Ma Shao making/Li
Folk toys
Marmoset
Monkey Opera Production/Yang Zhizhong
Mane making/Bai Dacheng
Xu Zhuo
The year of the monkey is coming, and the lovely monkey is the most pleasing object to watch. Teacher Xu Zhuo, an overseas American editor of the People's Daily who has personally made the zodiac calendar for 20 years in a row, shot again this year. This calendar of the Year of the Monkey shows many clever, carefree and lucky monkeys. We specially invited Mr. Xu Zhuo to tell the interesting story behind the making of calendars and present it to readers of all ages. I wish my friends good luck and longevity in the Year of the Monkey.
1997 is the year of the ugly ox in the lunar calendar. I selected classic works from cattle-related cultural relics and folk art, edited and designed a calendar with the size of 16, and the response was very good. Since then, driven by various concerns, I have insisted on compiling a book every year and gradually formed my own unique style. 12 years later, the first round began to do the second round, and the second round has been done for 8 years. Now that 20 years have passed, looking at these 20 calendars, the work done for these calendars in those years is still vivid. I can't tell you how happy I am to see everyone's expectations year after year.
The calendar is small, but it embodies the feelings and efforts of many people and shows the talents of countless artists in ancient and modern times. It takes one year to collect and print the almanac. Every work is hard won, and there are many unforgettable stories behind it.
Collect all the words "monkey"
Take this year's Year of the Monkey calendar as an example. After the Spring Festival last year, I began to look for "monkeys". Monkeys and humans are very similar in size, movement and wisdom, active in nature, smart and lovely, and have been good friends of human beings since ancient times. In folklore stories, people and monkeys share a common funny story. For example, monkeys love peaches, so in the 12 zodiac, the ancients regarded it as a symbol of happiness and longevity.
I thought there must be many works about monkeys, but it's not easy to find them. Because a calendar of the Year of the Monkey was made in 2004, many classic works about monkeys in cultural relics were used. Fortunately, monkeys are closely related to people, so there are still many works of art with monkeys as the theme in folk art, especially the Monkey King in The Journey to the West is an important image in the monkey calendar.
In order to enhance academic, readability and knowledge, an article of about 1000 words was added by Yang Hong, an expert from the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. In the same way, add 300 words to appreciate the works and introduce the authors under the monthly map, so that readers can not only appreciate the exquisite works, but also increase their knowledge. The increase of Chinese zodiac calligraphy in past dynasties is also a feature of the second round calendar. All the words "monkey" are collected from China Calligraphy Dictionary, which allows readers to see "monkeys" of different ages, calligraphers and styles.
"Monkey with a back" is homophonic, which means that it will be blocked for generations.
The top right of the second seal is a part of the colorful "Ape Fruit Picking Page" of the silk book of the Song Dynasty collected in the Palace Museum, which is the top grade of expressing apes in the paintings of the Song Dynasty. Shen Peinong's paper-cut is still used in the upper left. This painting "Mother and Child Love" was created by Shen Peinong in 199 1 for the last year of the Year of the Monkey. The one used in February was all dyed and paper-cut. There is a little monkey lying on the monkey's back, which is also the theme of "monkey's back" often used in folk art. "Monkey's back" takes its homonym, meaning honor and disgrace for generations, and expects to be promoted and made a fortune from generation to generation. The Monkey King, a shadow play collected by Shaanxi Mass Art Museum, is an excellent work I have ever seen to shape the image of the Monkey King. Li's Shanghai dough figurines, the Monkey King in Fangcheng, Henan, and Stone Monkeys are all representative works of folk artists. The stone monkeys in Fangcheng, Henan Province are well known, and many people are still doing it. When I was reading the Collection of Folk Toys edited by Li Youyou, I saw the marmoset in Beijing, which was both wonderful and rare.
On the lower right is Tang Hua's Monkey Holding a Peach, which I shot many years ago in Pixian, Chengdu. A few strokes showed the appearance of a monkey, and Tang Hua's skills were applied to the extreme. It's a long story During the period of 1983, I was still working in China Art Museum. I went to Pixian County, Chengdu to collect folk art. On the roadside outside the cultural center, I photographed the old artist Jin. At that time, he took one picture and took it for me, so he took more than ten pictures and left in a hurry to go to the next interview point.
After returning to Beijing, I carefully tasted these photos and found that the old gentleman's works were excellent in shape, taste and skill. Many of his works have the legacy of Han Dynasty portraits. The lightness, retraction, dribs and drabs, and quick and slow movements of "pen and ink" are really wonderful. I just regret that I shot too little. It is no exaggeration to say that in the next few decades, I have never seen anything better than him. Later, I always had a wish to take more photos of the old man. 23 years later, in 2006, I had the opportunity to travel to Chengdu. With the help of enthusiastic friends, the 83-year-old artist was found in the old street of Ande Town, Pixian County. Unfortunately, the old man can't reach his hand. Fortunately, his children are doing well, too. They often set up stalls at temple fairs, and they can supplement their families by this craft.
Bai Dacheng's mane monkey king occupies the cover.
There must always be works of the Year of the Monkey in the calendar. In Bai Dacheng's showcase, I can see that he has collected many works of famous hairy monkeys. The Hairy Monkey Shaving used in The Wind is an early work of Ji Honggui, a famous hairy monkey in Beijing.
When designing the cover of the second round of the zodiac calendar, I formed a unified style, that is, they all have a gray background of the zodiac works, and there were no materials of the same category in the first nine years, which gave me a difficult problem. When considering the cover of the calendar of the Year of the Monkey, I looked through the picture books and searched online, and found many clues about the image of the monkey. Among the works I have taken in the past, I first thought that I could use Bai Dacheng's mane "Noisy Heaven".
In April 2008, in order to introduce Bai Dacheng's mane art in the overseas edition of People's Daily, I went to Mr. Bai's house for an interview. The old gentleman warmly received me and asked me to shoot many of his works one by one. Teacher Bai also demonstrated "Noisy Heaven" for me. He put the mane man on the copper plate and beat it with a wooden stick. The mane man turned with the beat, much like a drama figure fighting on the stage, which was very vivid. Mane people prevailed in the late Qing Dynasty and the early Republic of China, and old Beijingers used to call it "intra-disc drama". Bai Dacheng (male, born in Beijing in 1939) visited Wang Hanqing, the second generation descendant of the "King of the Bristle Man" at the age of 19, and learned from him, saving the endangered bristle art. At present, Bai Dacheng is the only one who inherits the bristle making skills. The mane he made retains the strong characteristics of Peking Opera, and there are also many new developments in subject matter.
The Monkey King for the cover is a large monkey king specially invited by China Folk Writers Association at the Spring Festival get-together of the Federation of Literary and Art Circles last year. I took this photo at Mr. Bai's house on April 3, 2008. Because the background paper is Xiao Zhang's, this the Monkey King with two feathers is very tall (42 cm). There wasn't enough background paper, so when I came back, I made a cut and changed the background. Because it is a full-body shot, the head is relatively small, and it is not enough to shoot a part as a cover definition. It needs to be shot according to the cover composition.
I wonder if this work is still there. If you give it away or sell it, it will be troublesome for any collection. Last April, I called Miss Bai and I was still there when I asked. I hurried to his house, and when I came in, I saw something lying in his house, and my heart was at ease. I asked Mr. Bai to take the time to clean up the dust on it, mend the beads on his helmet, and then take pictures after cleaning up.
Compared with the original, the hairy monkey is impartial.
Last September, I took a lamp, a shelf, background paper (the previous background paper was old, broken and dirty in some places, and this time I bought a new large gradient background paper) and a camera to Mr. Bai's house several times to shoot his "Make a scene in Heaven" and other works about monkeys. On that day, several young people from "Travel Channel" also came to shoot his works. They are in a room inside, and I am in the hall outside. Mr. Bai took great pains to deal with two photographers at the same time. I'm quite satisfied with the shooting.
Every year, after finalization, I will go to the "St. Rainbow Color Printing Center" located in the west of Madian Bridge in the North Third Ring Road to conduct electronic color separation on the reverse film, and ask the professional graphic adjusters here to color each picture to make it meet the printing requirements, and then make a new color sample for each picture. If you are not satisfied, readjust and re-proof until you are satisfied. When I came back this time, I was satisfied with the proofing of the cover, but I was still not sure about the red tone on the Monkey King's face. Is it darker or darker? I have no idea. Fortunately, the real thing is still there. I think I'd better go to Mr. Bai's house again. Last morning165438+1October1March, I came to Mr. Bai's house again with the certificate and compared it with the original. Yes, the original color is like this, and it is impartial, which makes me feel at ease.
That day, I also took the design sample of the text and asked Mr. Bai for advice. After reading it, he said no problem, that's right. I said, "the cover of the calendar is the most important every year." It will be easy after it is covered. It's really good to use your mane as the cover this time. Red and yellow are very festive, and the Monkey King is so energetic. " Well, for the cover of the calendar of the Year of the Monkey, I was busy from April last year to June 5438+065438+ 10, and went to Mr. Bai's house eight times, which was worth it.
Embroidered monkey works are selected from a booth in Panjiayuan.
There are many monkeys in folk paper-cutting, but if you choose it as a calendar, it must be the work of Shen Peinong, an outstanding paper-cutting artist in Beijing. His works are rough and beautiful, full of ethnic decorative interest and rich flavor of life, just like this one this year, which shows a monkey carrying a peach with a peony flower symbolizing wealth in the middle and a bat symbolizing happiness on it. The overall meaning is "Blessing the Year of the Monkey", which is festive and auspicious. It is most suitable for the first lunar month. Mr. Shen Peinong has created many works representing the Chinese zodiac in his life. This one is one of a group of works created by 199 1 for the second year of the Year of the Monkey. Although Mr. Shen has been away from us for fifteen years, his works still have infinite vitality and still give people beautiful enjoyment.
Embroidery is a very important kind of folk art, hoping to find good works with monkeys. July 20 15, I went to the booth of Pan Yuzhen, a collector in Miao Xiu, Guizhou Province, whom I have known for many years. Now there is an embroidered dress with the same pattern on her booth.
This embroidery is a part of the back of the embroidered dress worn by Mrs. Gui Zangtou when the Miao people held a grand ancestor worship festival, embroidered with decorative patterns about Miao life. Trees represent vast forests, animals, cattle and horses shuttle, birds and insects fly. Five lively monkeys climbed up and down the tree with different postures, which explained the process of Miao people creating a rich life. The whole embroidery expresses the Miao people's world outlook of "everything is animistic and everything is born", which is an excellent work of Miao Xiu. I asked her again the author of this embroidered dress? Pan Yuzhen carefully wrote down in my notebook "Pan Wuji Embroidered in Wucha Village, Wuhe Township, Gedong Town, Taijiang County, Guizhou Province" and said: "The old lady was over 80 years old when she embroidered this dress, and now she is gone."
I miss the toys I bought for a few cents.
Mr. Li is a famous folk toy collector. I worked with him in China Art Museum in those years, and often helped them photograph folk art collections, which made me know more about folk art knowledge.
From 1997 to the present 20 years, it has been fully supported by Lao Li every year. For example, when the Year of the Ox arrived, he found out all the cows collected at home for me to choose and take photos, and told me how to collect them. It is not easy to get them, and there are stories.
Now, although Lao Li has been gone for five years, his wife and daughter are still enthusiastic about helping me. In which year, I will find out the collection at home one by one in advance and shoot it for me. Therefore, every year, I can see the fine folk art collected by Lao Li with years of painstaking efforts on the calendar, and now many of them are orphans. He said: "I used to spend a few cents on toys at the stall, but today I can't buy them, and the old artists are gone." Because you don't make money, future generations don't do it. "
One day last August, Li's daughter told me that I had found a good monkey. When I went to her house, there were quite a few. Among them, two cloth monkeys in Baoji, Shaanxi Province are wonderful, and similar works have been seen in albums and exhibitions in the past. I think we can take two faces in one picture and use one page alone.
When shooting, I found a row of green spikes hanging on the outer edge of the hat, which blocked my face and made me invisible. I took a photo with ears, one with ears in it, better without ears, so my eyes, ears and mouth were exposed. Then he photographed his family's stone monkeys, monkey toys, periophthalmus and so on.
After the first filming, I found that all kinds of monkey toys that can be played and moved together can better reflect the characteristics of monkey toys. So I contacted Li Youyou again and asked her to find some monkey toys made of wood and bamboo in Lushi and Xunxian. If you look closely, everything is a local wonder.
The clay figurine announced a new product, Baby Monkey, to celebrate his birthday.
In addition to classic works and common folk art, each calendar also wants new and exclusive works. For this reason, I think of some topics every year and invite artists to create my calendar.
At the beginning of last year, in the shop of a clay figurine studio in North Street, tianjin drum tower, I saw several works by Yang Zhizhong in the showcase. One of them was a child running with several peaches on his back, which was very vivid. I think we can make a fuss about this work. Put a the Monkey King mask on your child's head, even in the Year of the Monkey. There are peaches on the back, which can be named "monkey baby's birthday".
After the founding of People's Republic of China (PRC), Tianjin Municipal Bureau of Culture established the "Clay Fighter Zhang Studio" to protect and inherit the traditional clay figurine Zhang art. It created good working conditions for the descendants of clay figurine Zhang, and also recruited a group of students to receive the training of their predecessors. Yang Zhizhong was one of the first students. He loves colored plastic art and is diligent and eager to learn, becoming the best successor of clay figurine Zhang Caisu's art.
I sent him the photo I took in the shop, told him what I thought, and asked him to see if I could create another one. After reading it, he replied, "No problem." A few days later, I drew a sketch. A few days later, the clay draft was completed.
Last September 5th, I went to his home in Tianjin with a lamp, a shelf, background paper and a camera. At first glance, it conforms to the traditional clay figurine Zhang style, and the characterization is accurate, which is exactly what I imagined. Yang Zhizhong added an original, wonderful and vivid page to this calendar.
The "Monkey Picture" of the Ming Emperor is a very important theme to show monkeys in folk art. I took a pair of clay sculptures of Fengxiang in Baoji, Shaanxi, which are very good. One big and one small, one high and one low, put it on your face, and the picture effect is good. Because it belongs to the art gallery, there is no hurry. In the past 20 years, the art gallery has been an important source of folk art in this calendar, and it has received their strong cooperation every year. They said, "You have never been treated as an outsider." Thank you very much.
I met Li, a master of social fire facial makeup in Baoji, Shaanxi, when I was working in the art museum. Because I have seen the White Ape and the Monkey King by Mr. Li before, I naturally thought of Li's Ma Shao when I drafted the script for the Year of the Monkey at the beginning of last year.
I asked him if he had a new horse spoon showing apes and monkeys. He said of course there is. A few days later, he delivered the newly painted white apes and the Monkey King to my home by express delivery in a carton. I was moved before the package was opened. For fear of damage on the road, the package has three layers inside and three layers outside. Mr. Li said that the white ape map was designed with reference to the local traditional social fire mask. The face is in the shape of an inverted peach, and a small pimple is bent at the top of the peach painted on the forehead, which is also the painting method of the local social fire.
There were many paintings of apes in ancient times. This time, I used the Ming Dynasty emperor Zhu Zhanji's "Playing with Apes". It's a fine painting of apes recommended to me by my friend at the beginning of last year. I searched the Internet and found out that it was a collection of the National Palace Museum in Taipei. You can't get the original movie, just find a well-printed album. Later, I transferred to Liulichang, and found this work in an album "The Palace Museum Picture-Flowers and Birds-Apes" published by the Palace Museum Press, which was well printed. I bought a copy immediately and scanned it when I came back. The effect was very good.
Wang Xuefeng, a young paper-cut artist in Jinan, Shandong Province, was invited to create a back cover paper-cut "Bing Shen Ying Chun" and "My Calendar" for seven consecutive years from the Year of the Tiger. Every year after I call him, he will cut it out and send it to me soon. What moved me was that he carefully created five or six pictures for me to choose from every time.
"The best is your book."
After the pictures and texts are compiled, printing is the ultimate key to the quality of the calendar. Every time, I work with technicians to adjust the color of the determined map on the computer and print out digital samples until I am satisfied. This is the key to printing a good calendar. We can't talk until the version is ready. When I arrive at the printing factory, I must be present at the opening of printing, whether it is day shift or night shift. As soon as each edition is printed, I will compare it with the digital proofs, and then start mass printing.
Year after year, there are too many stories that move me in these 20 calendars. Many friends said that since the first book, 20 books have been well preserved, forming a set of exquisite Chinese zodiac art albums. At the end of each year, many friends look forward to the calendar for the coming year and call to ask if there are any. Don't forget me! Someone said, "I receive many calendars and desk calendars every year, but your book is the best." The pictures are beautiful and practical. "others said," I received the new year calendar, which is great. Every year, I am grateful. I don't need another calendar, just hang yours. "
In many friends' homes, the calendars on the wall have changed one after another, accompanying them year after year. I also have a sense of accomplishment and feel very gratified. Now, although I have left my job for 9 years, editing and making the zodiac calendar is still a major event I must do every year and has become a part of my life.