Qiao Hu: What contribution did China make to the history of world art?

Qiao Hu: What contribution did China make to the history of world art? -Review of the 34th World Art History Congress

The world art history congress held every four years can be traced back to the first art history congress held in Vienna, Austria in 1873. From the second congress of 1893, the art history congress was held almost every two years in some cities in Germany, the Netherlands and Italy (mainly Germany). Until the First World War, Comité international d 'histoire de l 'art (1930) was established in Brussels, Belgium, with its headquarters in Paris, France. After the founding of the United Nations, CIHA joined the International Council for Philosophy and Human Sciences under UNESCO. [1] If western countries such as Europe and North America have always firmly grasped the right to speak in the history of the World Art History Conference 143, then truly stepping out of the "West" and gradually correcting the traditional discourse orientation of the West will undoubtedly make the World Art History Conference held in Beijing a milestone.

The 34th World Art History Conference was held in Beijing from September 6th to September 20th, 2006. The Central Academy of Fine Arts and Peking University jointly hosted this grand event. More than 400 presidents and spokespersons from 43 countries and thousands of scholars from all over the world took part in the "Olympics of Art History". Hundreds of media have recorded and reported the conference in all directions through newspapers, magazines, websites, TV stations, videos, official WeChat accounts, live broadcast platforms and other media platforms, which has aroused widespread concern inside and outside the industry. The extensive participation of the media and the multi-angle publicity and reporting across the media are also the first time in the history of the World Art History Conference. To be sure, this Beijing art history conference will not only exist in our memory, with limited words and pictures. This three-dimensional record expands the way we generate and disseminate knowledge, and it is also China's contribution to the discipline of art history in the field of communication today.

China and the World Congress of Art History

In September, 2000, Professor Cao Yiqiang from China Academy of Fine Arts attended the 30th World Art History Conference held in London, England. Professor Cao and then Professor of the University of Sussex in England both served as the chairman of 17 "Delay and Eternity". At the same time, Pan, Pi Daojian, Gao Shiming and Professor attended the meeting as representatives of China. [2] This is also the beginning of China people's participation in the World Art History Conference. After the meeting, under the leadership of Professor Shao Dazhen, China actively promoted the process of CIHA's accession to the WTO. Seven years later, Professor Zhu Qingsheng, on behalf of China, submitted China's application to join the International Society of Art History to the CIHA Council, and it was approved by the Council.

From 5 June to 10, 2008, Mr Shao Dazhen led a delegation from China (Professor Fan Dian, Professor Yan Zheng, Professor Zhang Qian and Professor Shao Yiyang) to attend the 32nd World Art History Conference in Melbourne, Australia. Professor Shao Yiyang and Professor Zhang Qian made English speeches at the meeting as official spokespersons respectively. In the special discussion on "Research on the History of China Art" specially set up by the Organizing Committee, Mr. Shao and Professor made special speeches respectively, which attracted wide attention from the participants. [3] After this congress, China put forward a request to bid for the 20 16 Art History Conference, which was passed at the 201/Council meeting in Malibu.

20 12 in July, Professor Zhu Qingsheng led a delegation from China to attend the 33rd World Art History Conference held in Nuremberg, Germany. Four China scholars, including Professor Shao Yiyang and Professor Ling Min, made special speeches, and more than a dozen China scholars went deep into the 2 1 sub-venue, carefully studied the academic and conference organization experience of this conference, and wrote a summary briefing. At the closing ceremony of the conference, the China delegation was led by ulrich Gro? Mann took over the banner of CIHA, which also marked the official entry of the Art History Conference into China time. Scholars from all over the world have expressed their expectation to hold an art history conference in countries outside Europe and America for the first time.

After a series of preparatory meetings in the first half of 20 13, the China Preparatory Committee, after repeated consultations with the presidents of art history societies in more than 20 countries and more than 50 domestic experts, finally decided on July 30th that the general theme of the 20 16 World Art History Conference was "terminology", that is, "concept-art and art history in different times and cultures". And the theme of 2 1 chapter, and gradually completed the academic theme statement of each venue. The China Preparatory Committee hopes to explore the possibility of studying art history from different angles in today's globalization through this sub-theme, so that today's scholars can avoid the barrier of "western center" and re-examine and discover artistic phenomena, situations, theories and criticisms in different periods and cultures with diverse perspectives and methods.

At the beginning of 20 14, the China Preparatory Committee collected 2/kloc-0 chairmen from all over the world, and decided on the chairman at the CIHA Marseille Council on June 28th. At the same time, the meeting passed a resolution to change the name of the quadrennial art history conference from "International Art History Conference" to "World Art History Conference". This also emphasizes the diversity and cosmopolitan nature of the General Assembly. In this congress, the China Preparatory Committee specially created the position of "Young Chairman" for each branch, which is also the first time. On the one hand, the young chairman helped the two Chinese and foreign chairmen in the group to complete the organization of the meeting, on the other hand, it was an attempt for young scholars who were growing up to participate in international academic activities.

On March 20 15, the China Preparatory Committee issued a notice for soliciting contributions from all over the world. By June 30th, the Preparatory Committee had received a total of 10 12 manuscripts from all over the world, including 542 from China scholars. In September of the same year, the preparatory meeting for the 34th World Art History Conference was held in Beijing Convention Center. The presidium discussed the academic arrangements of each group with experts and scholars, read the manuscripts together and selected the speakers. By June 1 1, more than 300 speakers at the 2 1 sub-venue were finally selected.

20 16, the preparations for the conference were carried out in an orderly manner. Among them, the most important academic work is the translation of conference speeches. According to the constitution of the International Society of Art History, the official languages of the congress are English, French, German and Italian, while Chinese is not the official language of the congress. If Chinese can't be the official language of the conference, the language barrier will greatly hinder the participation of China scholars and the spread of China art history research at this conference. Art history should not only have four languages, which is not only a question of language communication, but also an ideological issue of this discipline. After many discussions, the International Society of Art History agreed that China's spokesman could choose to speak in Chinese. At the same time, the traditional simultaneous interpretation is replaced by Chinese and English subtitles, that is, the speaker's speech is translated in advance, and the Chinese and English manuscripts are played on the big screen with the speaker's speech in the form of subtitles. On September 201June 5, the CIHA general meeting held in Beijing finally unanimously passed the revision of the language clauses in the Articles of Association. From then on, the mother tongue of the host country of the art history conference can be used as the official language of the conference. This is also an important step taken by China in promoting the diversification of world art history.

Terminology-concept

Different from the themes of previous congresses (such as the challenge of things in the 33rd Congress, the cross-culture in the 32nd Congress, the venue and field of art history in the 3rd1and the time of the 30th Congress), the theme term (concept) of this congress is a relatively abstract concept. The English word "Terms" has three meanings: 1. Terminology: a specific meaning in a specific context; 2. Conditions, rules and restrictions; 3. A period of time/period. First of all, art history is composed of different concepts, and different phenomena and theories can be condensed into one concept. Secondly, the 2 1 branch topic of this conference also covers three meanings of terms. Such as "Scenery and Wonders", "Gardens and Courtyards" and "Commodities and Markets", which focus on interpreting one or several issues of art history in a specific context; The chapters of "Standards and Evaluation", "Imagination and Projection" and "Taboo and Education" emphasize the rules, standards and differences attached to the history of art; The themes of "tradition and origin" and "communication and evolution" emphasize the concept of time, that is, the development and change of art and thought in a specific period; At the same time, when the theme of the conference is restricted by a word called "term", the word itself is removing this restriction, so art history is moving towards a broader and more diverse world art history. Of course, this digestion also brings more challenges to the study of art history: how do we treat historical traditions and cultural heritage with a more inclusive attitude, and how do we build the Babel belonging to this era in differences and differences? Chapter themes such as "communication and acceptance", "the other and a foreign land" and "misunderstanding and application of songs" emphasize this diversified way of understanding.

However, the theme of this art history conference held in China is based on the context of China, so "terminology" is a summary and explanation of the core idea of "art and art history in different historical cultures" in the English context. The overall structure and logical narration of the conference topics also highlight the differences in globalization and the logical process of understanding differences in multiculturalism. As Professor Fan Dian said, this theme embodies a new historical view of art and culture, shows the thinking of respecting and advocating cultural diversity in the new collision and intersection of global cultures, and promotes the mutual learning of civilizations and the dialogue and exchange of international cultures.

1. Difference basis

The first five chapters (words and concepts, standards and evaluation, imagination and projection, appreciation and practicality, consciousness and self-discipline) laid a theoretical foundation for the theme of the whole conference. What is "art"? How do people understand the term art in different cultures and periods? What kind of values and evaluation system are different artistic concepts rooted in? And what kind of social and cultural foundation does the difference of different cultural concepts depend on? In different cultures, how is art passively divided into mainstream and secondary? How to consciously and actively develop the works of art and art history we see today? In fact, these are the basic problems in the study of art history, but they are never out of date. They have always attracted different scholars from different cultures and explored new connotations from specific cases. Especially in today's background, in the process of globalization, more and more cross-cultural and interdisciplinary concepts are gradually dissolving cultural differences. And those powerful cultures and ideas inevitably cover up the subtle details and individuality in art with the help of the media, just like the perspective shown by German artist andreas gursky in the series of works of 99 cents. Under the price tag of 99 cents, the dazzling array of goods on the shelves has degenerated into a visual effect, which may convey a sense of desolation in the era of consumption. Fortunately, the new era has given us the opportunity and technology to constantly enlarge every detail. As long as we are willing to watch, "99 cents" is no longer the protagonist.

2. In the same culture

American scholar David Lowenthal put forward the theory that "the past was foreign" [4]. Of course, cultural familiarity may make us ignore the ubiquitous foreign countries. Dana Schutz, an American artist, depicts a self-devouring person in his work The Face Eater, with his eyes fixed on the process of being devoured. Swallowing may be a way to know yourself, or it may be a power of introspection. In any case, interacting with this "foreign land" is an indispensable step in building a richer knowledge structure.

Chapters 6 to 12 (tradition and origin, communication and evolution, taboo and education, independence and transcendence, gender and women, scenery and wonders, gardens and courtyards) discuss various problems in the same culture. How does a culture treat its own traditions and cultural goals? What choice will you make in the face of new times and changes? What will happen to art itself in a certain historical time and space? How is art used by different forces as tools and weapons for specific purposes? And how does art itself resist and become a force to deny authority? What role does gender play in the study of art and art history? How do people know the natural world and man-made landscape? As a complete presentation of this cognition, what concepts do gardens embody in various cultures? How to further guide knowledge production? This part of the discussion faces specific problems in the same culture. In the face of history, change, inheritance and development, each culture has its own coping style, which is closely related to its social, historical and other factors (such as politics, economy, religion, ideology, science and technology, etc.). ) is also closely related to people's cognition of the status of art in civilization and culture.

3. Between different cultures

Five chapters (13 to 17) discuss the possibility between different cultures. How does art spread and influence each other between different cultures? How to treat and evaluate a strange phenomenon and concept abroad? When dealing with foreign cultural phenomena, what will inevitable misreading and misinterpretation bring to art itself? As a special and professional way of communication and cultural exchange, what role does the art market play between different cultures? How does the display of artistic works and artistic concepts affect the personality and personality exchange between different cultures? In fact, the communication and influence between different cultures is also the focus of the 3 1 Montreal (venue and field of art history) and the 32nd Melbourne (cross-culture: conflict, migration and communication) art history conference. If the previous discussion may be the way of thinking that a strong culture is moving towards a pluralistic world, then the congress held in Beijing has just given these problems a "non-Western" situation and a more diversified reading angle, which has occupied a place for non-strong cultures in the wave of globalization and laid the foundation for a more equal and objective dialogue between different cultures. Just as Bing Xu established a platform for equal reading and dialogue under the multicultural background in his work "Dishu". The equality and understanding created by this language utopia may be just a helpless "Peach Blossom Garden's ideal must be realized", but "Sisyphus people" will still move forward wave after wave.

4. Challenges in the new era

Chapters 18 to 2 1 (media and vision, aesthetics and art history, specialty and aesthetic education, pluralism and the world) describe the changes in art and artistic concepts brought about by globalization and new modes of communication. What new ways of communication have the information age given to art and art history? What are the impacts and challenges on art history and aesthetics? What influence does art education have on the inheritance of art history? On this basis, what will be exhibited in the context of crossing time and space by interpreting the "classics" and "canon" of art history? When the concept of globalization is not new, new media constantly update the way of knowledge generation and our cognitive way, so that when we want to summarize this era with a certain concept, it has become a thing of the past. Because of this, art history and visual culture have infinite possibilities at this turning point in history.

Nordic artists Christian Skeel and Morten Skriver created a work "Babylon" with fragrance as the center. This work consists of 29 porcelain vases of different sizes, of which 28 porcelain vases contain 28 kinds of perfumes from 23 countries in five continents, and the largest porcelain vase in the middle is a mixture of these 28 kinds of perfumes. If 28 kinds of scents are the records and memories of different cultures on nature, industry, city and life, then mixed scents are the mapping of cultural blending under the background of globalization. What is the result of this mixing? What will it bring to people's perception? What makes it independent from others? This work does not give us the answer, or it uses another more erratic medium-smell/smell to carry the possible answer, and the cognition of the answer varies from person to person and from time to time. We seem to have a concept, but we seem to have nothing.

From Fort Worth to?

At the 19 12 10 World Art History Conference, young Abby warburg gave a speech on "Italian Art and Astrology in Ferraski Fanoa Palace". Warburg criticized the traditional research method focusing on the classic works of art history, and advocated interpreting human psychology of expressing history through rich visual images. Here, Huabao actually opened the door of iconology and opened up a new world for the development of art history. Later, panofsky and other scholars further improved the iconology theory and made this methodology take root in the United States. With more rich images and perspectives entering the research field, the capacity and layout of art history have expanded rapidly. The 10 art history conference is also remembered by history because of Warburg's landmark speech. In the next century, although iconology occupied a dominant position in the study of western art history, scholars still opened up new fields from psychology, psychoanalysis, linguistics and existentialism, and enriched the methodology of art history. With the trend of different times, the World Art History Congress has pushed a group of art historians into our field of vision.

100 years later, warburg's lecture on astrology, W.J.T Mitchell traced it back to Warburg's atlas, which further developed the study of visual culture. Mitchell pointed out in his report entitled "Organization, Madness and Montage" that madness is widespread in groups, and this symptom is reflected in modern people's fascination with vision and data integrity. Modern images actually realize the "crazy" state and ideal expressed by Warburg through Atlas. For example, the form of Atlas appears in detective films with amazing frequency, and the clues can only be integrated through madness and montage. When images are bound by a peculiar genealogy knowledge and lose their own power, the way to find clues from images will help us transcend art history. German scholar Bredekamp Horst brought biology into the study of art history. He believes that Darwin actually used corals (not trees) as visual metaphors to describe the whole evolution process of nature, because corals are very similar to nature, people and art in shape and symbol. On the one hand, coral blurs the boundary between natural process and human activities, on the other hand, it also reflects the similarity between natural structure and artistic aesthetics. Therefore, Horst put forward the concept of "new stylism" based on nature and art to describe this world that is constantly being "transformed into colorful strangers".

At this conference, China's materials also provided unique visual resources and thinking dimensions for the study of art history. John Onion, a British scholar, introduced the concept of "Qi" in China culture in his speech entitled "Energy of Qi: Art, World and Mind". He pointed out that "Qi" embodies the empathy between the viewer and the object, and then applied the theory of neuroscience to explain the causes of works of art in ancient Greece, Rome, Renaissance and China. Onion thinks that China's "painting" has something to do with farmland, and the artist's creation has inner empathy with farmers' transplanting. On the other hand, Professor Fan Dian mentioned that "book" and "painting" in traditional Chinese characters have the same prefix, that is, people hold pens. Understanding differences from the perspective of cultural contribution and keeping a balance between * * * and differences are the embodiment of China's thought of "harmony without difference".

On the other hand, under the background of globalization, how should we face the classics? This may be an eternal question. Even in Warburg's time, classics became the object of criticism. In fact, we have been deconstructing the old classics and shaping the new ones. Works, artists and ideas placed on the altar are always the center of criticism. However, the vision of globalization gives us a broader perspective to re-examine those classics, old or new. Does the globalized art history need canon? Two professors, ThomasKaufmann and Elizabeth Pilliod, gave their own views: there may not be a universally applicable evaluation standard for the choice of works and concepts entering the canon, but this "collection" of art history may be a starting point for the pursuit of knowledge.

There are also new ways of watching, thinking and perceiving in the study of China's art history. For example, Professor LotharLedderose started with the inscriptions and postscript in Chinese and Western paintings, and discussed the conceptual differences between Chinese and Western cultures in recording images and knowledge. Professor dame Jessica Rawson discussed the construction of ritual society by using ancient ritual vessels in China as symbols, and the differences between Chinese and western cultures. In his report "Vision Beyond the Wall", Professor Richard ViNograd discussed the similarities in images, novels and media between China and Europe, as well as the influence of vision through instruments on image creation in17th century. Professor Yin Jin 'an discussed the common self-presupposition in the understanding of some images in Chinese painting, such as meticulous figure painting, in the lecture "Hidden themes and knowledge generation methods in ancient paintings in China". Professor Yin Jin 'an used the method of "knowledge generation" to dig out the hidden history and theme behind the solidified image from the images and inscriptions of Xingyuan tuya. This study actually re-explores the role and potential opportunities of iconology in today's art history research. At the same time, the exhibition "Breaking and Gathering: Ancient Buddhist Statues in longxing temple, Qingzhou" curated by Professor Yan Zheng is also the academic achievement of the conference. [5] In the process of narrating and showing the rediscovery and understanding of the broken Buddha statue in longxing temple, Professor Yan Zheng questioned the meaning of the concept of sculpture and fragments to art history. Western concepts (terms) may not be fully applicable to the eastern context, and rethinking the concepts and definitions in art history is of great significance to the development of the whole world art history.

In the era of visual culture or post-visual culture, what opportunities and challenges are we facing in the face of more and more rich media and visual resources? When the concept of world art history is becoming more and more diverse and vague, what is the direction of art history research? As Professor Zhu Qingsheng said in his concluding speech at the conference, how to look at the past and explain the world with a wider range of images, and how to make the differences between individuals and cultures a stepping stone to civilization through the capture and collation of art history are unavoidable issues in the future art history research.

Kenneth Clark, a young man, was deeply encouraged by warburg's speech. He dedicated his passion for art history to the documentary Civilization, which is well-known in Britain. And this documentary has influenced the next generation of art historians, such as Kruger [6], who became the chairman of the 30th Art History Conference 88 years after giving a speech at Warburg. Perhaps another "Warburg" was born at this conference in Beijing, which also influenced another "Kenneth Clark" and benefited another group of "Kruger"-everything will be tested only by time.

Research on Art History after CIHA 20 16

At the opening ceremony of the conference, the opening video that condensed the development of China art history shocked four people. Many foreign scholars said that it was only in China that they discovered that they knew almost nothing about China art and China art history. Many of their understanding of China's art even stayed on the "Chinese style" that had little to do with China itself hundreds of years ago. However, this part of the culture that they ignored has been and is silently affecting the development of world art and culture. After the meeting, many scholars expressed their hope to learn more about the East, although their own research direction has nothing to do with China. Understanding China is not about studying China. On the contrary, it is necessary to further develop the discipline of art history in China. As Mr. Shao Dazhen said at the opening ceremony of the conference, this conference has formed a worldwide concept and field because of the hosting of China and the extensive participation of non-western countries. This is an opportunity for world art history, and it will also be a new starting point for China art history circle, which will help to promote the construction of world art history system in China.

This conference provided an opportunity for western scholars to re-understand oriental art, and also opened a window for China scholars to directly understand world art. It is true that China has hosted many international art history conferences, but there is no precedent for such large-scale, centralized and diversified exchanges and discussions in China. Even if many scholars attend international conferences, the topics discussed are relatively unified, the participants are basically in the same or related fields, and there are few cross-cultural, interdisciplinary and intergenerational dialogues. For scholars in China, a scholar of ancient painting and calligraphy in China and a scholar of modern and contemporary western countries can have cross-cultural communication in the same time and space and hear different theories and voices. For western scholars, it is enlightening to come to the land of the East and see more abundant materials and theories besides the so-called "China art" established by western sinologists and cultural relics dealers. Cross-cultural and multi-perspective mutual inspiration can promote the discovery and exploration of new fields. In addition, there is still a lot of room for China to study world art history. On the one hand, our research and exploration in the field of world art history is very limited, on the other hand, we are complaining that western academic circles don't take us to play, and western scholars only use western research methods. A western scholar once told me that scholarship is neither charity nor charity. Although this sentence is cruel, it also makes sense. No scholar will interpret and study a culture with real respect because of sympathy. Only by actively going deep into the specific game can we have the opportunity to participate in the formulation of game rules, although this process is not easy.

At the time of writing this article, the British Examinations Board removed the subject of art history from the A-Level examination (equivalent to the British "College Entrance Examination"), which caused great shock in the circle. Facing the new era, when scholars decided to revise the syllabus of art history in middle schools to make it more global and diversified, the examination committee found it difficult to operate and simply cut the subject. Some arguments such as "elitism", "decoration" and "soft science" in art history are also spreading. Some people actually think that a group of "radical ideas" represented by the new art history since the 1970s have subverted the image of the classic art history established by Gombrich among the people, making this subject full of difficulties on the one hand, and criticism and controversy on the other, thus losing its mass base. [7] When art history is no longer centered on Europe, classics and harmonious appreciation, some people choose to criticize the class, maintain a condescending sense of superiority in their hearts, and then plunge into the sand like an ostrich. However, this ostrich can't change the image era of image information explosion. It needs everyone in it to have the ability to understand and analyze rich visual and cultural resources more than at any time in history. Professor Shao Yiyang wrote in "Weakening Art History"? It is said that in the face of the challenges of visual culture and interdisciplinary research, as long as the subject of art history does not stick to a single macro narrative, it will not be weak. This increasingly prosperous trend is particularly evident in China. [8] In fact, we have image resources beyond all periods in history, multi-sensory media and technologies such as audio-visual synthesis (such as virtual reality and augmented reality), cross-cultural and interdisciplinary theoretical basis, and an open and diverse communication platform. We are actually facing a golden age in the development of art history.

On the other hand, those negative arguments that criticize art history are also sounding the alarm for the development of art history. It is true that new ideas and theories have made today's art history more and more profound (for students and the public, the subject of art history has become very difficult to learn), but how can we spread and inherit this profundity? How to let diversified values influence this society? Why does the British public's cognition still stay in Gombrich in the era of such rapid information dissemination? This is not only a problem facing Britain, but also a problem facing us. If the theoretical research and production knowledge of art history cannot spread and influence the public's cognition, it will be restricted by the public's existing cognition and slowly shrink in the small circle. Kenneth Clark's Civilization has given us an excellent example in an era when the media is underdeveloped. Art history itself is closely related to the media, and the media, media and communication means we have today will bring more space and opportunities to this subject.

Similar to Britain, the subject of art history has been marginalized in the United States (Obama advocated not to study art history in his public speech), and the possible shrinkage caused by the experience of British and American art history has actually created more opportunities for the further development of non-western culture. It is in this opportunity of discourse power transformation and infinite possibilities that we can think more questions: What can China contribute to the history of world art? Can China scholars' research on the history of western art have an impact on the history of western art? What contribution does China's research method of art history make to the methodology of art history? What can China's research on art history contribute to this era? Perhaps this is the direction that our generation and even the next generation of scholars need to work hard.