Art is the bright pearl of human civilization. China’s modern art is born out of the tradition of a thousand years’ context, and it is closely related to the evolution of China’s history and society in the past hundred years. Many famous works have merged into a river of art full of charm and profound meaning. In order to make the artistic achievements serve the people better, enhance the aesthetic education of the whole people, enhance cultural self-confidence and build a strong cultural country, the documentary "China in Art" was recently broadcast by CCTV Comprehensive Channel of the Central Radio and Television General Station. In the form of 12-minute short films each episode, one episode revolves around a modern and classic China art work, telling the artistic breakthrough behind the work, the painter’s character, the cultural tradition and the spirit of the times, which is a visual symphony of poetry and painting.
First, use history as a pen to express the national spirit of the magnificent era.
China’s modern art works were born in the turbulent historical period of one hundred years. The fate of the painter is closely related to the country. Paintings are not only the expression of personal feelings, but also the expression of the fate of the country. China in Art takes painting as the starting point, introduces detailed historical materials, and reproduces the historical situation of the birth of painting and the artist’s feelings. In the film, the audience saw Jiang Zhaohe’s painting "The Map of Refugees", and wrote the generous and sad songs of the enemy-occupied areas during the Anti-Japanese War with the sad eyes of more than 100 homeless refugees; Seeing that Gu Yuan wrote the most vivid rural changes with a carving knife, the print Rent Reduction Meeting showed unprecedented new changes in rural areas under the leadership of the Communist Party of China during the Anti-Japanese War. Seeing Shi Lu’s creation of "Oriental Dawn", he seemed to stand shoulder to shoulder with the painter next to the cave in Mao Zedong, Zaoyuan, Yan ‘an, looking forward to the dawn of the China revolution; Seeing Li Keran’s cinnabar painting "Wanshan Hongbian", the passion of the times during the socialist construction period was integrated into the autumn scenery; Seeing He Haixia splashing ink, the brilliant Great Green Wall is a high-spirited weather that has sprung up among the mountains and rivers of the motherland after the reform and opening up. These excellent works of art are linked together to form a vivid scroll of China’s modern history, showing people the immortal spirit of national independence and self-improvement and rebuilding cultural self-confidence. China in Art depicts such an epic of national spirit. It starts from the national spiritual strength of the painting and leads the audience to crack the charm code of art evergreen. For example, Xu Beihong’s traditional Chinese painting "Running the Horse" is painted in "The Second Changsha Battle, Worried", expressing his ambition to resist the enemy by stepping on the desert.这是炎黄子孙的不屈志。孙滋溪的油画《天安门前》，将中国人在天安门前合影这一集体记忆定格在画框中，这是华夏儿女的爱国情。这种民族精神，还体现在画作《钢水·汗水》中汗如雨下的奋斗，《洪荒风雪》中踏遍雪原的开拓，《太湖鹅群》中大鹅嘈嘈切切皆乡音的故乡情。
二、以文为魂，探求传统根脉中国智慧
Art works of different countries and cultures are condensed with cultural genes and civilized achievements of different regions and traditions. China’s modern fine arts grew in the fertile cultural soil of China for thousands of years, creating a unique China style in color, pen and ink, composition and modeling. China in Art selects works with high artistic standards and profound cultural traditions, taking into account different art categories such as Chinese painting, oil painting, sculpture and printmaking, digging deep into the cultural traditions behind the paintings, and interpreting the cultural symbols that are passed down like poems and dances between strokes. From the painting method in Fu Baoshi’s "A Picture of the Jiangshan" to the ink method in Huang Binhong’s "Wan Song Haze"; From the golden stone flavor in Li Kuchan’s "Summer Map" to the knife flavor in Xu Kuang and A Ge’s print "Master", the documentary leads the audience to understand the professional knowledge of fine arts, pursue the roots of tradition, and tell about the artistic techniques and artistic spirit behind the paintings, so that the tradition can shine again in modern times.
"Poetry is an intangible painting, and painting is a tangible poem." In the cultural context of China, the art tradition is not only reflected in the priorities of the pen tip, but also in the poetic meaning and philosophical debate outside the painting. These seemingly abstract words, which come from history, are actually contaminated with China’s unique philosophy and cultural wisdom. The program unscrambles the philosophy and cultural wisdom behind the fine arts major, creates a vivid and interesting "digital art museum", and allows the audience to increase their knowledge and realize life in the dialogue between ancient and modern times.
Third, take the new as the beauty, and carve excellent TV art works.
The classic works of art presented in China in Art are not only a record of the historical situation, but also a footnote to the spirit of the times. The program pays tribute to the classics, takes beauty as the medium, breaks through the topic, and at the same time takes the new as the beauty and pursues the ultimate innovation. On the one hand, the innovative presentation of art works is achieved by using cutting-edge technical means. For example, 3D modeling, XR and other technologies are applied in the title, and with the first perspective, the works of art are "alive" in the film. The audience can linger in the paintings, shuttle through the Yangtze River in Guan Shanyue’s Jiangxia Atlas, float in the crimson clouds in He Haixia’s Oriental Dragon, or reach out and touch the fluff of camels fluttering in the wind, and stop at the snow-capped mountains to listen to the songs of Tajiks. On the other hand, diversified shooting techniques are used to make it broad and subtle. With the support of 4K photography technology, the whole film shows the texture and texture of the work in detail, leading the audience into the macro world. From Fu Baoshi’s pen and ink, experience his unruly ambition; From Qi Baishi’s sketch, I feel the trembling of every shrimp beard; Under Guang Tingbo’s brush, observe the changing luster of sweat flowing along the muscle texture. The new TV technology gives the painting a new way of watching, making the audience feel as if they were there. In order to further strengthen the artistic appeal and accurately convey the artistic conception in the painting, the main creative team also broke away from the routine and put the painting in the environment to let the audience feel the heartbeat of the painter when creating in the real landscape, sunshine, wind and rain and snowy fields, and enter the world in the painting. The snow and fog in the painting are floating outside the painting.The scenes in the artist’s mind are projected on the studio wall, and these novel visual presentations make art within reach, and also make immersive viewing full of surprises everywhere.
It can be said that the documentary China in Art itself is a bold artistic attempt, full of innovation and creativity. It is not only full of artistic temperament from vision and music to image style and explanatory text, which effectively extends the aesthetic enjoyment of classic paintings, but also lowers the threshold of artistic appreciation with new technology, so that every audience can understand the rich connotation of the spirit of the times from the integration of technology and culture and see a three-dimensional China with wonderful aspects.
(Tang Jinggang)