Rustic Realism 乡土现实主义
From ArtSpeak China (ASC) Wiki
Two realist movements emerged during the early years of the Cultural Revolution of China.
The first, labeled “Scar” after the literary movement of the same name, consists mainly of paintings by young art students. The second movement, “Rustic Realism,” depicts ordinary citizens, such as herders and peasants, in the rural and border regions of the country.
Artists of the Cultural Revolution used rustic realism and humanistic concerns to critique society. Realism as a mode of art was by no means new to the Chinese art world, but the negative and critical tone contrasted the Socialist Realsim art of the Maoist period. Works of rustic realists sold very well in the late 1980s and early 1990s, especially those of peasant children. Among the most influential of the rustic realists is portraitist Jin Shangyi whose elegant and serene images reflected the utopian ideology of a nation of equality.
Many rustic realists joined unofficial groups that flourished throughout China, particularly in Beijing, Shenyang, Kunming, and Shanghai, dedicated to the study of European painting. This interest in overseas research fed the ongoing fire of New Academicism occurring in China during the Cultural Revolution.
[edit] References
http://sites.asiasociety.org/arts/insideout/chronologies.html
