The Art of Resistance: Painting by Candlelight in Mao's China

by Shelley Drake Hawks

The Art of Resistance surveys the lives of seven painters―Ding Cong (1916–2009), Feng Zikai (1898–1975), Li Keran (1907–89), Li Kuchan (1898–1983), Huang Yongyu (b. 1924), Pan Tianshou (1897–1971), and Shi Lu (1919–82)―during China’s Cultural Revolution (1966–1976), a time when they were considered counterrevolutionary and were forbidden to paint. Drawing on interviews with the artists and their families and on materials collected during her visits to China, Shelley Drake Hawks examines their painting styles, political outlooks, and life experiences.

These fiercely independent artists took advantage of moments of low surveillance to secretly “paint by candlelight.” In doing so, they created symbolically charged art that is open to multiple interpretations. The wit, courage, and compassion of these painters will inspire respect for the deep emotional and spiritual resonance of Chinese art.

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304 pages, Hardcover

Published November 20, 2017

Reviews

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book that should be read by anyone working with Chinese art--historians, curators, teachers, docents, as it covers a subject that is extremely valuable: how Chinese artists have expressed dissension from the historical constraints China has imposed upon its artists for two thousand years. By focusing on seven artists and how their work and lives were affected during China's infamous Cultural Revolution, Hawks has highlighted a subject that has only recently been studied. It's directly relevant for anyone who has been following Aldreda Murck's work on the poetry and paintings of Song (960-1279) China in her 2000 classic "The Subtle Art of Dissent". Dissenting art is not new in China; we can find examples as early as the Tang Dynasty. What is new is our recognition that some of the traditional symbols of art in China--flowers, insects, trees, orchids, and especially horses have at times been used to express non-traditional (and here is meant non-Confucian) messages.

As the author of a work on the subject of the many meanings of the motifs and symbols found in traditional Chinese art, I cannot applaud this work highly enough. The author, while living in China, has found and worked with these artists and their families, recording their stories. Her analyses of their paintings pre and post- Cultural Revolution is both detailed and yet clear to those who do not have a typical art history education. I would also recommend the British Museum's work "I Object" by Ian Hislop to anyone interested in the topic of dissert art. The British Museum's exhibition highlighted objects from a wide variety of cultures throughout history. We must all remember, in the words of the Southeast Asian art historian Astrid Wright, that art can be one of the few ways those who live in restrictive cultures can find openings to express themselves.

[AlexHartshorn · Rating 4.5 out of 5]

i now am a Li keran fan. I will use his art everywhere