"Is this a creative work?" Yang Mingde asked in surprise as he looked at the giant wood sculpture in front of him.
"yes!"
“That’s great! That’s great!”
"The concept and the carving are simply amazing!"
Wu Zuoren and Tian Shiguang bent over, looking at it and praising it loudly.
"Mr. Wu, Mr. Tian, thank you for your praise. I still have many shortcomings and need to continue to work hard." Zhang Junping smiled reservedly.
"It's not bad, it's better than what I was when I was young!" Yang Mingde nodded and smiled at Zhang Junping.
Wu Zuoren and Tian Shiguang glanced at Yang Mingde and secretly cursed him for being shameless, but they did not expose him.
"Xiao Pingzi, do you plan to take this work to Xiangjiang?"
"I have this idea!" Zhang Junping said awkwardly, rubbing his head.
At first, Zhang Junping did have this idea, but when it was actually produced, Zhang Junping found that this idea was not realistic.
That’s not to say that it can’t be transported. The main reason is that the art visiting and exchange group led by the Ministry of Culture does not have such a large transport capacity.
In a word, Zhang Junping is not famous enough, and the Ministry of Culture will not allocate transportation capacity specifically for his works.
His wood sculpture was carved from a Hainan huanghuali tree with a diameter of more than two meters. Of course, it is not the whole tree, but only one-half of it.
This Hainan Huanghuali is one of the woods bought from Guanghua Timber Factory.
This Hainan Huanghuali tree was sawed in half, and then it was found that the core of the tree was completely rotten, and no usable core material could be removed at all.
Of course, it’s not impossible to take it out at all. Dozens of bracelets can still be taken out from the whole Hainan Huanghuali. After all, this is a giant tree with a diameter of two meters and a length of more than 30 meters.
"What do you think?"
"I don't think so. However, I am creating another work based on this work. Hurry up and I should be able to make it to Xiangjiang."
"Oh? What do you think?"
"I plan to combine mortise and tenon structure with carving to create a giant wood sculpture that is made up of hundreds of components and can be disassembled and assembled."
"It's a good idea, but I'm a little tight on time, but it doesn't matter. You try your best. Even if you can't make it, it doesn't matter. It's enough for your previous works to be exhibited in Hong Kong!
This visit and exchange are more about on-site creation and display!" Yang Mingde expressed support for Zhang Junping's idea, but also reminded him that there is no need to be too obsessed with completing the work he envisioned.
Just listening to Zhang Junping's description, you can tell that this is a huge project. Making a Hainan Huanghuali with a radius of one meter and a length of 30 meters into a detachable wood sculpture does not sound difficult. It is just the application of the mortise and tenon structure.
But in fact, the process difficulty increases several levels.
The fitting surface of the mortise and tenon structure and the carving must be perfectly integrated so that the seams cannot be seen. Otherwise, the giant wood carvings produced will have obvious seams and will only make people laugh.
"I know, I will try my best to finish it! If I really can't finish it, then I can only blame the Hong Kong compatriots for not being so lucky!" Zhang Junping said with a chuckle.
"You brat, look what you can do! If you can't see your wood carving, then you have no eyesight?" Yang Mingde scolded with a smile.
At this time, Wu Zuoren and Tian Shiguang also stood up after admiring the giant wooden sculptures.
"I don't know about anything else. Anyway, the Hong Kong compatriots will not be able to see this wood carving. If you want to see it, you can only wait until Xiangjiang returns!" Tian Shiguang said with a smile.
"Lao Yang, Lao Tian, I propose to transport this wood carving back to the school.
Put it in the square of the school, let those students see the beauty of our country's traditional skills, and save these energetic students from fooling around with British exchange students.
It would be great if he could become famous, but unfortunately, they are all just trying to imitate others and only make people laugh." Wu Zuoren said with great momentum, clasping his hands behind his back.
After speaking, he added: "Of course, the ownership of this giant wood sculpture is still yours. The school will not take away the students' things. It is just borrowing it for display so that your classmates and juniors can see the beauty of traditional art."
"I agree, we should let those students experience the charm of traditional art. Stop thinking that everything in foreign countries is good all the time. Foreigners' farts smell good!" The person who could say this was naturally the informal Yang Mingde.
Yang Mingde no longer worries about his official career and devotes himself to art. He can naturally laugh and curse and do whatever he wants.
On the contrary, Wu Zuoren cannot be as free and easy as Yang Mingde. To put it bluntly, he still cannot get rid of fame and fortune.
Power corrupts people. It corrupts not only the human heart, but also the pursuit of purity in the highest palace of art.
Wu Zuoren's artistic talent is very high, and it can even be said that he is no worse than Xu Beihong. Unfortunately, he is too obsessed with fame and fortune. He pursues art in the first half of his life and pursues power in the second half of his life. In the end, his achievements stopped at the level of the master, and he missed the mirror of the master.
"Mr. Wu allows the students' works to be exhibited in the school, which is a compliment to the students. Of course I support it with both hands!" The master had already spoken, but he had to hold back even if he disagreed.
What's more, this is definitely a good thing for him, a great opportunity to make a name for himself.
After the 1980s, although CAFA has not produced any more amazing master artists, no one can deny that these students from CAFA are the backbone of art.
They are the cornerstone of the Chinese art world.
Now, Zhang Junping's works are on public display in the school square, and their influence is definitely much greater than the Jiguge Young Painters' Works Exhibition.
This influence is far-reaching and long-lasting. It may not be visible at the beginning, but after ten or twenty years of brewing, this influence is definitely much greater than the gold medal and first prize in national calligraphy and painting competitions.
It was decided that the wood carvings would be moved to the school for display, but Zhang Junping did not do any ink.
I went out to find a few pallets, the kind that are specially designed to pull heavy goods. The wheels are made of car tires.
It has a radius of one meter and a length of thirty meters. It sounds heavy, but in fact it is not that heavy.
The density of Hainan Huanghuali is about 0.9, and the proportion of some top-quality materials exceeds 1.
But that refers to the heartwood. The heartwood of Zhang Junping's half piece of wood has withered and rotted. It is a hollow piece of wood, so it looks very big, but it is not very heavy, only weighing two or three tons.
It took a dozen workers to lift it and load it onto the truck, which is how it was originally transported.
It's the same now, so it will pass.
Zhang Junping was looking for a car to organize people to transport the wood carvings, and Yang Mingde, Wu Zuoren and Tian Shiguang were also busy.
He returned to school urgently and organized manpower and material resources to build a shed for displaying wood carvings.
This is May, and the rainy season is coming soon. Wood sculptures cannot be exhibited outside without any protection at all.
Therefore, Wu Zuoren and the others had to seize the time to build a sunshade and rainproof shed in the small square.
Also arrange for security guards to be on duty.
It's on public display and free to visit, but that doesn't mean you can touch it casually.
In Wu Zuoren's opinion, this wood carving is a priceless treasure. Its value lies not in the wood carving itself, but in the various positive influences it produces.