Hou Jingqi
'Trip' 190cmx240cm 2019
My current research direction is explore the value of traditional patterns in contemporary art. In other words is how to make better use of traditional patterns in contemporary art
Why I choose this research direction? Why choose traditional pattern? I have two points: The first, I prefer the form of works are very colorful and full, especially for symmetrical patterns. The characteristic of traditional pattern is rich color matching and effect. Such as: glass murals in European churches and Buddhist murals in Chinese temples, the characteristic of traditional Chinese architecture is to embody Confucian "Zhongyong" in a symmetrical form. So my pursuit of art form is the same as the traditional pattern.
Second, as everyone know, tradition means the thoughts, morals, customs, art, something like that that come from history and art includes pattern. Traditional patterns can still survive the changes of the times, proving that they have the meaning and value of existence. Part of meaning and value comes from the notion of traditional patterns and this concept is very similar to my concept. For example in Chinese Buddhism, many important symbolic patterns like lotus, mandala are related to the circle. Because in the record of Buddhism, the circle symbolizes nature, beauty, and circle of life. Some of my life experiences make me feel that life is circle, in the end we have to go back to the original place. This resonance makes me trust the meaning and value of traditional patterns.
glass murals in European churches
Buddhist murals in Chinese temples
So I made a practice about the traditional pattern form, that is the work ‘Trip’. In the original concept, <Trip> continues the traditional symmetrical form. My original intention was to record the travel content and feelings of everyday and different cities like a diary, so the finished effect was like an ancient Egyptian religious mural or an ancient treasure map.
Draft of 'Trip'
First, I drew a sketch with a colored pencil. Because the ideal effect in my mind is to record the day-to-day trip like an ancient map, I use a row and a row. Every new city in every day is equipped with different colors, which is the impression of the city in my mind.
Secondly, I used the image of four ‘dogs people’ to represent the journey of a total of four people, each with different characteristics. The big ‘dog people’ in the middle represents the journey of four people, drawing on the traditional murals that magnify important figures in the middle.
Finally, when I created, the details of the picture are supplemented according to the random drafts. The details are not necessarily true. I will combine the impressions of the city with the things I have experienced, mainly expressing my memory and feelings about a city.
I hope that the effect of the picture is simple and easy to understand. The audience will understand at a glance, and I feel that such a work is more natural and pure. This is also the initial function of painting. I don't like things that doublespeak. I hope that the audience will be attracted to the style and content of the work in the first place. Then discover some interesting details through the content, and then associate some traditional patterns with the details and the feeling of the picture. The simple picture is very helpful to the audience to understand the work, the understanding of contemporary art, and even resonate with the author in some aspects.
Completion process
In the use of materials, I continue to use a variety of materials such as acrylic, oil pastels, pencils, paper towels, etc., and try to analyze the picture effect of each material, thus controlling the rhythm of the picture. In the future practice, I will use bolder, more diverse materials, and make a trade-off for each material. I think the material should be used in a high-level sense and cannot be used casually.
Details in the work
In order to understand my research direction more comprehensively, I went to the Jue Nang in Sichuan Province of China to make some investigations and interviews about Buddhist murals through the opportunity of the unit 3 of practice.
Unit 3 Supporting Written Material:
Attached：
Interview on Buddhist murals
‘Trip’ completed