Origins of the Chinese avant-garde : the modern woodcut movement

In Origins of the Chinese Avant-Garde, Xiaobing Tang studies the art and art theories of the first half of the twentieth century, when modern Chinese art and literature emerged. He argues that the most consequential expression of the avant-garde was the modern woodcut movement that thrived in China in the 1930s. In this innovative study—also the first comprehensive account of this Chinese movement available in English—Tang examines the aesthetic, intellectual, and social appeal of the modern woodcut and places the movement at the intersection of historical events, individual efforts, and competing discourses on art. He also shows how the woodcut movement drew upon international inspiration—from German Expressionism, Soviet wood engravings, and Japanese creative prints. "Modern Chinese art and literature emerged amid the tremendous political and cultural turmoil in the first half of the twentieth century in China. In Origins of the Chinese Avant-Garde, Xiaobing Tang studies the art and art theories of this period and argues that the most consequential expression of the avant-garde was the modern woodcut movement that came of age in the 1930s. In this study - also the first comprehensive account available in English of the Chinese woodcut movement - Tang examines the aesthetic, intellectual, and social appeal of the modern woodcut and places the movement at the intersection of historical events, individual efforts, and competing discourses on art. He also shows how the woodcut movement thrived on international inspirations such as German Expressionism, Soviet wood engravings, and creative Japanese prints. The life and writings of Lu Xun provide a central narrative thread for this study, but the careers of important artists such as Lin Fengmian, Liu Haisu, and Xu Beihong are also closely followed. By tracing the conceptual and institutional origins of the woodcut movement, Tang demonstrates how it grew logically out of the newly reconfigured field of art." "Tang claims in the book that the first generation of modern-style printmakers in China not only extended the vocabulary and reach of the woodblock print but also transformed the existing methods of creating and exhibiting art. By pursuing a revolutionary movement in art, the young printmakers heralded the arrival of modernity, both artistic and political, and significantly altered the grammar of Chinese graphic arts and visual culture. Their artwork addressed a new public and has since etched itself deeply in the collective memory and consciousness of twentieth-century and present-day China."--Jacket