Edutainment > Wen Mujiang - born 1970

Wen Mujiang I
Entertainment Time, 2003

The Faraway Sparrow Sounds
copyright Wen Mujiang

The art prints by Wen Mujiang deal with the contrasts and cultural changes in today's China. The booming economy in the 1990s and at the beginning of the new millenium created rapid social and environmental changes that set in only twenty years after the end of the Cultural Revolution under Mao Zedong. Wen Mujiang's woodcut prints are interesting works of art and documents of today's China with a message.

From Hunan Province

Mr.Wen Mujiang was born in 1970 in Longhui city of Hunan province, China. In 1993, he began his studies at the printmaking department of Hubei Art Institute. After his graduation, he became a teacher at the art department of Xiangtan Normal University.

Currently (2006) the artist works as a lecturer at the art department of Hunan Science and Technology Institute. He is a member of Hunan Printmakers' Association and a member of Hunan Folk Art Committee.

The Far-away Sparrow Sounds

Wen Mujiang II
Digital Time, 2004

The Faraway Sparrow Sounds
copyright Wen Mujiang

Wen Mujiang grew up in a mountainous area of China where many minorities live. As a young man he was influenced by the view of stockaded wooden villages, embroidered skirts and the sounds of folk songs.

By the time he had finished his art studies he had to recognize that within only a few years life as he knew it from his childhood had changed. The wooden houses had to yield to modern concrete buildings, embroidered shirts were replaced by jeans. And the local people played the latest Western tunes from MP3 players instead of singing folk songs.

Wen Mujiang tries to provoke his viewers to think about the cultural shock that the modern civilization brought to the traditional culture. The sound of the sparrow, the "leitmotiv" of his best know print series, stands for the old culture and for the preservation of a natural environment.

Wen Mujiang expresses his wish that one day the sound of the sparrow will appear even among the high buildings and busy cities and let people pay more attention to traditional cultural values.

Awards

• 1996 - The series "The Far-away Sparrow Sounds I" (4 designs) was shown at the 13th National Print Exhibition of China.
• 1997 - "Love Song" was shown at 9th National Art Exhibition and won the copper prize of Hunan province in China.
• 1999 - "Lion Dance on Plain" was shown at Hunan Art Exhibition to celebrate the 50 years of the foundation of the People's Republic of China and won the prize for outstanding artwork.
• 2002 - "The Far-away Sparrow Sounds" series II (2 designs) was shown at the 16th National Print Exhibition of China.
• 2002 - "The Far-away Sparrow Sounds" series II (2 designs) was shown at Hunan Print Exhibition and won a golden prize.
• 2005 - "Jump" was shown at the 6th Chinese Physical Artwork Exhibition.
• 2006 - "The Far-away Sparrow Sounds" series I (4 designs) was shown at the first Hunan Young Artists' Exhibition.
• 2008 - The woodcut "Appearance No.2" won the golden prize of the 1st Yunnan International Print Exhibition.

Collections and Publications

Wen Mujiang III
Idol Time, 2004

The Faraway Sparrow Sounds
copyright Wen Mujiang

Artworks by Wen Mujiang are in the collections of several Chinese museums.

• Jiangsu Art Museum
• Anhui Art Museum
• Sichuan Art Museum

The magazine "Chinese Printmaking" and "Art Observation" published his artworks.

Author: Dieter Wanczura
(October 2006, updated May 2009)

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