Illustration:
ill. 5.27 b (set: 5.27)
Author:
Wang Xingwei (1969 -) 王兴伟
Date:
1996
Genre:
oil painting
Material:
scan, paper, colour; original source: oil on canvas, 220 x 135 cm
Source:
Wang Xingwei, Mein Kampf—Wang Xingwei in 1936, 1996 (DACHS 2009 Wang Xingwei Going to Anyuan), Heidelberg catalogue entry
Courtesy:
Wang Xingwei, Galerie Urs Meile, Beijing-Lucerne
Inscription:
我的奋斗
Keywords:
Wang Xingwei, Hitler, blue skies
Wang Xingwei: Mein Kampf - Wang Xingwei in 1936 (Wang Xingwei:Wo de fendou - Wang Xingwei zai 1936 我的王兴伟: 奋斗 王兴伟在1936)
Arguably the most enigmatic image of the series shows the same young man together with Hitler (as seen here, ill. 5.27 b) in a low-angle shot, a technique often used in scenes of confrontation to illustrate which character holds the higher position of power and thus an important aesthetic gesture in, for example film noir—but also in Cultural Revolution model works. It is clearly the young man who is the one in power. While he, too, is seen from below he appears much taller than Hitler. And apparently, he is explaining to him, who, in turn, is nervously clinging to his book, Mein Kampf, holding it tight, his hand forming a strong fist, the need to make peace, not war. The 1996 picture’s title is Mein Kampf—Wang Xingwei in 1936 我的奋斗—王兴伟在 1936.
The background is the inevitable cloudy blue sky, both Hitler and the young man are looking up to this sky, a vision clearly before them: in Soviet protocol, to marvel at an immense sky or expansive view is a sign of the subject’s confidence in the coming of the Communist utopia, part of the reason why Stalin in his official portrait (and Mao in his based on Stalin’s) has this fixed gaze into the sky (Hawks 2003:297). Wang and Hitler are transfixed by Wang’s vision, and thus, they are not looking at the object (what is it?) which is lying, in flames, on the staircase right in front of them. What will happen? Here, as in many of the other images in this series, the characters are depicted as on a threshold (here, at the top of the stairs), below the open skies. All of them, so this visual device seems to suggest, are about to make a fatal move.