Veteran artist Zhang Ding honored
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Zhang Ding's "Rooster and Chick," circa 1960s. [Global Times] |
Zhang's presence was greatly felt in Yan'an, according to social commentators of the time. "From costume design to stage and exhibition design, Zhang greatly enriched the cultural life and ambience of Yan'an," Wang Luxiang added in his article.
"He even hosted a costume ball at the writers' club, Chairman Mao Zedong and General Lin Biao were among his guests," Wang said.
"People often say 'fashion is where Zhang Ding is,'" Lu Xinhua added.
Zhang designed China's national emblem in 1949 and was the artistic designer of the founding ceremony for the People's Republic of China and the designer of the first commemorative stamps of New China.
"The red wall, golden tile and blue sky of the ancient capital Beijing represent a unique landscape among the big metropolis in the world. Therefore I used these three colors as the basic note in the design of the national emblem," Zhang was quoted in a 2005 report Zhang Ding and the National Emblem by Zou Wen.
"Traditional Chinese painting has given great emphasis to gold and red which are still prevalent among the Chinese people. And only these striking colors go naturally with Chinese architecture like the gatetower of Tiananmen," he said.
During the past two decades of his career, Zhang has devoted most of his time and energy to revitalizing Chinese landscape painting, using only black ink.
"Since the 1950s, I have been trying to renovate traditional Chinese painting together with artists like Li Keran by infusing imitations of the real landscape into the stereotyped art form. Some people call this campaign a monument in Chinese art history, but I think it's an overstatement," Zhang said in the film "Course of Zhang Ding Landscape Painting Technique," available on youku.com.
"Traditional Chinese landscape painting reached its summit in the Yuan Dynasty (1279-1368) and has been declining since the late Qing Dynasty (1644-1911) when artists produced their works based on traditional techniques and subject matters. Therefore, I think it's important to learn from nature instead of just copying the old text," Zhang added.
Zhang's murals are still scattered around Beijing and can be discovered inside subways, airports and hotels.
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