificent oil paintings, in fine print. You are intrigued. The title alone is certainly quite a bold declaration, and at this point you can but wonder about the degree of ‘magnificence’ these paintings exude. Propelled by curiosity you search on for the corresponding image, only to find yourself staring at what appears to be nothing more than a classified from the local paper. With a guffaw you whisper under your breath, “Magnificent indeed”…

Born in 1973, Michael Lindeman is a contemporary Australian artist living and working in Sydney. In 1998 he received a Bachelor of Fine Arts, Honours (First Class) and in 2004 obtained a Master of Fine Arts from the College of Fine Art, University of New South Wales. In the art world, Lindeman has become known for his signature text-based large-scale paintings; a tableau of witty of images that continually surface contemporary concerns surrounding the cultural meaning and commodification of art.

Lindeman has exhibited his works extensively, both nationally and internationally, with more than 13 solo shows to his name including the LA International Biennal, 18th Street Arts Complex, Santa Monica, 2001 and The Lounge, Casula Powerhouse

Arts Centre, Sydney, 2000. More recently he has exhibited in Lie of the Land: New Australian Landscapes, Embassy of Australia, Washington DC, 2012, House Inspection: Interior Motives, Subtext: Art for Literacy, Carriageworks, Sydney, 2011, and at Griffith University Art Gallery, Brisbane, 2011, where Two magnificent oil paintings was acquired.

Some of Lindeman’s more notable achievements and awards include being a finalist for 2013 University of Queensland Art Museum National Artists’ Self Portrait Prize, and the Archibald prize in 2011, where he was awarded for his artwork which consisted of an amusing letter addressed to the trustees of the prize, asking them to consider his “challenging” artwork.

Two magnificent oil paintings was exhibited as part of Lindeman’s 2011 exhibition The Gumbo Variations, the exhibition title derived from the name of a Frank Zappa song. The exhibition consists of a series of paintings, painted flat in Lindeman’s signature hard-edge trompe l’oeil aesthetic. The paintings appear to be recreations of ads from the trading post blown up large – monumentalised, yet laughable in their wry humour. Interested in replicating the printing and writing processes through painting, Lindeman spends an average or two weeks to create each painting, working in a process involving paint rollers and spray guns.

His mastery in painting is evident the exactness

in which he mimics the newspaper print aesthetic with its muted colours and bold flatness; if not for the indication of scale, it would be easy to dismiss these paintings as a mere cut-out from the Sunday Trading Post.

Two magnificent oil paintings is one of Lindeman’s signature paintings from The Gumbo Variations exhibition. Measuring a rather imposing 64 x 168cm, Two magnificent oil paintings is anything but your regular newspaper ad – except that it is. The text in the painting reads: “Two magnificent oil paintings, one is a Queensland tropical setting the other a classical bush landscape. Will sell separately. $30 each Craigsmore 0408 258 874”. Rooted in a sobering sense of the local, with references to locations in the ‘burbs’ and the no-nonsense approach to paper advertising, Lindeman takes a courageous jab at the contemporary meaning and value of

Two Magnificent Oil Paintings Michael Lindeman acrylic on canvas， 2011 64 x 168cm

art in society. Elevating the classified beyond the mundane into the realm of the gallery, Lindeman leverages his deadpan humour and wacky irreverence to create yet another humorous deconstruction of art’s contemporary dilemma and ties between commercialism and commodity.

With a canny and bold approach to conceptual art, Michael Lindeman’s courageous experimentation in the field of painting continually expands and redefines our relationship to art. A flagship to a body of work which is both diverse yet cohesive, Two magnificent oil paintings proves to be a truly magnificent and refreshing contribution to the contemporary painting discourse.

Changzhou | 常州 （2015）

PUBLIC ART | 公共艺术 ‘A Story About Trolleys’ was recently installed by a local artist (who wishes to remain unknown), in a juxtaposition of mundane objects that captures the complexity of the public versus private debate fuelled by the dystopia of modern consumerist culture. A bold, sincere, yet witty statement about these serious issues, A Story About Trolleys will remain on display indefinitely, or until returned back to the local IGA.

A Story About Trolleys Anonymous shopping trolleysďźŒ 2016 varied dimensions

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