Illustration:
ill. 5.36 b (set: 5.36)
Author:
Liu Wenxi (1933 -) 刘文西
Date:
1975
Genre:
painting, New Year Print
Material:
scan, paper, colour original source: painting, colour, 227.5×208
Source:
New Year Print, 幸福渠，1975, (DACHS 2009 New New Year Prints), Heidelberg catalogue entry
Inscription:
幸福渠
HeidICON Image ID:
52174
Keywords:
Mao Zedong, guohua 国画, Chinese traditional painting style, peasants, children, national minorities, New Year Print, symbolism

Liu Wenxi: New Year Print (Liu Wenxi: Xingfu ju 刘文西: 幸福渠)

In spite of the fact that the production of “Hotel Art” (art produced for the foreign visitors who began to come to China more frequently after the Nixon visit in 1972) was a rather shortlived affair, its influence was obviously felt in the production of official MaoArt since the early 1970s as well. A rough statistical survey of several Cultural Revolution Poster collections shows that a sample from 1966-1971 would contain only ½ the number of traditional-style images from a sample 1971-1976. While in the first half of the Cultural Revolution, Mao would not be depicted as he still was in propaganda posters from 1962, as part of a traditional festive scene inclusive of drums, drapes and symbolic flowers, for example, in a new New Year Print, he would and could be seen as such again frequently by 1975 (ill. 5.36a & ill. 5.36b).