Illustration:
ill. 5.36 a (set: 5.36)
Author:
Liu Wenxi (1933 -) 刘文西
Date:
1963
Genre:
painting, New Year Print
Material:
scan, paper, colour; original source:
Source:
New Year Print, 同欢共乐, 1962, (DACHS 2009 New New Year Prints), Heidelberg catalogue entry
Keywords:
guohua 国画, Chinese traditional painting style, peasants, children, national minorities, calligraphic poetry, nianhua, New Year Print, symbolism

New Year Print: Liu Wenxi: Together in Joy and Happiness (Nian hua: Liu Wenxi: Tong huan tong le 年画： 同欢共乐)

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).