Huang Zhou (1925-1997), Under the Snow Mountain, ink on paper, 1988
This ink paintings depicts five Tajik elementary school students riding camels to school, a scene the artist Huang Zhou observed during one of his many trips to Xinjiang. In the inscription, the artist claims that he did not paint this scene as a novelty, but as a signal of the bright future for the Tajik people. The 1980s was indeed a period fill with new hope, as China was opening up to countless new opportunities, and such hopefulness can also be seen in this painting. Through the use of color and naturalistic shading, the artist crates a sense of depth, as it the figures in the painting are coming out of the frame and toward the urban world audience standing in, which, though optimistic, also raises a new question: Is the modern, urban lifestyle really the “bright future” the ethnic minorities need and want?
Huang Zhou (1925-1997), Under the Snow Mountain, ink on paper, 1988
This ink paintings depicts five Tajik elementary school students riding camels to school, a scene the artist Huang Zhou observed during one of his many trips to Xinjiang. In the inscription, the artist claims that he did not paint this scene as a novelty, but as a signal of the bright future for the Tajik people. The 1980s was indeed a period fill with new hope, as China was opening up to countless new opportunities, and such hopefulness can also be seen in this painting. Through the use of color and naturalistic shading, the artist crates a sense of depth, as it the figures in the painting are coming out of the frame and toward the urban world audience standing in, which, though optimistic, also raises a new question: Is the modern, urban lifestyle really the “bright future” the ethnic minorities need and want?
