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Xiaohong Zhang Artist Talk

Xiaohong Zhang's art acts as a conversation between eastern and western mediums and subjects. As McLuhan states, "The new electronic interdependence recreates the world in the image of a global village" and I feel this global approach to art is reflected in Zhang's use of both eastern and western influences. This fusion is best exemplified through Zhang's landscapes. While these works are reminiscent of traditional Chinese landscape paintings, Zhang replaces the trees of the landscape with construction cranes as a way to show the western influence on both her art as well as the landscape of China. In addition to this, she uses her art to provide commentary on the many environmental issues stemming from human expansion such as deforestation. Zhang also presents this same subject matter in a more modern medium by creating landscapes populated by cranes in the 3D environment of Maya. Here she contrasts the old medium of painting with the new medium of 3D modeling by using the same subject. Her work with paper cuts also demonstrates her ability to play with different influences in the same art form. She does this by using non-traditional subjects in her work with the traditional art of paper cutting. This fusion of old medium with new subject matter is further strengthened by the organic structures she often uses in her paper cuts which signifies a connection between the ideas of past and present.


Green Blue Mountain by Xiaohong Zhang

Comments

  1. UnknownSeptember 23, 2018 at 6:43 PM

    I really like how you looked at the idea of time in Zhang's work and how this interacts with her medium use. It's interesting how time is also connected to her global approach as you stated.

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  2. JuliaSeptember 24, 2018 at 8:39 AM

    This comment has been removed by the author.

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  3. JuliaSeptember 24, 2018 at 11:15 AM

    I like the concept you've created here of a "fusion," specifically as you stated between an old medium and new subjects.

    ReplyDelete

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