Yangcheng Evening News Art Institute is committed to exploring new models for art to help rural revitalization, and continues to invite artists to Wengcheng for artistic creation. On July 19, a group of artists gathered in Wengcheng, and Mr. Ji Zhou was one of the artists invited this time.
On the morning of July 20, artists came to the scrap station to “seek treasures”. People came and went, and forklifts shuttled through it. Teacher Ji Babaylan walked through it, focusing on finding the treasure in his heart. When asked about what he was looking for, Teacher Ji said he was not sure, but one idea was certain, that is, you must find an item that is closely related to the lives of farmers.
His works should be connected with local people and the local environment.
A excited voice suddenly sounded, and Teacher Ji ran in from outside with a giant white water storage tank lid. This deformed discarded lid is the material selected by Teacher Ji. Two days after that, under the sunshade of the agricultural park, colorful spray paint was placed beside the lid of the white water tank. Teacher Ji squatted on the ground, immersed in the world of artistic processing.
At noon on the 21st, the sun was shining in the sky, and the sun shone on the colorful water storage lid. A yellow plastic translucent straw hat was placed above the lid, flashing with dazzling light. Teacher Ji finally wiped the sweat off his face, took off his gloves dyed in color, and shared with us his views and thoughts on artistic creation in Wengcheng.
Ji Zhou’s creation scene
Dialogue with Ji Zhou
Question: How did you feel when you first came to Wengcheng?
Ji Zhou: Weng City is surrounded by mountains, with beautiful mountains and rivers and beautiful environment. This is my first impression when I first arrived here. In addition, what touched me the most was the peaceful attitude towards life of the locals. I share three small things here.
First of all, on the first night of coming here, I saw many people singing and dancing in the square at the gate of the town government, playing colorful game cars, etc., which was very lively and the people were full of happiness on their faces. This scene of blind dates between officials and the people and the people living and working in peace and contentment made me very moved.
The second thing is that when driving on the village road, I found that the local vehicles here always take the initiative to give way to us foreign vehicles. This made me feel very moved. First, the quality of the locals is very high and very polite. Second, it also reflects the peaceful rhythm of life of the locals. If everyone is busy with work and is nervous, they will not give way at all. Such a peaceful social atmosphere also reflects the high level of local managers.
The third thing is that when I was taking pictures, a big sister who carried water passed by. When I saw me taking pictures, she suddenly stopped and put the bucket on the ground, waiting for me to finish taking pictures. I said, “Sister, you pass first, I’ll take a photo slowly.” She replied, “I’m sorry, I’ll disturb you to take a photo.” Then she picked up the water and continued to walk. When she left, she Cinema replied again.He said “Sorry”.
It can be seen from these small things that the locals have a very peaceful state of mind, which is so polite, well-educated and qualitative. So I think I am here to come to Wengcheng this time and can have a pleasant artistic creation here. The above are some of my general impressions of Wengcheng.
Q: What do you think is the difference between creating here and creating it in daily life?
Ji Zhou: Creating here is completely different from my usual work. Creating here requires quick thinking and quick capture of inspiration, and urgently speaking, and the content should emphasize locality.
Before I came to Wengcheng to create, I was a little confused. I wanted to create something for Wengcheng, but I had no idea. For this reason, I went online to find some references about rural art. But soon I realized that all worries were unnecessary. In fact, we did not use anything. Komiks. When we came here, we would use whatever we saw. We would use it when we inspired us.
I came here with this idea. This state made my mind more focused, observe, discover, and look for something beautiful, and then turn it into a public work of art.
After coming here, I initially wanted to find some old farm tools with a sense of life, and Komiks turned these ready-made products into Babaylan public art installations. But soon I found that the number of representative old farm tools was very small, and most of them were entered into museums. Modern agricultural tools were very industrialized and less regional. I could not find representative farm tools. So I turned my attention to other items closely related to the life and production of local farmers.
Q: What do you think of Earth Art?
Ji Zhou: I can answer this question in combination with the previous question. Earth art should be reflected in the nature of the earth, and the creative materials should be closely related to the local people or the local living environment, at least they should be related, and they should not be completely disconnected.
The most important audience of the works of Earth Art is the local residents. If the artwork Komiks cannot resonate with the local people, then this work is a failed work and cannot be integrated into the local area.
Now the country emphasizes great aesthetic education. We should also popularize aesthetic education when we revitalize rural culture. So our creations must resonate with local people. Only when we are interested will they pay attention to art and play a role in aesthetic education.
Q: Can you share your creative philosophy with us?
Ji Zhou: Yesterday I went to the scrap station to look for creative materials and I found a large plastic round cake-shaped thing. At first I didn’t know what this Cinema was. After asking the local people, I realized that this was the lid of a large water storage tank. The lid of this water storage tank is very bulky. People who make sculptures pay attention to the sense of mass or volume, so it attracts me at a glance.
In addition, although this lid is large in size, it has a very simple shape. There is a hollow structure in the center of the circle, which is very design-like. The characteristics of this lid fit the theme of my ideal work – interacting with the sun.
Sunshine is very important to farmers. Although modern agriculture has become technological, it often depends on the weather. From planting and sowing to harvesting and drying grain, it is closely related to sunshine.
My work needs to be connected with sunlight. There is a hole in the middle of this large lid, and the sunlight can enter the interior of the work through the Cinema hole. But these are not enough. This hole cannot be empty. It also needs to be combined with some other things to give this work a certain sense of light and add some connotation.
I first thought of the local specialty dustpan. The decorative patterns of this type of braided products are very interesting, but we didn’t find them. Later, when I went to the hardware store to buy materials, I suddenly found a yellow plastic translucent straw hat. I think this straw hat is perfect. It is a practical agricultural production tool, closely related to the production and life of all farmers. And the size and cover of this straw hat<aThe size of the Cinema cell just fits, and I immediately thought of combining these two things.
From the lives of local people, I use the ready-made products around them to build a work of earth art or public art, which arouses emotional resonance among local people. This is my original intention of creation.
Q: What impact do you think doing artistic creation in Wengcheng can have on Komiks?
Ji Zhou: We talked about art education earlier. We cannot talk to local villagers about Michelangelo, Leonardo, Venus, Mona Lisa, and Song Huizong’s thin gold body and Ruihe Picture. These locals have no idea and cannot understand them immediately. As an enlightened aesthetic education, our initial goal was to make local people interested. The raw materials used for creation were farmed utensils and daily necessities, which would quickly arouse their empathy. They might sigh, “I know this thing”, “This is our grassCinema hat”, which will make them realize that ordinary things can also become works of art, and thus become interested in art. Maybe from then on, art will become a goal of his struggle – “I want to take the Academy of Fine Arts”, “I want to be an artist”, and “I want to be a painter”. If this impact can have, it would be amazing.
Even if it is just a chance to meet with everyone, letting everyone smile and touch, it has achieved my original intention. Therefore, art must resonate, arouse discussion, and arouse their interest.
In fact, art also serves the public. No matter how good the art work is, if there is no audience discussion or appreciation, the work will fail. Some people discuss, whether it is praise or criticism, at least there are people paying attention to it. Even if this work is a successful work, it can achieve the purpose of the author communicating with the audience through the work. Of course, it would be better if more people like this work.
We are conducting local creations in Wengcheng. Related media and online publicity can allow more people to pay attention to this, and then see the beauty of Wengcheng’s mountains and rivers and human feelings, and at the same time understand more of Wengcheng’s history, and even join us in the construction of Wengcheng. If this role can be played, it will be of immeasurable merit.
Ji Zhou’s works
“Qi”Bullfighting》 147cm x 147cm x 7cm Weather-resistant steel paint 2023CinemaYear
“Pregnancy” 230cm x 50cm KomiksResin electroplating gold 2022
Pregnancy 230cm x 50cm x50cm Resin electroplating 2022
Pregnancy 230cm x 50cm Resin electroplating 2022
Pregnancy 230cm x120cm x 90cm x 2 Resin baked car paint 2017
Pregnancy 230cm x 120cm x 90cm x 2 Resin baked car paintCinema 2017
“Dance of the Heavenly General” 230cm x 120cm x 90cm x 2
Resin Baked Car Paint 2017
“Walking Cat-1” 90cm x 40cm x 45cm Stainless Steel
“Walking Cat-2” 90cm x 40cm x 45cm stainless steel
“Victory” 70cm x 70cm x 10cm Casted Copper 2006
“Summer” 70cm x 50cm x8cm FRP paint 2004
“Door God” 180cm x Komiks150cm x85cm x2 FRP paint 2004
“Door God” 180cm x150cm x85cm x2 FRP paint 2004
“Male” 80cm x 50cm x 10cm cast copper 2003
“Female” 80cm x 12cm x 8cmcast copper 2003
“We” 120cm x 70cm x60cm Fiberglass Imitation Copper 2000
Artist Profile
Ji Zhou: Director of the Decoration Art Teaching and Research Department of the School of Architecture and Art Design, Guangzhou Academy of Fine Arts, member of the Guangdong Artists Association, member of the Sculpture Art Committee of the Guangzhou Art Association, vice president of the Guangzhou Sculpture Society, member of the China Decoration Association, and director of the Public Art Branch of the Guangdong Provincial Furniture Art Committee.
Ask questions, editors/Wang Qitong, Wu Fengping (intern)
Photography, video/Cheng Sheng, Xiao XingbangCinema (intern), Lin XinlongCinema (intern), Luo Jianyi (intern)
Pictures/Provided by Ji Zhou
Review/Zhao Xuhong
Issued/Zhang Yanqin
Source | Editor in charge of Jinyang.com | Wang Qitong