Have a dialogue with Moore

GUANGZHOU: British master sculptor Henry Moore (1898-1986) is having a discerning dialogue with the Chinese art community in this southern metropolis.

His grand sculpture retrospective "Moore in China" has travelled to the Guangdong Museum of Art in Guangzhou following a controversial Beijing debut in October.

Among the 106 travelling works are such well-known master pieces as "King and Queen" (1952-53), "Large Standing Figure: Knife Edge"(1961), and "Mother and Child: Arms" (1980).

Echoing the show, the Guangdong Museum of Art has organized a series of exhibitions and events entitled "Dialogue with Henry Moore" during the same period, which lasts until February 11 this year.

The activities include the Chinese Contemporary Sculpture Exhibition, that features works by 33 active Chinese sculptors; a solo of Guangzhou veteran sculptor Pan He's sculptures; a two-man show of young Chinese sculptors Tang Songwu and Wei Hua; and a symposium under the theme "Sculpture as Public Art."

"Through the exhibitions and events, we hope that Chinese artists and viewers will be able to communicate better with the world master and ponder new possibilities for Chinese sculpture to develop," said Wang Huangsheng, director of the art museum.

When the Moore show was held at the China National Art Museum in Beijing, some local media carried reports saying "Henry Moore is unpopular in China."

Their assumptions were based on the phenomenon that fewer visitors crowded to the show compared with their craze for the earlier show of Spanish surrealist painter Salvador Dali in the same art venue, as well as complaints from some viewers saying most of Henry Moore's "abstract" sculptures are hard to understand.

Some people even claim that abstract sculpture is against the traditional concept of Chinese audiences, who are "more used to enjoying figurative and realistic sculptures."

Many art specialists, however, argue that such assumptions are misleading and agree that the Moore show is much more significant than the Dali exhibition in Beijing in terms of the quality and quantity of exhibits.

The Moore show includes almost all major works by the artist, but the Dali show featured few of his representative paintings, especially those of his surrealist period.

"Personally I believe Moore's artistic achievements are better than Dali's," said Wang Ren, vice-president of the Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts. "Moore's art should be closer to the concept of Chinese people, for instance, in seeking harmony between man and nature."

Wang said the lines and shapes of Moore's sculptures are often reminiscent of the rhythms of traditional Chinese calligraphy, which is a seemingly abstract art form in Westerners' eyes, and the images of Chinese folk sculptures.

"I argue that Henry Moore's art is not abstract," said David Mitchinson, head of collections and exhibitions of the Henry Moore Foundation in Britain. "Most of his works are actually figurative, if not realistic.

"It is understandable that most ordinary people like colourful pictures. But that's not the case for Moore's sculpture, which has very subtle colours," Mitchinson added.

Hunan art critic and sculptor Qian Haiyuan said Moore's sculpture is highly inspiring for Chinese artists who seek a balance between the traditional and the modern, the abstract and the figurative in sculpture.

Qian, who visited the show in Guangzhou, said the fact that there were fewer audiences in Beijing could be because the Moore show has a much longer duration than other art exhibitions and will travel to Guangzhou and Shanghai.

"Many southern viewers like me will wait to visit the show in Guangzhou or Shanghai, which is closer. We don't have to rush to the show in Beijing as we did for the Rodin sculpture show a few years ago."

Beijing gallery owner Li Xiaoke said the ineffective exhibition installation and management of the China National Art Museum should also be blamed for the "unpopularity" of the Henry Moore show.

Although described as "abstract" and "against Chinese tradition" by some media, Moore's art is welcomed by veteran realist sculptors such as Pan He and younger contemporary Chinese artists.

Pan, 75, is famous for his realistic works including "A Look of Contempt," which is in his solo show at the art museum. The work is a vivid bust of late Chinese author Lu Xun (1881-1936).

"I appreciate the spiritual tranquility of Henry Moore even after experiencing the wars. His understanding of nature and self also impress me very much," Pan said.

Like Pan, most Chinese realist sculptors in the New China period from 1949 to the late 1980s take sculpture as a method of serving political movements and depicting the social and political life of the country.

Since the 1990s, Chinese sculpture, however, has turned more conceptual and has stood out as an increasingly important public art, especially with the country's rapid urbanization.

Most of the works by younger generations of Chinese sculptors, such as Jiang Jie's "Dreaming Butterflies," in the Chinese Contemporary Sculpture Exhibition, are examples of this new trend.

According to art critic Zhu Qi, a most noticeable factor of Moore's success is that he has managed to turn a large amount of his modern sculptural work into public art as a centre of public concern, rather than simply something without any interaction with ordinary people.

Some experts pointed out that the lack of an effective art promotional system and the poor art museum management in China have prevented modern art from being well understood by the masses.

Date: 01/05/2001
Author: YANG YINGSHI, China Daily staff
Copyright? by China Daily

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