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A treasure trove of art is a treasure itself
By Yao Minji |
March 31, 2009, Tuesday
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Print Edition
Print Edition
HANGZHOU'S world-famous China Academy of Fine Arts is recognized internationally for its President Xu Jiang and its efforts in developing traditional Chinese painting, using the latest technologies. Yao Minji looks over its history and philosophy If you go
When I was three years old, my father took me to Hangzhou and we packed a lot of sightseeing in over the week. But I still vividly remember the first place we visited ?? the China Academy of Fine Arts.
The art academy, opposite the West Lake, is in the middle of Nanshan Road, the site educator Cai Yuanpei originally picked out for the academy in 1928. Cai was famous for his efforts in encouraging young intellectuals during his presidency of China's prestigious Peking University in the 1920s.
When I first visited it 22 years ago, Nanshan Road was far from the scenic street it is today that is filled with trendy restaurants, cool bars and interesting galleries.
The art academy, though already ranked among the top three art institutions in China, has not always had the media attention or tourists it sees today, either.
A small dark gate was the only entrance that disguised the grand and splendid world behind it. This left a big impression on me - so much so that I still recall clearly the grayish building with green plants adorning it, the bridge that led to a hidden playground, the stylish students walking in and out with big carry bags on their back.
"Every city has a soul," dad told me quoting a line from a poem for his own purpose. "I always get an understanding of the city's soul from its universities and libraries."
Dad said he then understood the relationship between water and its various qualities and the academy.
I did not really understand this until my most recent visit to this now world-famous art institution, which is recognized especially for its efforts in developing traditional Chinese painting, using the latest technologies, and its President Xu Jiang.
Twenty-two years passed and the campus underwent many renovations including a major revamp in 2003. The gate standing in front of me now is a much larger one, grand and square, yet still shares the same function as that old small dark gate - it hides all the secrets inside.
Several artists and architects say the new Nanshan campus of the art academy is a modern interpretation of traditional Chinese painting. Experts say the similarity and metaphor lie in the gray tones, the layered structures, the secret charms hiding and revealing, and the use of water and bridges.
They say the campus reflects its content - a place that has carried on the tradition of Chinese landscape painting successfully and vows to continue to do so.
I have studied neither architecture nor painting, but I agree. I get the same feeling looking at the Nanshan campus and the traditional Chinese painting. And that's also when I felt I was beginning to understand the links between water and the academy.
Yes, water, not because there is the West Lake on the other side of the road or that there is a small lake inside the campus. The simple but layered gray tones reminded me of clear but moving water. The organized yet vivid structure gives a freedom to the imagination, the way water adapts itself to all kinds of forms.
And the clever combination of artificial buildings and nature add a peaceful template to the innovative constructions, building a peaceful ambience that echoes the calm waters of the lake.
Water - simple, sophisticated, adaptable, gentle and mysterious - is what I sense behind the spirit of the Nanshan campus.
People are also talking more and more now about the Xiangshan campus of the art academy, which spreads over some 530,000 square meters in Zhuantang, in the west of Hangzhou.
Opened in 2007, the campus was designed by Wang Shu, director of the academy's School of Architecture, who has dared to experiment with his architectural theories - occupying a minimum amount of space and saving the rest for nature - in the project. It is much more than merely combining nature and architecture: Nearly half of the campus is occupied by hills and ponds.
Some experts called the design a "romantic intellectual fantasy" and "an architectural failure" that would become a joke.
They had their reasons - it is a good idea to reserve space for nature for ecological reasons, but it's another thing to put this into architectural practice - water and hills are among the most difficult architectural elements to master.
It might still be too early to mark an "A" for Wang, but at least it didn't fail to impress some when the first students moved to the campus in 2007 - architecturally and educationally.
It is not just the buildings on the hills. The finished product turns out to be a natural site that requires a sense of wonder to find and relate to the steel constructions.
A hill naturally separates the campus into two parts. To get around the campus, you have to wander on a small path between hills or take a stroll on a road that follows the main hill. Wang designed it this way so that the students can be constantly inspired by their surroundings - natural surroundings very different to the norm.
Often the students will be able to catch a glimpse of a flock of sheep or a farmer walking up the hills. This not only keeps them in touch with nature but often serves as an inspiration for their work.
China Academy of Fine Arts Nanshan campus
Address: 218 Nanshan Road
You can take a bullet train from Shanghai South Railway Station to Hangzhou - it only takes 78 minutes. Or drive yourself via the A8 Expressway which takes about two hours.
After arriving in Hangzhou, you can take Bus No. 1, 11, 12, 16, 30, 31, 48, 93, Y2, K4.
When I was three years old, my father took me to Hangzhou and we packed a lot of sightseeing in over the week. But I still vividly remember the first place we visited ?? the China Academy of Fine Arts.
The art academy, opposite the West Lake, is in the middle of Nanshan Road, the site educator Cai Yuanpei originally picked out for the academy in 1928. Cai was famous for his efforts in encouraging young intellectuals during his presidency of China's prestigious Peking University in the 1920s.
When I first visited it 22 years ago, Nanshan Road was far from the scenic street it is today that is filled with trendy restaurants, cool bars and interesting galleries.
The art academy, though already ranked among the top three art institutions in China, has not always had the media attention or tourists it sees today, either.
A small dark gate was the only entrance that disguised the grand and splendid world behind it. This left a big impression on me - so much so that I still recall clearly the grayish building with green plants adorning it, the bridge that led to a hidden playground, the stylish students walking in and out with big carry bags on their back.
"Every city has a soul," dad told me quoting a line from a poem for his own purpose. "I always get an understanding of the city's soul from its universities and libraries."
Dad said he then understood the relationship between water and its various qualities and the academy.
I did not really understand this until my most recent visit to this now world-famous art institution, which is recognized especially for its efforts in developing traditional Chinese painting, using the latest technologies, and its President Xu Jiang.
Twenty-two years passed and the campus underwent many renovations including a major revamp in 2003. The gate standing in front of me now is a much larger one, grand and square, yet still shares the same function as that old small dark gate - it hides all the secrets inside.
Several artists and architects say the new Nanshan campus of the art academy is a modern interpretation of traditional Chinese painting. Experts say the similarity and metaphor lie in the gray tones, the layered structures, the secret charms hiding and revealing, and the use of water and bridges.
They say the campus reflects its content - a place that has carried on the tradition of Chinese landscape painting successfully and vows to continue to do so.
I have studied neither architecture nor painting, but I agree. I get the same feeling looking at the Nanshan campus and the traditional Chinese painting. And that's also when I felt I was beginning to understand the links between water and the academy.
Yes, water, not because there is the West Lake on the other side of the road or that there is a small lake inside the campus. The simple but layered gray tones reminded me of clear but moving water. The organized yet vivid structure gives a freedom to the imagination, the way water adapts itself to all kinds of forms.
And the clever combination of artificial buildings and nature add a peaceful template to the innovative constructions, building a peaceful ambience that echoes the calm waters of the lake.
Water - simple, sophisticated, adaptable, gentle and mysterious - is what I sense behind the spirit of the Nanshan campus.
People are also talking more and more now about the Xiangshan campus of the art academy, which spreads over some 530,000 square meters in Zhuantang, in the west of Hangzhou.
Opened in 2007, the campus was designed by Wang Shu, director of the academy's School of Architecture, who has dared to experiment with his architectural theories - occupying a minimum amount of space and saving the rest for nature - in the project. It is much more than merely combining nature and architecture: Nearly half of the campus is occupied by hills and ponds.
Some experts called the design a "romantic intellectual fantasy" and "an architectural failure" that would become a joke.
They had their reasons - it is a good idea to reserve space for nature for ecological reasons, but it's another thing to put this into architectural practice - water and hills are among the most difficult architectural elements to master.
It might still be too early to mark an "A" for Wang, but at least it didn't fail to impress some when the first students moved to the campus in 2007 - architecturally and educationally.
It is not just the buildings on the hills. The finished product turns out to be a natural site that requires a sense of wonder to find and relate to the steel constructions.
A hill naturally separates the campus into two parts. To get around the campus, you have to wander on a small path between hills or take a stroll on a road that follows the main hill. Wang designed it this way so that the students can be constantly inspired by their surroundings - natural surroundings very different to the norm.
Often the students will be able to catch a glimpse of a flock of sheep or a farmer walking up the hills. This not only keeps them in touch with nature but often serves as an inspiration for their work.
China Academy of Fine Arts Nanshan campus
Address: 218 Nanshan Road
You can take a bullet train from Shanghai South Railway Station to Hangzhou - it only takes 78 minutes. Or drive yourself via the A8 Expressway which takes about two hours.
After arriving in Hangzhou, you can take Bus No. 1, 11, 12, 16, 30, 31, 48, 93, Y2, K4.
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