| Total:22,October 1, 2005
Beijing/Yan'an,China--- Wang Wenhai, an artist and devotee of Mao, tries
to reflect these different faces in the 1,500 sculptures he has made of
the chairman. Until recently he produced only the classical images of Mao
permitted during the Cultural Revolution. "I just want people to adore him
like I do," he said. "During the Cultural Revolution, that meant
reproducing the standard Mao figure. But these days that doesn't appeal so
I want to find different ways for different people to love him." Unlike
pop fans yelling at concerts or soccer fans asking stars to sign names on
their shirts, Wang Wenhai has chosen a unique way to show his love and
respect for the people he admires. For over 20 years, the 52-year-old
staff member at the Yan'an Revolutionary Museum in Northwest China's
Shaanxi Province has been making clay sculptures of the late Chairman Mao
Zedong (1893-1976), the founder of New China. Wang said he has not counted
exactly how many sculptures of Chairman Mao he has made, but said: "I am
sure that the number is far more than 1,000, each with a different
expression and posture. "I have not sold any one of them. I do it only
because I love and admire him deeply." Some of his best works have been
chosen as exhibits in the museum where he works, according to Wang. His
work is welcomed not only for the vivid portrayal of Mao in appearance but
also in spirit. People often asked Wang about the secret of his works.
Wang replied with only one word: "Devotion." Wang began to work as a guide
at the Yan'an Revolutionary Museum in 1970 after finishing secondary
school. Wang's main task at the time was to introduce Mao Zedong Thought
to the visitors. He chanced upon sculpting when several professors from
the Xi'an Academy of Art came to draw pictures and make sculptures to
decorate the museum. Curious and intrigued, he volunteered to work as
their assistant and model, during which he learned the basic techniques of
sculpture. The soft and sticky clay comes from the Loess Plateau where
Yan'an, the base of the Chinese revolution, is located. The clay,
excellent natural material for sculpting, has furnished a popular medium
for the local people to knead various objects, Wang said. When he started
to make his own sculptures, the first image which rushed into his mind was
Mao Zedong, he said. "Because of both the era and my work, Mao Zedong
became one of the familiar figures in my life." To get deeper
understanding of the late Chairman, Wang hung Mao pictures on all the
walls of his home and collected all the relevant books he could find about
Mao. "He is a common but great person. I always try to fuse this kind of
feeling into my sculptures," Wang said. In 1993, to commemorate the 100th
birth anniversary of Mao Zedong, Wang held an exhibition in the city, to
show off about 1,300 sculptures he made. The exhibition echoed the
feelings of the local people towards the great leader at that time. Those
sculptures featured Mao at different ages in various poses - waving his
hand, sitting, lying, standing, reading books and making a speech, Wang
recalled with nostalgia. Now a decade has passed. Wang's next plan is to
make a new series of sculptures that reflect the life of Mao during the
Long March (1934-35). "These hard days should not be forgotten even when
our lives nowadays have improved so much," he said. For more photos or detailed reports, please contactcaixia.tian@chinafotopress.com. |
