Photo/Dodge Billings
Oil on paper on wood by
Jin Zhilin, Beijing, 1972.
Documentary film and Chinese folk art exhibit kick-off East Asia Symposium
By Laura Hancock
University Advancement | lhancock@eou.edu
Monday, February 27, 2006
LA GRANDE, Oregon – A Chinese art exhibit and film presentation are highlights of the first weekend session of the East Asia Symposium at Eastern Oregon University March 4. Eric Hyer, from Brigham Young University, will give a guest lecture and show the documentary, “From the Masses to the Masses: An Artist in Mao’s China,” at 10:45 a.m. in Loso Hall, Room 115. A light lunch and viewing of the art exhibit in Nightingale Gallery will follow. The event is free and open to the public.
The gallery show and film are intended to give an introduction to Chinese painting and folk craft during the various Communist campaigns. Pieces in the collection of wood block prints were created by local peasants who studied under Jin Zhilin, of Beijing, and Song Ruxin, of Yan’an, at the Masses Art Academy.
Photo/Dodge Billingsley
"Yan'an Night: Great Hall of Yan'an," by
Song Ruxin, is a four color woodcut.
“We welcome the La Grande community to any or all events that are occurring on March 3 and 4 – the lectures on China, Japan, and Korea, as well as the guest lecture, video presentation, and art exhibit,” said Dr. Marilyn Levine, EOU dean of Arts and Sciences. “East Asia is a dynamic region of the world right now, with booming economies. We need to educate ourselves on the cultures and societies of their region. I am very pleased that our symposium has attracted teachers throughout our region and from Portland as well.”
Presented by Levine, the symposium is geared toward teachers in the K-12 school system. Classes are scheduled for March 3-4, April 21-22, and May 19-20 on the EOU campus. Funding from the Freeman Foundation and the National Consortium for Teaching about Asia, a branch of the University of Washington’s East Asia Resource Center, helped to make the symposium possible. For a complete schedule of symposium events, visit www.eou.edu/artsci/nctasia.html#ScheduleActivities.
Levine is an internationally recognized expert on China and Chinese culture. She has published two books and more than three-dozen articles, and has created Web sites such as the Chinese Biographical Database that provide resources for teachers, researchers and professionals.
Photo/Dodge Billingsley
This gouache on paper by Jin Zhilin and Song
Ruxin
depicts thousands of cadres traveling to
the countryside to promote the model Dazhal
commune.
The documentary film follows Jin Zhilin through his career as an artist and how the rise of the Communist Party dramatically affected his work. His personal experience provides a unique glimpse into the lives of artists living in a revolutionary society. Once an artist who used his talents to promote a political agenda, Zhilin later found himself on the wrong side of the Community Party’s mandates and was imprisoned. The film encompasses the historical and political significance of art as a weapon, a concept first introduced in China in 1942.
All pieces in the art exhibit are from the latter-Cultural Revolution and the post-Cultural Revolution period in China, spanning from the early 1970s to early ‘80s. While the art reflects traditional themes of classical China, the artists found themselves influenced by the Communist Party to create art promoting their policies. The collection is comprised of all original pieces, many of which are the only copies in existence. The exhibit will remain in Nightingale through March 18.
Contact Information for Admissions
Eastern Oregon University
University Advancement
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Ackerman Hall, Room 209
La Grande, OR 97850
Phone: 541-962-3740
Fax: 541-962-3680
Email: advancement@eou.edu